Why Every Crane Inspection Matters - Inspection Checklist

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Why Every Crane Inspection Matters

Working with any kind of machinery can be dangerous. In fact, driving a car is one of the most dangerous things you can do. But extensive safety regulations and defensive driving habits dramatically reduce the risk. To keep job sites safe, cranes undergo frequent inspections to ensure their compliance with safety regulations which are far more stringent than those for cars.

Operating a crane combines heavy machinery with heavy loads, much like driving a truck. But unlike a truck, cranes are almost always stationary when in use. Instead of the fighting traffic at high speeds on the highway, cranes fight gravity. And while trucks take their time getting up to speed, gravity can propel objects from zero to sixty miles an hour in less than three seconds.

That’s why safety inspections are so important. OSHA regulations require every crane to undergo thorough inspections by a certified crane inspector every year. But even when it’s not absolutely necessary, it’s common to perform monthly inspections because safety is always the highest priority in the crane industry. Plus, crane operators do visual inspections for safety hazards every day before getting to work.

What’s on a Crane Inspection Checklist?

Although OSHA standards require periodic inspections for every kind of crane, the specific inspection requirements vary from crane to crane. A mobile crane rental and a gantry crane, for example, are two completely different machines. So it makes sense that their inspections are equally diverse.

The crane inspection checklists used by inspectors typically stretch across multiple pages. Each component of the crane gets its own section with individual line items for each subcomponent. Inspectors scrutinize everything from the power wipers in the driver’s cab to the wire rope retainer on the boom. Crane inspection checklists even include sections for preventative maintenance records, previous inspections, and other forms of historical data.

All in all, there are more than 100 items on most inspection checklists. So the next time you need a boom crane rental in Chicago, you can rest assured knowing that a certified inspector scrutinized every element of the crane to keep you safe.