Crane Rigging Safety Tips To Keep In Mind
Using a crane or any other type of rigging equipment requires special attention to detail if you want to maintain a safe work environment for everyone at the job site. All it takes is one bad mistake for a major accident to occur, and when you are dealing with equipment as heavy as a crane, this could prove to be a disaster. In order to help maintain a safe work environment at your construction site or anywhere else where you regularly make use of cranes, keep the following tips in mind.
Know What Your Crane Can Handle
Not all cranes are created equal. A standalone crane, for example, will be able to lift a much heavier load than a crane attached to a mobile vehicle. Every crane typically comes with warnings from the manufacturer as to what your maximum possible load should be. Don't ever try and push your luck by putting a load that is heavier than this cap onto a crane. A load that surpasses the crane's maximum weight capacity will quickly become unbalanced. An unbalanced crane that starts swinging back and forth can quickly lead to a major problem.
Don't Leave Loads Suspended for Any Longer Than Necessary
To reduce wear and tear on your crane over time, you want to minimize the amount of time that a load is attached to the crane. In other words, don't pick up a load, lift it in the air, and then spend the next 30 minutes clearing the path for the crane while the load remains suspended. Clear the path first, then get the load onto the crane and quickly reposition it to wherever it needs to go, lowering the load back down to the ground as soon as it is safe to do so. Leaving a load suspended in the air could also prove to be a very poor decision if the weather were to suddenly change and high winds were to arrive, not to mention the risk you are taking from having someone walk underneath a suspended load.
Trained Operators Only
Workers on a construction site are typically adept at handling a wide variety of different heavy equipment. But just because you can handle a bulldozer does not mean you are ready for a crane. Managing your crane rigging and carefully managing and relocating a load takes a great deal of precision if you want to ensure it's done safely. An unskilled operator may allow the load to swing too far to one side, and then you are asking for trouble.
For more information, reach out to a crane rigging service.
