Performing Safety Checks Before and During Crane Operation
With great crane power comes great responsibility. Making sure your crane is safe before and during operation can save you from costly accidents and damages later.
You should inspect a crane any time before you intend to use it. While regular maintenance is important in predetermined intervals, safety doesn’t have a timeline. Keeping your crane’s logbook up to date and requesting accurate maintenance records from your crane services provider will save you time and money in the long run.
Surf City Cranes, the leading provider of cranes for hire in the Gold Coast, has a handy checklist of safety inspections you should perform before you start lifting and while the crane is in motion. Take a look:
What to Check Before You Begin Operating a Crane
Before you begin lifting, you should conduct a general check to make sure all of the crane’s major critical components are in order and place. Depending on what kind of crane you have, you may have to check more or fewer parts, but here’s a general list. Check:
- The oil levels.
- Your capacity markings to understand how much you can lift.
- Your chain ropes for kinks, cuts, breaks, corrosion, and broken strands.
- Your rope drum for signs of wear.
- The alignment of ropes, guides, dead ends, and sheave grooves.
- Your hooks for cracks, twists, and signs of wear.
- That you have the right type of sling with no holes or cuts.
- To make sure your lights turn on.
- To make sure you have all of the mechanical parts and guards.
- Your rails for breaks, chips, or cracks.
- Your wheels for signs of wear, especially if your ride is bumpy.
- To make sure your bearings are tight.
- To make sure your brakes work.
- Your control buttons for proper labels and that each button performs as intended, and pushes and releases without sticking.
- That you can switch gears easily and there’s no grinding or squealing.
What to Inspect While the Crane is Moving
Once you have the crane turned on, you can follow through with a few more safety checks before you lift a load. Always test the limit switch before you lift to avoid an airborne accident. Keep an eye out for:
- Sheaves that turn smoothly without jerking.
- Rope alignment after each lift.
- Bumpy riding.
- Friction between ropes and sheave guards.
- Loud scrapes or clatters during operation.
Safe Crane Operation is Efficient Crane Operation
Performing a few simple safety checks might take an hour of your time, but it’s much better than the days that cleaning up a crane accident would take alternatively. It’s best practice to choose a crane services provider who can walk you through the safety measures and give you the green light for operation.
Surf City Cranes in the Gold Coast offers site inspections, crane safety checks, and insurance for all of our cranes for hire. To request a quote on your crane, call us on 1300 687 151 or 1300 672 961.
