PSC Load-It® MagHead · Hands-Free Magnetic Positioning & Control
When a component needs to be steadied, guided or positioned during the final stage of a lift, the natural response is to reach in and use the hand as the control point. Load-It® MagHead engineers a different interface.
The Exposure
Steel plates, fabricated components, machinery and maintenance loads frequently provide no safe point from which a worker can make the final correction. The crane closes the major distance. The positioning phase — the last moments before the load reaches its final resting point — belongs to the worker standing closest to the steel.
That is precisely where hand exposure lives. Not during the lift. During the landing.
The Engineering Response
It provides a temporary magnetic control point on suitable ferrous surfaces — allowing the worker to interact with the component from a defined working distance instead of using the hand directly on the load.
Magnetic engagement creates the control point. Tool length creates the distance. Articulation allows that control point to adapt to the application.
The Last 300 mm Rule™ · PSC Doctrine
"The crane, hoist or forklift performs the major movement. But the final centimetres still depend on a worker."
Steady it. Turn it. Move it slightly. Align it. Seat it. That is the moment when the hand tends to enter the hazard zone. The crane or hoist closes the major distance. The last 300 mm — the zone where the component is guided into its final position — belongs to the worker. And that is precisely where the hand exposure lives.
Load-It® MagHead is designed for the space between "almost there" and "in position."
Engineered Around the Application
A magnetic hand-safety tool should not be selected simply because it has a magnet at the end. The load geometry, available engagement surface, working angle and required standoff distance determine how the worker needs to interact with the component. Load-It® MagHead provides different configurations for different application requirements.
Select the articulation around the application — not the application around the tool.
For applications where a direct straight-line approach to the ferrous surface is practical. The controlled articulation envelope reinforces a safe, repeatable working pattern — suited to structural sections, production environments, and high-repetition tasks where approach geometry is consistent.
Allows the magnetic head to articulate through a wider working arc where the required engagement angle changes according to component geometry or operator position. Enables Continuous Magnetic Engagement™ — maintaining attachment as the operator moves around the load.
Provides rotational freedom of the magnetic face independent of handle angle — suited to complex component geometries, confined spaces, and tasks where the load's own orientation is changing throughout the positioning sequence.
Understanding Magnetic Force
The published pull-force rating describes the magnet under laboratory conditions — perpendicular pull on a clean, flat steel surface. During guidance work, the operator is applying lateral shear force, not pulling the head directly away from the surface. These are different forces. Selecting a tool by the lb rating alone is selecting on the wrong metric.
60 mm magnetic head. Used on the FG008 fibreglass telescopic pole — the rating is deliberately matched to the leverage present when the pole is extended, preserving comfortable sustained engagement and manageable disengagement once the load is down.
75 mm magnetic head. Used on fixed-length tools MG002–MG012. Higher engagement capability for standard industrial positioning, guidance, and alignment tasks at defined working distances.
"How does the worker need to control the component?" — not "How strong is the magnet?"
Actual engagement depends on
Select the Working Distance
Tool length is the single most important selection variable. It determines standoff distance — how far the operator's hand remains from the load. The objective is to match length to the specific task, access conditions, and required precision. A tool that is too short reduces the safety margin. A tool that is too long becomes difficult to control precisely.
One tool. Adjustable working distance. The FG008 fibreglass telescopic pole provides a 4–8 ft working range, allowing the working distance to be adjusted according to the application and available operating space — a single tool for multiple standoff requirements.
Applications
The specific task varies by industry. The underlying exposure pattern — a hand required near a moving steel surface during the final positioning phase — does not.
"A magnet on a pole is easy to compare on price. An engineered hands-free method should be compared on the application."
Engineering Resources
PSC publishes the engineering thinking behind ferrous load handling openly — so lifting engineers, HSE professionals, riggers, and procurement teams can make correct selections before they buy anything.
65 pages covering suspended load physics, head selection logic, magnetic force engineering, length selection, and team integration. The complete technical reference.
The definitive reference for selecting and applying guidance methods for ferrous loads. Covers all five hands-free methods — not just magnetic tools.
The distinction between perpendicular pull force, lateral shear force, and guidance force — and why selecting on lb rating alone is selecting on the wrong metric.
Head type, magnetic strength, length, fixed or telescopic — the full decision logic from the handbook, built as a public web-based selection guide.
Premium Engineering Consultation
Rather than comparing models by pull-force rating, PSC's Application Mapping Review examines the actual task — the load, the surface, the access conditions, and the operator's movement pattern — and recommends the correct Load-It® configuration as a matched system.
Request a Load-It® Application Mapping ReviewOr download the Engineering Handbook and the Selection Centre to begin your own assessment.
Load-It® MagHead is an exposure-control aid and does not replace an appropriate lifting plan, risk assessment, exclusion zones, certified lifting equipment, PPE or competent material-handling practices. It is not lifting equipment. Magnetic holding-force ratings must not be interpreted as lifting capacity. Actual magnetic engagement varies according to material, thickness, surface condition, available contact area, geometry and direction of force. Inspect before use. Remove from service if damaged.