Cranes are an incredibly large and therefore potentially dangerous piece of construction equipment. If not properly maintained or operated, cranes can have the potential to cause devastating long-term damage and in some cases, death. The different facets of crane safety and maintenance include inspection, refueling, operation, and more.
There are quite a few different classification of cranes, defined below by OSHA:
A crane is a machine for lifting and lowering a load and moving it horizontally, with the hoisting mechanism an integral part of the machine. Cranes whether fixed or mobile are driven manually or by power.
An automatic crane is a crane which when activated operates through a preset cycle or cycles.
A cab-operated crane is a crane controlled by an operator in a cab located on the bridge or trolley.
Cantilever gantry crane means a gantry or semi gantry crane in which the bridge girders or trusses extend transversely beyond the crane runway on one or both sides.
Floor-operated crane means a crane which is pendant or nonconductive rope controlled by an operator on the floor or an independent platform.
Gantry crane means a crane similar to an overhead crane except that the bridge for carrying the trolley or trolleys is rigidly supported on two or more legs running on fixed rails or other runway.
Hot metal handling crane means an overhead crane used for transporting or pouring molten material
Overhead crane means a crane with a movable bridge carrying a movable or fixed hoisting mechanism and traveling on an overhead fixed runway structure.
Power-operated crane means a crane whose mechanism is driven by electric, air, hydraulic, or internal combustion means.
A pulpit-operated crane is a crane operated from a fixed operator station not attached to the crane.
A remote-operated crane is a crane controlled by an operator not in a pulpit or in the cab attached to the crane, by any method other than pendant or rope control
A semi gantry crane is a gantry crane with one end of the bridge rigidly supported on one or more legs that run on a fixed rail or runway, the other end of the bridge being supported by a truck running on an elevated rail or runway.
Storage bridge crane means a gantry type crane of long span usually used for bulk storage of material; the bridge girders or trusses are rigidly or nonrigidly supported on one or more legs. It may have one or more fixed or hinged cantilever ends.
Wall crane means a crane having a jib with or without trolley and supported from a side wall or line of columns of a building. It is a traveling type and operates on a runway attached to the side wall or columns.
The following infographic breaks down how to properly inspect and overhead crane:
This infographic provided by Crane1.com. Download the PDF here.
