Choosing an Overhead Crane Service Company

When you’re deciding who you want to service your cranes how do you decide? Do you go with just who you know? What about the cheapest price? Perhaps you decide by who manufactured your crane? There are many reasons why companies pick a vendor to service their overhead cranes. Hopefully your reasons are the right ones.

When choosing an overhead crane service company you want to look for five major points to ensure a successful partnership.

Personnel

Does the company have enough people to service your facility?

You will need a company that has enough personnel to inspect your equipment, and repair when needed. Most importantly you will have breakdowns throughout the life of your equipment. Does the Service Company have the ability to service your facility during an emergency? What is there response time? Do they have enough people to service all their customers and you in an emergency? If you have a company that cannot get there the same day then you have the wrong company. 

Are they properly trained to work on your equipment?

Ask your service company what kind of training they provide for their technicians and inspectors.  You will want to make sure that they are fully trained with your equipment that is in your facility. Someone untrained in your equipment will lead to increased troubleshooting cost, and misdiagnosis that could lead to thousands of dollars of unneeded repairs, and further damage to your equipment costing even more in expensive downtime. When asking about training you should also be asking what kind of safety training program they have for the people that go on your site. You will want the service technicians, inspectors, and even sales representatives to work in a culture of safety. This will reduce the chances of an accident occurring in your facility.

Consultation and Solutions

Does your service company provide any other services besides just a crane technician for your repairs, or perhaps they provide a salesman that pushes things down your throat that you have no idea if you really need it? You should be looking for not just a service company but a consultant, a partner. Typical service companies with just quote for you, a true consultant will offer you solutions. Find a company that offers free consultations; a company that will come in a sit with you and be willing to partner with you. Find a company that will take the time to sit down and discuss your needs. One that will go over any issue and provide multiple solutions so you can decide what the best decision overall is for your facility. Consultants will also come in and discuss issues to help provide a successful partnership. They would discuss with you crane regulations, crane operator safety, crane technology, and modernization capabilities of your equipment.  A consultant will often check up on you just to see how your operation is running. If you do not have this currently with your service company then you do not have a successful partnership.

Parts and Equipment

How soon can you get parts from your service company? Do they stock parts?  Do they have resources to get hard to find parts? Are they the OEM? Do they have the ability to re-engineer hard to find parts? Are they a distributor or a manufacturer? Typically if you have a manufacturer for a service provider, you will save on new equipment, and time resourcing equipment and spare parts. Pick a company that has stocked parts or a parts department. A good service provider understands the importance of getting your parts as soon as possible. Typically when you need parts, delivery time is very important. You do not have the time to wait for a service provider to find the right part for you. Pick a service provider that will take the time to create a recommended parts list for you. Keeping spare parts on hand will help you when spare parts cannot be resourced in a timely manner.

Technology

In today’s world, technology capability is just as important as technology capabilities from your cable provider or mobile phone provider. Without it you are limiting yourself to the resources that are out there to make you and your equipment more efficient and reliable. What if you could get a text message sent to your phone every time your crane picked up over capacity, or if the motors were overheating? Would this be helpful to you? This type of technology is out there and ready for you to use. You just need to partner yourself with a company that has the resources to offer you tomorrow’s technology today.

Insurance

Insurance is something that is often overlooked when companies pick a vendor for their crane servicing. It is still very important to ensure you have an insured company working on your premises. Crane servicing has a huge liability as you can imagine. If you choose the wrong company and an accident happens on site and the company is not insured, it could be very costly. Ask to be listed as additionally insured and get a copy of their Certificate of Liability prior to signing any contract. They should have more than just general liability insurance. Check for Automotive, Umbrella, and Workers Compensation.

When you pick a service company you are also picking a partner in your business whose job is to help you maximize your production, keep your facility safe for your employees, maximize your equipment life, and keep your equipment in compliance of federal and local regulations. Just because you have a crane service company in your facility, it does not mean they are meeting all these needs of yours. Ask the questions to make sure you have made the right decision with the company you have chosen to work on one of the most important pieces of machinery in your facility.

Can You Hoist a Below The Hook Device Over a Person’s Head?

