What is the number one component on an overhead crane inspection that gets missed the most?

This is a question that had crossed my mind while trying to come up with an idea to write a presentation for the CCAA Spring Conference in San Diego. I had an idea in my mind of the answer to this question. I decided to ask as many people that I could on this subject. I started with inspectors and then moved on to managers. This is what I found in my small assesment.

What is the number one component on an overhead crane that gets missed the most during an inspection?

1.Wire Rope

2. Pattern Sheave Wear

3. Coupling Lubrication

4. Brake Adjustments

5. Load Hook Wear

6. Load Block Cracks and Wear

7. Wire Rope Terminology

8. Sheave Wear Under and on Sides of Wire Rope

9. Wire Rope Wraps on the Drum

10. Load Chain Wear

11. Regulations

In the crane industry, how do we limit the amount of missed discrepancies during an inspection? I believe it can be done in three ways.

1. Continual Training

To keep inspectors up with the latest regulations that tend to change every year, inspectors need refresher training on the codes at least once a year. They should also be getting training on various equipment direct from the manufacturer. There are many hoist manufacturers that provide technical training on their equipment and components on your site or at the factory. Contact your hoist manufacturer or a crane training company to help you with this.

2. Culture

Culture is something that takes a long time to develop. So if you don't have it in your company now then NOW is a good time to make that change. To create a culture of safety awareness, and inspection mindedness it needs to start at the top. Like everything, it will trickle down to affect everyone. Don't just relay information and tell people to take inspections seriously. You take it seriously. Talk about inspections at every safety meeting. Discuss why it is important to you and them. Explain the consequences of missing components on inspections. Pick a component during the safety meeting to discuss the proper inspection procedure. Don't just relay the information but get everyone involved and ask their opinion on it. Make it an ongoing discussion.

3. Senior Field Personnel

Another key to producing good inspection results is having the right inspectors out there. Only use inspectors who have demonstrated a excellent knowledge in the field. They should have a high amount of field hours. I would say 4,000 hours is a good amount of time to have under your belt before you become an inspector. Those hours should consist mostly of troubleshooting and installing crane components. This will help them greatly when it comes to narrowing something down on a crane inspection.

When training your personnel you should refresh them on certain component requirements. Especially on the components listed above. It is key to keep inspectors up to date on the updated regulation requirements

 

Load Hook

• Discard Load Hook if...
• Throat Opening is stretched 5% or not over 1/4 inch.
• No Degree of twist.
• Saddle Wear of 10% or more`

 

Wire Rope

•  A minimum of two wraps must be on the drum at its lowest point.
•   The three parts of the wire rope from largest to smallest is the Core (D),           Strand (F), and Wire (E). Always remember that a wire rope with one bad wire is acceptable but a wire rope with one bad strand is not. The wire is the smallest component of the wire rope and it is what makes up the strand.
• Depending on what state you live in you are only allowed a certain number of failed wire rope parts. By OSHA standards you are required to change the wire rope once you have 12 randomly distributed broken wires in one lay or 6 broken wires in one strand of one lay.

·         What is a wire rope lay? A lay is the distance it takes for the wire rope to make a complete revolution around the core of the wire rope. In California by CALOSHA standards you are only allowed 6 randomly distributed broken wires in one pay or 3 broken wires in one strand of one lay.

There is no point doing an overhead crane inspection if it is not going to be accurate. To ensure you’re getting an accurate inspection you need to ensure that you are creating a culture that takes inspections to a higher level, you need to continually provide training for

 all personnel who will be inspecting the overhead cranes. Start with something during all your safety meetings about one overhead crane component. This will help create a culture of mindful inspectors. At the same time if your information is new and pertinent then it will also keep your inspectors up to date on all the new codes and regulations.

What do you feel gets missed the most on overhead crane inspections?

What is a good way to keep your inspector from preventing these mistakes?

As a crane owner what do you expect from your inspection company and how do you know your getting a good inspection?

