Factors that Affect Crane Weakness and Why Preventive Maintenance is Necessary

29 March 2017

Massive alloyed parts form super-dense crane backbones. Admittedly, cranes are rated to carry such unwieldy cargos, so they’re built out of forged carbon steel materials, base parts that are heat treated to ensure indefatigable strength. Still, regular usage problems arise, as do the accidents that undermine this durable backbone. Here’s a chance to question the factors that affect crane weakness so that a preventative maintenance strategy gains focus.

Analysing Causative Factors

An unused crane retains its structural strength forever. However, what’s the point of hiring a crane if it’s not gainfully employed? As it’s put to work, stresses are placed on solid boom joints and lattice sections. The cable drum and its multithreaded steel cable encounter the same loading stresses. Viewed as a single incident, structural damage is unlikely. It’s when the jobs accumulate that the reliable frame experiences metal fatigue. In plain talk, the crane’s metal boom, its entire lifting frame, is impacted by the may lift projects. Even the weather gangs up on potential weak spots. Acid rain and salt air have their way with the hardened metal. Finally, accidents are part of a working crane’s operational life. Typically, they’re small, almost inconsequential incidents, but they can never be ignored, not when the accumulation effect magnifies every tiny knock until the hire equipment is no longer a reliable lift asset.

Hiring Reliable Cranes

A preventative maintenance policy is very relevant if the equipment is part of a hire fleet. Who knows what’s happening to the vehicle as it leaves the premises? Natural wear-and-tear is all very well, but those occasional knocks can be hard to detect if the toughened alloy hides the damage. The only way to absolutely guard against concealed parts weakness in this densely packaged equipment is to carry out a planned maintenance routine. Cracks in weld joints, breaks in a lattice frame, or metal fatigue in a solid telescoping boom, all of these potentially catastrophic vulnerable regions must be identified. Only when the defects are discovered, documented, and corrected, can the crane return to service.

There’s a damage threshold that holds firm on cranes. Essentially, if the metal fatigue, accident damage, or weathering has gone too far, then the equipment must be deemed unserviceable. With this fact firmly in mind, the importance of a structurally biased preventative maintenance program is self-evident. The planned inspection checks the gear for normal wear-and-tear and all conceivable metal fatiguing issues that could exist beyond the boundaries of the hire yard. In initiating this affirmative action, the strong backbone of the crane receives attention before it’s structurally compromised.