Think about it. If the crane has no load except the below the hook device are you allowed to lift it and transport it with an overhead crane over someone’s head? I am hoping your answer is “no” because that is the correct answer. People will try to argue this on many levels but you are never allowed to lift any load over someone’s head. I will visit customers and I am amazed at what I often see. Loads are continually lifted over personnel’s heads, and because no one has ever gotten hurt they continue to do so. Is that what it takes to get people to not do something they really shouldn’t be doing? I truly think OSHA needs to spend more time visiting facilities in the general industry and monitor their operation.

In 2007 OSHA wrote an interpretation letter specifically regarding this issue.  Never is there a time when it is ok to lift something over someone’s head. This letter refers back to OSHA’s regulation 1910.179 (n)(3)(vi) which states, The employer shall require that the operator avoid carrying loads over people. It is the employer’s responsibility to ensure that loads are not carried over someone’s head.

However, because of how this regulation is written, many people will argue that it is ok to carry an empty below the hook device over someone’s head because it is part of the crane. Again this is incorrect. OSHA defines a load as, the total superimposed weight on the load block or hook. Therefore anything below the hook is considered part of the load. This would include slings, spreader beams, scales, magnets, e.t.c.

Talk to your overhead crane service provider about your production process to ensure you are staying within the regulations that have been set in place to keep crane operators safe. Your service provider should be a team member of your production and maintenance staff. Get them involved and see how they can help you today.

What Three Questions Should You Be Asking Yourself Regarding The Oil In Your Overhead Crane?

After writing my last post regarding items overlooked on inspections, it occurred to me that there was an item that no one ever mentioned. Oil. I am not referring to the oil level. This is something that is rarely overlooked. I am talking about two factors: The type of oil that gets put into the gearboxes on overhead cranes, and the length of time that oil has been in the gear-case.  

To keep your crane running efficiently you should be asking yourself these three questions regarding your crane’s oil….

1.         How do I know I have the right oil in my crane’s gear-case?
2.        What can happen to my crane if I have the wrong oil in my crane’s gear-case?
3.          Is the oil in my crane’s gear-case still good?

Time and time again I have seen 80/90 weight oil put into gear-cases regardless of what the manufacturer is recommending. 80/90 weight is not a “general lub all” lubricant. There is no such a thing. The confusion of what type of oil to put in a gear-case is caused by the misunderstanding of the oil weight and what it really means. Viscosity is the thickness of oil. The smaller the number the thinner the oil is.  So the thicker it is the less resistant it is to flow. This is why it is so important to have the correct gear oil in your gear-box. Gear-case oil is thicker than your auto transmission oil to give it more protection and the resistant flow is not required to be as low as your car’s transmission. Gear-case oil typically will have additives as well. This will allow for extreme pressure, anti-wear, anti-rusting, demulsibility, or foam resistance. It is also important to know that gear oil is rated by the API (American Petroleum Institute), and motor oil is not, therefore are not comparable.

How do I know I have the right oil in my gear-case?

Depending on the gearing of your crane it is going to require a specific type of oil. Your crane has a recommended viscosity level of your oil to keep the gearing protected and cool.  The type of oil is going to be dependent upon the operating temperature of the gears, the gear speeds, the gear-box pressure, loads, containability , and the type of gearing. Your crane’s owner’s manual should tell you what the required oil is for the gear-boxes. Do not assume that every gear-box on your crane takes the same oil either. This is typically not the case. The hoist gear-box will more than likely take different oil than the bridge gear-case. If you are unsure of the oil type than contact your overhead crane service company and they should be able to provide you with the appropriate type. If the crane’s manufacturer cannot be found and not enough information can be provided to the service company to get the recommended oil then you will need to read the AGMA (American GearManufacturers Association) standard specifications and get an appropriate viscosity level for your gear-box. It is important to note as well that the manufacturers requirement for gear-case oil is specified based on a normal ambient temperature, and operating conditions. If the crane is being used outside these parameters it is possible that you do not have the correct oil even though you are using what is specified for your crane. If this is the case, you will then have to refer back to AGMA standards and pick the most suitable oil grade for your crane.

What happens if you have the wrong oil in your gear-case?

Depending on the oil viscosity is too high or too low you could have several different problems. Both can cause overheating which is the number one sign of the wrong oil. You can also get foaming of the oil that can also cause major oil leaks and severe damage to various components. Excessive noise from the gear-case could also be from the wrong lubrication. During a routine inspection, the overhead crane inspector will check for adequate oil level, and will inspect the gear-case breather. The breather is important because the oil will expand and constrict with the operating temperature. If the breather is clogged, it can blow out the seals on the gear-case. A preventive maintenance program on your overhead cranes can help prevent contamination accumulating in your gear-case. Oil samples on an annual basis is also help see the quality of your oil without the high cost of a gear-case inspection.