Understanding the Wire Rope The most important component of your crane is your wire rope. Therefore it is vital for you to understand the construction of a wire rope. If you know how your wire rope is made then you can properly inspect, and maintain it. It is easy to inspect if you know how to do it and what to look for. A wire rope is like a machine with all its components and make up. Here we will only cover the main points of a wire rope that will help you care for your wire rope. There are three main components of your wire rope. First you have your core (d). Your core is then surrounded by tiny strands (F) made up of several wires (E). When you’re inspecting your wire rope you do not need to rag the rope. Rag, is terminology that means to take a rag and wrap it around the wire rope and then operate the hoist so the wire rope feeds through the rag. This is left for the professional inspector to do. This can be dangerous if you have not done this before. The rag can tear out of your hands and you have the potential to cut your hand on a bad wire rope or even worse pull a body part into the drum of the hoist. DO NOT RAG YOUR WIRE ROPE. Save it for the professionals.

Per CALOSHA standards you should change your wire rope when you have 6 randomly distributed wires in one lay or 3 broken wires in one strand.

Another vital piece of information that you should know is how a wire rope is classified. Most wire ropes you will see on overhead cranes are 6X37. This means that it has 6 strands, and 37 wires per strand. The wires can fluctuate per strand and still be classified as a 6X37. According to Southwest Wire Rope it can typically run from 27 to 49 wires. There are several different classifications such as 6X19 which is the next classification down from 6X37 or even 6X61 which is the next classification up from 6X37. A wire rope is also classified based on the lay of the wire rope. A wire rope is either a right lay wire rope or a left lay wire rope. You can tell this by taking hand a grabbing the wire rope. If you take your left hand and wrap your hand around the wire rope and the strands are going in the same direction as your thumb then it is a right lay rope. Same as if you take your right hand and wrap it around the wire rope, if you’re the strands go in the same direction as your thumb then it is a left hand lay wire rope. When you order your wire rope you should be purchasing an OEM wire rope from your crane parts supplier. For your own information it is important to understand the types of lays in your wire rope. Most cranes will have regular lay wire ropes. However there are circumstances that you will find other types of wire ropes on your crane. If you look at a regular lay wire rope the wires are almost perpendicular from the lay of the wire rope. However on a Lang Lay the wires are going along the same pattern as the lay of the wire rope. Please see the below picture provided from tpub.com. They also list another type of lay which they call a reverse lay. I am more familiar with the term alternate lay. An alternate lay is when the wire rope switches back and forth from regular lay on one strand to Lang lay on the next strand. Again you will mostly be seeing regular lays on overhead cranes. It is good to know though that there are different types of lays of a wire rope. The core of the wire rope will either be made up of a fiber or it is made up of steel. If it is a fiber core it is listed as a FC. If it is a steel core then it is classified as an IWRC. There are benefits to both types of cores. A fiber core is more flexible and a steel core is stronger than the fiber core. It all depends on the use of the wire rope that would require a FC or a IWRC wire rope. Most cranes will have a IWRC unless it is a class A crane. Lastly you should familiarize yourself with lubricating your wire rope. Wire rope requires a periodic lubrication. The frequency is dependent upon the use of the crane, location of the crane, and the lubrication being used on the crane. You should be using a pliable type of lubricant. Do not use anything that dries on the wire rope. This does not allow for the entire wire rope to be covered in lube. You want to use a lube with a thick viscosity so it will reduce friction on the sheaves and drum, but not too thick that it does not get in between the strands of the wire rope. Most hoist manuals will tell you what type of lubricant to use on your equipment. It is best to follow the OEM guidelines. If you have a crane company working on your crane they will be using OEM lubricants on most crane components, however they may have a lubricant that they use for your type of wire rope. If you understand the above, you should go to your crane and see if you can tell what kind of wire rope you have and if it is lubricated or not. Ensure that the wire rope is being checked each shift before use, every month, quarterly, and annually. This of course is dependent upon frequency of use. Remember not all wire ropes are the same, and you cannot put any wire rope on a hoist. It has to be specified by the manufacturer. Now you understand the makeup of a wire rope and can properly identify a wire rope and you should when to change them. This will make your crane safer and more reliable.