A lift assembly system and method can include: a funnel-shaped drum having a constant diameter portion and a gradually increasing diameter portion; a cable management system adapted to position a cable in a single layer in a tray; a beam clamp tube receiver adapted to allow a tube to slide relative to a beam and be secured to the beam; a cable keeper and a slack line detector adapted to maintain cables in position about a drum upon loss of cable tension; a horizontally oriented low profile cable adjuster adapted to adjust the length of a cable; an overspeed braking mechanism; a fleet pivot arm pivotable on the end of a tube so as to guide cables along a desired fleet angle; and/or a pull-type load sensor connected between a tube and a drum adapted to sense changes in a load force and adjust movement of a load.