Is the oil in my gear-case still good?

 The average shelf life of oil is about 5 years, some oil manufacturers state that their oil is only good for as little as two years. Just because you have oil right out of the barrel, it does not mean that it is good oil. Ask your overhead crane service provider how they store their oil. If they have no method of rotating its stock, or knowing what the shelf life is then you may want to consider who you have servicing your crane.  The average recommended gear-case inspection is recommended every four years. If you haven’t had your gear-case inspected then now is a good time to get it scheduled. The gear-case inspection is very important because not only does it get fresh oil in the gear-case, your internal components will be inspected. It is the only way of knowing if you have any wear. This is where your load brake is on most hoists so it is a vital inspection. If you are changing the oil yourself you should do it when the oil is warm. The gear-case should also be flushed out with flushing oil. When you add the recommended oil you should keep the drain plug off. If the gear-case is running loud, you may have the wrong type of oil or contaminated lubricant. Contaminated lubricant is typically caused by water or dirt getting into the gear-case causing corrosion, and foaming which will deteriorate the oil. This will restrict the amount of oil to the gears and cause gar and bearing wear. Water can get into a gear-case simply through condensation, or moisture.  Other issues could be gear and bearing wear or failure. This is where an annual oil sample will be able to tell if any contaminates are present in the gear-case. These tests also check for metal fragments so you can tell if you are getting wear on your gearing. 

Conclusion

No two oils are the same and just because you have the correct oil in your gear-case it does not mean it is still good if it has been in that gear-case for years. The correct fresh oil is vital to preventing wear on your crane’s gearing, clutches, and load brakes. Take annual samples of the gear-case to inspect for wear, and contamination. Conduct periodic gear-case inspections (typically every 4 years) according to the manufacturer’s recommendation. A preventive maintenance program on your overhead cranes will add a longer life to your equipment and keep them running safe. 

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?

Konecranes AIRGO Lunch & Learn Thursday April 26th

You're invited to this one time only event! 

Come and see one of the newest Konecranes products!

 

The Konecranes AIRGO

If you missed the WESTEC trade show then now is your chance to see it again!

Move any load up to 350 kilos feels almost weightless as you move it to where you need it. Air balancing equipment is excellent for assembly processes, repair, and industrial production tasks in many industries,including manufacturing, solar energy, automotive, railroad, aviation, healthcare, and food.

When: Thursday, April 26^th 2012 from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM

Where: Konecranes Shop  10310-2 PioneerBlvd, Santa Fe Springs CA

What: See the new Airgo fully assembled with moveable base, and get some hands on use of the air balancer, when you are done grab a free lunch!

R.S.V.P by Wednesday April 25^th Noon


Just send email to Matt Tallman with the company name and number of people attending!

Matthew.Tallman@Konecranes.com

Konecranes airbalancers and manipulators offer a wide range of standard and optional features for lifting control. With the high-precision BaseLoad feature, attached grabs of any weight are always kept floating and balanced. This visualization shows the functional difference of a pick and place application, first without and then with BaseLoad feature. 

Konecranes recommends using the BaseLoad feature when a grab has to be attached sideways to a load or if a sensitive load cannot suspend the dead weight of the grab

Bridge Cranes and Hoist Duty Cycles by Guest Blogger Richard Wehrmeister

This week is The LeCrane Chronicles first Bi-Monthly! I want to start the first one with a highly reputable guest blogger. This month I am pleased to have a post from Richard Wehrmeister. Mr. Wehrmeister is the General Manager of AdvancedOverhead Crane out of Houston Texas. Advanced Overhead Crane has been in busy for many years and is highly respected in the Texas area.

I was scrolling through my LinkedIn groups the other day and I came across this post regarding the duty cycles of electric motors. I had thought this gentleman had brought up a good point. Why won’t bridge crane manufacturers label their cranes with the designed duty cycle? Just because you have a H4 duty bridge motors does not mean your trolley is H4 or the duty cycle of the crane itself an H4 rated crane system. It would be beneficial to know what the crane was designed for regardless of the duty cycle of each individual motor on the crane. The hoisting mechanism is an integral part of the crane. Therefore the duty cycle of the hoist should be the same for the crane correct? You would think so, however this is not always the case. So if the manufacture labeled the crane with an overall duty rating, it would help in the future of the crane with decisions for certain retro-fits, and also an increase of crane usage. Lets hear what Richard had to say about this topic…..

