Thursday, April 17, 2014

An Essay Concerning Overhead Crane Inspections

An Essay Concerning Overhead Crane Inspections

By Essie Osborn


Construction sites are often characterized by a variety of activities with many pieces of equipment and also tools in use simultaneously. A crucial piece as well as one of the most valuable machines in use on most construction fields is the crane. Statistics show that a significant number of construction accidents and fatalities are crane related. This shows why proper overhead crane inspections should be scheduled by any constructor.

With technology advances, manufacturers are now able to come up with stronger and more stable lifting equipment using lighter materials. There have been many improvements on effective radius, utility, capacity and speed to a level that it is unavoidable to have a crane in a site where building is taking place. This means that all stakeholders in the construction industry are supposed to have proper understanding of appliances used in lifting. Inspections are carried on these machines to ensure that they perform within the allowed specifications so that safety is guaranteed.

Inspection personnel are required to undergo constant training so as to remain relevant in their field as the technology is quickly advancing. By doing so, the assessor will be conversant with even the latest hoisting and operating mechanisms. This will place them in a position to notice faults even in the latest models of equipment with much easy.

Research performed by interested parties in building industry has indicated that accidents related to hoists are as a result of poor preventive maintenance. Inadequate training or inexperienced workers is another cause of mechanical related accidents. It is vital that not only machine operators but also other people working with or near the hoists receive training in operations. Through putting the appropriate inspection measures in place, it will be possible to identify any unsafe conditions in time.

Lifting machines are made for either general use or for specific applications. As it is with the vast machinery industry, hoists manufacturers make like models for a similar purpose, mostly with sizes of machinery that are different. Every model or size of crane made has its own kind of operating controls and need specialized operator coaching, individualized inspection techniques, and different maintenance methods.

Operators and the rest of personnel who are utilizing the crane should have know how on their capacities and also limitations as required by inspection standards. The lifting operation together with job restrictions set by the inspector should be known to all those doing work in a given site. Taking time to observe how activities on the site such as coordination and loading capacity are executed is part of work supposed to be done by an inspector.

All contractors are required to obey the specifications provides by the producer of the equipment. If no such information, then a qualified engineer should be hired to determine the limitations to be observed. The inspector is supposed to state where signs indicating operating speeds and rated load capacities should be placed.

It is not possible for a producer to state the exact period within which an inspection should be carried out. This is due to the fact machines operate under different working conditions. Appliances that perform huge amount of work in a given time are supposed to be inspected more often.




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