The lifting of concrete, pipes, large cables and other heavy loads would be virtually impossible without cranes on-site. Attention to these vital machines is often overshadowed by the attention to the tasks they enable your workers to perform. However, to avoid wide scale damage and worker injury because of malfunctioning or accidents, they should have the following care tips addressed.

Respect Load Limits

After using this equipment so much it's not easy to remember what exactly the limits are for cranes being used. Your employees could attempt to shave time off from their work day by making loads larger without really knowing whether that's appropriate for the specific crane they're working with. For that reason, it's your job to find out what the particular manufacturer's recommendations are for your cranes. Then, inform everyone and do your best to periodically ensure that loads are appropriately sized.

Look for Damage

Accidents are sometimes caused by something that could have been fixed beforehand. For example, broken pulleys or rusted chain links don't always happen instantly; a hairline crack noticed today can prevent the pulley from breaking off and hurting someone as it flies out of place. Ensuring the chains aren't corroding helps you avoid a heavy load snapping a weak rusted chain later. Your efforts should be on looking for damage as often as possible and handling any crane issues early on.

Listen for Trouble

Cranes are used in many environments where noise levels can be dangerous. In fact, on some sites, noise-cancelling  headphones may be on everyone's ears. However, noise acts as an alert at times; wait for dead times on the site to run cranes without any other equipment running. If you hear something, try to locate the problem's root. Does a pulley need lubrication? Are screws loose? Let noise help you discover any issues which need repair.

Train New People

Hiring someone with a long list of qualifications can create a false sense of security about their crane knowledge. They may have operated cranes for many companies, but it's entirely possible that techniques need work or that poor habits were normalized in the past. Have everyone new experience thorough training on your cranes so you're confident that everyone is at the same level of aptitude and isn't doing something you'd disapprove of.

These crane tips, along with a service contractor you trust, will promote excellent crane maintenance. Continue speaking with everyone about more ways to improve care for these machines. Contact a company, like Youngs Rigging, for more help.