Bridge Crane and Hoist Duty Cycles by author: Richard Wehrmeister

For quite some time I have been an advocate of having all manufacturer’s adding the duty cycle designation to both the hoist and the bridge crane nameplate. My reasoning for this is it allows the bridge crane inspector to analyze the actual duty cycle as operated to the manufacturer’s designed duty cycle. It is not unusual to find equipment that is being used beyond the manufacturers designed duty cycle.

Situations that have come up:
• Equipment was sold for one application and over time the application changed to a more strenuous duty cycle.
• Equipment sold did not meet the application requirements from the start.

To give a couple of examples:
• A number of years back we sold a class C crane with a class H3 hoist. The crane was going to be used in a testing lab. The crane/hoist was only being used 3-4 times a day under capacity load. We were trying to save the customers a few dollars with the H3 hoist. Big mistake, after a couple of years the lab was gone and the crane/hoist became a production crane/hoist. While the crane is working trouble free for the operation the H3 hoist would not hold up. In other words the hoist had on going problems with both the mechanical load brake and the hoist motor brake up until we change out the hoist to a H4 classification.
• Not long ago we were asked for a second opinion involving a hoist. When looking at the hoist from the floor, I remarked that it looked like a brand new hoist with the gear cover off. The customer said that the hoist was a few weeks old. I started to question the customer about the application and I noticed a very large lifting magnet sitting at the other end of the shop and looking back up at the hoist I saw a cord reel. Of course my question to the owner was how often did they use the magnet and did they leave the magnet hanging on the hook during a normal shift. This magnet was about the size of a scrap yard magnet and for those of you familiar, they are very heavy. Once I received my answer I told him that the hoist would not work in this application unless he wanted to rebuild the mechanical load brake every few weeks. He was upset and of course I asked him if he addressed the hoist application with the supplier before ordering the hoist. Note: The lifting magnet far exceeded the maximum weight requirements allowed by the manufacturer for a below the hook device on this particular hoist.

The duty service classifications for hoists are listed In ASME HST Performance Standards. ASME lists five duty classifications H1, H2, H3, H4 and H5.

The duty classifications for bridge cranes are listed In CMAA 70 and 74. CMAA lists six duty classifications A, B, C, D, E and F.

Both ASME and CMAA define each classification according to loading groups and the service conditions as close as possible, taking into account the speed, load and quantity of lifts in a time frame.
Getting back to my first paragraph I believe this is a topic that both ASME and CMAA should address when Regulations and Specifications become due for rewrite. A simple change to a name plate is a very small cost when we’re only talking about adding a couple digits to a name plate however the only way these changes can get done is to get more crane inspectors, manufacturers and associations involved in advocating change. You comments would be appreciated.

_________________________________________________

What do you think about this?
Do you feel that adding the duty rating to the crane will be a benefit for the manufacturer or owner? 
Please share your thoughts on this subject.

_________________________________________________

Calvin LeClair is a representative of Koneranes, A global overhead crane and hoist service company and manufacturer.

Your Overhead Crane Inspection Report

Often when I go and visit prospects, or new customers I find one thing in common that they are all lacking. Paperwork. It typically doesn’t matter what competitor they are using, they rarely have sufficient paperwork that provides proof of inspections, and or proof of an inspection program that has been performed on a continuing basis. Typically they have several manila folders in a couple different places in their office that has a few service reports and other folders that have crane manuals at best. Then the actual report for the inspection sometimes cannot even be found. If it can, many times it is incomplete, or it is not comprehensive enough to even tell you what the inspector inspected on the crane. A pass or fail for an inspection is just not enough to inform you of your crane issues nor will it keep you compliant. An established paper trail will prevent huge OSHA fines if any accidents were to happen. Companies are fined after major accidents and if they had a paper trail showing they were taking the necessary steps to stay in compliance and keep their facility safe for their workers then the fines would have been nothing near what they received. Let me give you a couple examples of OSHA fines and then I will talk about what is out there on the market for your inspection paperwork.

