2011 Changes in ASME B.30.2

Last year ASME changed several parts of the B.30.2. Listening to potential clients has led me to believe that many crane companies are either unaware of the changes or are not making their personnel aware of these changes. I would like to think that the crane industry has a high level of integrity, and holds safety of crane operators as a number one priority. When I am out visiting potential customers and introducing Konecranes to them, I am astonished many times by what the competitor considers passing by their crane service provider. Because of this I wanted to make as many people as I could aware of the changes that went into effect in 2011 for the ASME B.30.2. The last time it was revised was in 2005.

Major changes have been added to the Chapter two sections for Inspections, and Testing. This section was revised for easier understanding and interpretation. Let’s just go over these changes. We will review them in order of the sections to keep this as simple as possible. This will also be a refresher for me since it has been awhile since I reviewed these changes.

1.13.3 Basic Controls (Figs 2-1.13.3-1 through 2-1.13.3-4) used during crane operating cycle shall be located within reach of the operator while at the operating station and labeled as to designated function and direction of movement. (The 2005 version simply stated that they had to be labeled.)

 2-1.14-3 This section they changed the terminology. It previously used the term minimum breaking strength. The new terminology is minimum breaking force. (a) The hoisting ropes shall be of a recommended construction for crane service. The total load (rated load plus weight of load block) divided by the number of parts of line shall not exceed 20% of the minimum breaking force of the rope. They also added this to the list of definitions. ASME defines minimum breaking force as the minimum load at which a new and unused wire rope will break when loaded to destruction in direct tension.

Chapter 2-2 Inspection, Testing, and Maintenance has been revised greatly. They re-titled the chapter Inspection and Testing. Under the inspection section they have added a section titled Initial Inspection. Inspection classification and Inspection records was removed and they have now made a section in the beginning of the chapter for General topics of Inspections and Testing. The Maintenance section has been completely removed. They are focusing only on inspections. The same goes for the Rope Inspection section. This section was revised by removing the sections for Rope Maintenance, and Rope Replacement.

 I think this is a good idea because it was too much information in once section and there really needs to be separate sections for inspections and maintenance since they are completely different. This allows for easier understanding and also easier to navigate the regulations. As far as I could tell I did not see any major changes, but just how they worded the same information. I completely agree with what ASME has done. Finding regulations on cranes is hard enough, and then when you have to interpret them as well it can be confusing with all the different information. It always seems that the information is scattered about and it is up to you to figure out what is important. Now it is a little easier because it is more organized in a way that keeps the reader focused on the issue instead of having to continually re-read and search for the right info. There still needs to be some form of training on these changes at least on an annual basis. Ask your crane service company about the overhead crane training that they provide to the technicians and inspectors that come to work on your equipment. You always want to make sure you have a company that invests in their own people. When you get that, you will always get a reliable person working on your equipment.