How to Make Your Rented Cranes Productive and Safe

09 February 2022

When it comes to the movement of heavy loads across a project site, they would surely maximise the capabilities of cranes. Cranes are machines that can hoist, lift, and lower different materials, objects, and others, which are activities typically done in the construction industry.

What is great about cranes is that they can handle almost all types of loads. However, they can be expensive to purchase. Contractors, therefore, opt for crane hires as they are generally cheaper than buying cranes. Crane hires are likewise more advantageous for contractors as they may come in trained and reputable operators. Crane hires can also save contractors time and energy since the cleaning, maintenance, and storage of the cranes are already carried out by the crane hire companies.

Contractors, however, are still responsible for maximising the productivity of cranes, especially during dry crane hires. If you will be hiring some cranes for your project, then here are some things that you can do to make their operations productive and safe.

Follow the Safe Working Load

One of the things that you should do to make your rented cranes productive and safe is to follow the Safe Working Load (SWL). Rented cranes can only be effective in carrying out their functions if they are utilised properly. Checking their SWL, for instance, should be done so that professionals on-site will know the maximum safe force they can exert during lifting and lowering operations without expecting breakage. Manufacturers would often mark SWL on the cranes.

Check the Lifting Equipment

Another thing to make your crane productive and safe is to check its overall condition. From the lifting equipment to the crane components, everything should be checked entirely to prevent them from becoming faulty in the middle of the operations. If you will be renting mobile cranes, you must check the tyres and ensure that they have correct fluid levels. The limit switches and emergency stop controls must also be tested to verify that every component of your rented cranes can work.

Evaluate the Project Location

The productivity and safety of cranes do not only depend on their components but can also be affected by the condition of your project site. Therefore, you must always evaluate your project location. Once you have verified the existence of overhead lines, then you must make sure that your rented cranes will slow down and leave extra clearance during operations. As for unstable roads, you must make sure that the cranes will be set up appropriately to prevent damaging structures or injuring people.

Conduct the Crane Operations

Once the SWL, lifting equipment, and the project location have been checked and assessed, you can now conduct the crane operations upon attaching and balancing the load securely. During crane operations, a suspended load should never be left unattended. The load should also be pushed as pulling it might only make everything imbalanced. People on-site, alternatively, should pay attention to their surroundings and should never walk under a load.

Following these things can ensure that your rented cranes will be productive and safe. To hire a crane for your project, you can call us at Sharp Welding and Crane Hire.