The first two examples are from an OSHA inspection sweep that was conducted on several companies that had a track record for injured employees. The last one was from a company that had a bad track record of accidents as well but the inspection was conducted because of a related accident.

1. Last year a steel fab shop in Alabama was targeted for an OSHA inspection, not because they had an accident, but because they were targeted for having a higher than average injury and illness rate. They found several serious violations during this walkthrough. Fines totaled $48,510.00. Two of the fines were crane related. They had no inspection records, and someone had welded the hook and no load test was ever conducted.

2. In September of last year Stowe Woodward was fined for similar violations with the same consequences. $49,000 in fines. No frequent crane inspections were ever performed. This is a place that had machinery related fatalities in 1999 and in 2005. I can’t believe after a history like that, a company would not take safety as their number one priority.

3.One of the biggest fines I have ever seen was in Michigan at V&S Detroit Galvanizing in 2009. They were fined a total of $245,000. What struck me was that many were crane related. A $70,000 penalty was charged for moving a rack with a crane over the head of a maintenance employee. Another 70k penalty was charged when the inspector saw the same thing again, only this time they were moving the rack over the employees who were loading the racks below. They were penalized for two additional crane violations, a $7,000 fine for not having an audible warning device on overhead cranes and a $7,000 fine for not performing daily and periodic inspection of overhead cranes.These were all numerous violations that can be found in the state of Michigan’s General Industry Safety Standard, Part 18, Overhead and Gantry Cranes. You can read on more OSHA fines and enforcement information at http://www.osha.gov/dep/index.html.

Go back and look at your inspection paperwork and ask yourself these ten questions..

1. Was it easy to find?
2. Is it up to date?
3. Does it include all your hoisting equipment in your facility?
4. Do you understand the discrepancies?
5. Do you know what your safety items are?
6. Do you know what crane components were inspected?
7. Do you know what crane components were not inspected?
8. Do you know what the priorities are of the discrepancies found?
9. Do you know if any of those items were repaired?
10. Do you know the investment involved to repair those items?

So, how did you do? Are you comfortable with the reports you currently have? If you answered yes to all ten questions then you have an inspection report that far surpasses most in the industry. You are one step ahead and are taking the necessary steps to keep your employees safe and your company in compliance. Great Job!

If you answered “no” to several of these questions then please take a look at what is available to you from Konecranes. The Konecranes MAINMAN inspection report  is comprehensive and not only will you be able to answer yes to all these questions, you will have much more. With the MAINMAN maintenance report, you will have….

1. A complete equipment list of all your overhead cranes.

2. A condition summary where Konecranes will rate your overhead cranes on a scale from zero to a hundred so you know which cranes should be focused on during the repair process.

3. The MAINMAN will take that one step further and will create a Planning Overview. This will list how many components were inspected on each overhead crane or hoist. The report will then list out of those components, how many had safety related issues, and how many had production issues. This is a great report that will help you organize your repairs once the inspection has been completed.

4. A Work Order follows that list all discrepancies by priority and the condition of each component. This is also the sheet that the crane technician will sign off once the repair of the component has been completed. This will be an important tool for you to tell which component has been repaired and which one still needs to be scheduled.

5. In the Quote section you will get an itemized quote that list the cost for labor and parts for each component requiring repair or replacement.

6. Business Review is provided annually or upon request to show you to total annual investment. This is like a report card. This will help gauge our partnership ensuring that your overhead crane investment is being invested in the right way. Expenses are broken down by inspections, repairs, breakdowns, modernizations, new equipment, training, safety deficiencies, and an equipment score for each piece of equipment. This helps optimize the maintenance schedule reducing your overall investment.

7. Last will be the Condition Detail. This section list every component inspected on your crane regardless of the condition. It is color coded for easy glance so you can just go to the components that have an issue. This section also satisfies your requirements from OSHA keeping you in compliance.

All of these pages come bound together so the pages do not get lost and there is no need for various folders. You will get one book for every annual and quarterly inspection. The quarterly inspection booklet is not as in depth as the annual but still will list the vital information. This information will also all be provided on the Konecranes website MyCrane.com.

When choosing your overhead crane inspection company ask about their inspection paperwork. Make sure you know what you are getting for proof of inspection. These reports are vital to keeping you compliant and your employees safe.

So, what kind of inspection paperwork do you have for your overhead cranes? Are you comfortable with what you have? What would you like to see in your inspection paperwork?