Why You Should Inspect Cranes More Than You Have To

When I talk to management for companies that use cranes, I always ask, “Do you inspect your cranes?” The answer I often hear is, “Of course, we do. We inspect them when we get them. And we inspect them again every year, as required.”

Standards vary worldwide, but OSHA’s rules for the U.S. are illustrative. A company can comply with OSHA’s regulations for overhead and gantry cranes by conducting only one complete crane inspection annually.

OSHA does require operators to keep an eye out daily for:

• Maladjustment of any operating mechanism that interferes with proper operation
• Deterioration or leakage in lines, tanks, valves, drain pumps, and other parts of air or hydraulic systems
• Hooks with deformation or cracks
• Hoist chains that are worn, twisted, or stretched beyond manufacturer recommendations
• Excessive wear of any component.
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But these aren’t necessarily formal inspections (i.e., documented, with each crane component passing or failing). A formal inspection of the hoist chains is required monthly, but the other “inspections” can be done by simply checking for issues.

Depending on the activity, severity of service, and environment, formal inspections may be required more often than annually, but in normal conditions, once a year satisfies OSHA’s requirements. That’s just not enough. Annual inspections may keep regulators off your back (as long as no incidents occur), but inspecting cranes infrequently is bad business.

Regulations about crane inspections shouldn’t even have to be put into writing. They’re beyond common sense—like don’t walk in the middle of a busy road. The potential cost of a crane accident is so far beyond the labor involved in conducting very frequent and documented crane inspections that it’s not even a close decision.

By inspecting cranes using checklists for a few minutes a day, you can ensure that crane operators are doing their daily inspections. Plus, the completed checklists serve as documents confirming “no negligence” if anything terrible does happen.

Heavy machines and loads, humans, and property present many risks. Why not reduce those risks as much as possible?

Takeaway

When it comes to crane safety, performing only the minimum required inspection is risky. Using inspection checklists to conduct frequent crane inspections pays off by protecting against the potentially enormous human suffering and financial costs associated with crane failures.