How many broken wires in one strand in one rope lay must there be to remove the rope from service?

• A. Five
• B. Ten
• C. One
• D. Seven

Answer: (A)

The threshold is five broken wires in a single strand within one rope lay. This is used because when multiple wires in one strand are broken, the remaining wires must carry more load, creating stress concentrations and increasing the chance of a sudden, catastrophic rope failure. Inspect by examining a length of rope equal to one lay and count the broken wires in each strand; if any strand has five or more broken wires, the rope must be removed from service. While there are other criteria (such as a higher total count across the rope), the question specifically targets the single-strand count, which is five.