How to Ensure Overhead Crane Safety

Overhead crane are the most commonly used material handling equipment used for lifting loads at various industrial sites. Therefore, overhead crane safety is the most important thing we should pay attention to.

Overhead crane safety

Select the right material handling equipment is the basic of overhead crane safety

The first thing to ensure overhead crane safety is the selection of material handling equipment, which must meet the designing and installation standards and requirements. The lifting equipment has to have sufficient rated capacity for the intended load, and the load should not exceed the lowest load rating markings. Each component or part should be marked clearly with the rated capacity. A thorough inspection including overhead crane load testing and the crane supporting structure should be conducted by a professional crane engineer or manufacturer.

Overload harms overhead crane safety

The second thing to ensure overhead crane safety is not overloaded and watch out materials falling. When an overhead crane is overloaded, it is subject to structural stresses that may cause irreversible damage. Swinging or sudden dropping of the load, using defective components, hoisting a load beyond capacity, dragging a load and side-loading a boom can all cause overloading.

Regular crane and hoist maintenance to ensure safety

One way to reduce the risk of falling materials is to perform regular maintenance to overhead crane and hoists. Load testing maintenance ensures that you know how many pounds the electric hoist and overhead crane can handle, and it helps to maintain the overhead crane in good working condition. Crane maintenance should always be treated seriously when it comes to heavy machinery. If a moving part on an overhead crane wears out or breaks the hoist or crane, it can cause serious damage. Performing regular maintenance ensures the hoist and overhead crane remain in good working order and that all operations run smoothly.Proper overhead crane operation to ensure overhead crane safetyThe third thing to ensure overhead crane safety is the proper crane operation. Here are some safety tips for cranes operators to follow while operating the overhead crane and moving the load.

Overhead crane operation tips to ensure crane safety

• Do not engage in any activity that will divert your attention.
• Do not lift, lower, or transport a load with the crane or hoist until all personnel are clear of the load and the load’s path.
• Verify that the load, crane and hoist will clear all obstacles before moving or rotating the load.
• Do not move loads over personnel.
• Do not lift, lower, or transport personnel by means of the crane, hoist, trolley, hoist hook, or load.
• Slowly inch the hook into engagement with the load to eliminate wire rope slack and reduce impact loading of the crane and hoist.
• Avoid unnecessary inching and quick reversals of direction.
• Lift the load only a few inches to verify that the hoist braking system is functioning properly before continuing with the lift.
• Avoid swinging of the load or hoist hook when the bridge trolley or hoist is traveling.
• Avoid sharp contact between trolleys or between trolleys and stops.
• Do not use the primary upper limit device as an operating limit. Use other operational limits if they are available.
• Do not lower the load beyond the point where less than two wraps of wire rope remain at each anchorage on the drum, unless a lower limit device is provided, in which case no less than one wrap of wire rope shall remain at each anchorage on the drum.
• Activate the manual warning device (if provided) before starting the bridge or trolley travel motion of the crane and intermittently during travel of the crane when approaching people in the travel path of the load.
• Verbally warn people before starting the bridge or trolley travel motion of a floor-operated crane that does not have a warning device that may be positioned in the load’s travel path and during travel of the crane when approaching people in the load’s travel path.

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