Safety training in the crane, rigging and specialized transportation sector is an ongoing process that is constantly evolving. Trends develop into standards and then standards change. In a recent edition, American Cranes & Transport magazine asked six training experts to identify the trends they are seeing in today’s training environment.  Crane Tech was one of those experts and here’s what Bo Collier our President had to say:

“During Crane Tech’s 40-year history I have seen training trends come and go. But one thing remains steady–that is the need for operators and riggers to be appropriately trained and then qualified by the employer to operate the crane or rig a load–in addition to the certification requirements that have been proposed for crane operators since 2010.

As a result of the upcoming certification deadline, we are seeing both experienced, qualified operators who are now seeking certification for the first time come through our courses, as well as individuals looking to change their career. For the experienced operators, they come into our NCCCO certification prep course with very little experience using load charts. These operators have relied on their load moment indicators (LMIs) for so long that using charts and reading chart notes is foreign to them. Learning how to methodically work out a solution for various mobile crane load chart scenarios is difficult. Math skills are an ever-present challenge, especially when presented with having to find percentages for duty cycle operations or critical lift restrictions. Reading comprehension can be a stumbling block for these operators who must learn OSHA and ASME standards versus knowing the old school methods for operation. It is for reasons such as these that we hear how effective our course is in preparing operators for their exams.

Click to read the full article: Industry Experts Reveal Training Trends

When we began this series, we mentioned that tipping is the most common type of accident with cranes.  To that end, we are trying to do our part to keep you from becoming a statistic by providing education as you work in and around cranes. We’ve looked at how gravity, balance and leverage work together to keep a crane stable, how the crane is made, what the tipping point is, and what the standards and OSHA say. Now lets apply what we’ve learned.

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so this post will use illustrations to indicate some of the various configurations and quadrants of operation where there may be stability concerns and include images of where something went wrong. Please remember, these are only examples and it’s important that you refer to the crane operator’s manual and the load capacity chart for specifics for your crane. We cannot stress the importance enough of taking the time and making the effort to ensure proper set up, knowing your load weight, and having an educated operator–it just might save you a costly mistake. (more…)

As we’ve discussed earlier in this series, it would not be safe to operate a crane that didn’t have reserve stability. It would be like hoisting 2,000 pounds with a sling that is known to have a breaking strength of 2,000 pounds. So, the industry developed a suitable “margin of stability” that is applied to all cranes. In its most basic sense margin of stability means, for areas of operation that are limited by stability, there must always be greater leverage on the crane side of the tipping axis than on the load side of the tipping axis. (more…)

Thank goodness it is not necessary for crane operators to calculate the leverage for a lift. However, how leverage is calculated is essential for crane operators to understand. The example below puts the concepts discussed in Part 2 and Part 3 into action, by looking at the leverage derived by a crane and load.

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How can equipment operators focus on work and forget the distractions? In this article by Crane Tech, we discuss external and internal distractions and how to plan for success.

Safety Inside the Cab Article

About Construction Business Owner: From its inception in 2004, Construction Business Owner (CBO) was designed to be a different kind of construction magazine, filling a need in the construction industry for the kind of business management knowledge that is of real value to the owners of construction companies. While there are a wide variety of good equipment and association-based magazines that serve the construction industry, CBO provides real-world business management education not found in other construction publications. Articles inform owners and managers on accounting, finance, insurance, regulatory issues, human resources, bidding strategies, technology, jobsite safety, equipment management and industry statistics.