Crane Maintenance – Some Do””s and Don””ts

On Nov 30, 2013

Here are some do’s and don’ts for systematic maintenance and trouble free operation of Cranes:

Proper Usage:
At the time the crane is handed over to you by the manufacturer, ensure that you get from him a detailed Instruction Manual.. Ensure that the shift supervisors and crane operators are clearly aware of the do’s and don’ts of the crane operation.

Generally, you must take care of the following:

Lift the load vertically. Angular lifting, drqawing the load on the floor with the crane may cause damage to the wire rope, drum and the rope guide.
Ensure the load is absolutely off the floor. Before you start the cross of the long travel drive.
Ensure the hook does not cross its upper and lower limits during operation.
Ensure that the cross & long travel crabs & carriages do not strike the end stopper on the rails frequently during operation.
Ensure that never ever the crane is loaded greater than the rated capacity, and ensure the rated capacity is boldly indicated on the girder.
Ensure that the crane operator operates the crane from a distance away from the load and is in no case under the load.

Maintenance:
Ensure that you get from the manufacturer a suitable maintenance manual for the crane/hoist.
Before you carry out any maintenance, ensure:

There are two or more technicians depending upon the type of job.
Isolate power supply if power is transmitted using open conductor DSL system or if festoon cable system is provided, ensure one technician holds the push button station and disallows anyone to use the crane unless the technicians have repaired the crane.
Basic tool kit and the maintenance manual are carried by the technician on to the top of the crane. Frequent climbing up and down are not desired and may lead to accidents.
The Electrical panel is properly closed after carrying out the repair.

Preventive Maintenance:
The crane is periodically checked and looked in to ensure optimum, regular and trouble-free working. The crane, with its bulk being in motion, most times causes vibrations and hence loosening of fasteners and clamps of the components . This in turn causes misalignments and loose connections also can cause breakdown.

Following are some of the points to be checked:

Incorporate a periodic weekly, monthly, quarterly program for checking, repairing or replacing of components/lubricants. These may be decided depending on the frequency of operation and general observations made by the operators and the maintenance team.
Ensure a suitable and safe ladder or scaffolding is provided for the technicians to access the crane.
If access to components was not during the ordering, fabricate and erect a suitable platform with hand railing on either side of the shed.
Make a service report after every periodic check. This will help in isolating causes for chronic problems. Make the report easy for the technician to read(in local language if needed) and fill(give boxes for him to tick, instead of drafting difficult explanations).

Check Points:
All please check the following periodically:

No strand of wire rope should be cut or be jetting out from the total rope.
Gear boxes are grease/oil filled at all points
Limit switches at all limits are functioning properly
Rope suspended push button station is actually holding the weight of the push button station, instead of the push button cable doing this.
Clean carbon on contact. Use a suitable spray to periodically clean the contacts.
Setting in all the drives.

These and a lot more points can be incorporated in the check list including the operator and the maintenance team while formulating this list.

If the above points are taken care, the crane will give satisfactory and dependable performance for a long time to come.

(Courtesy: S. Crane Engg Works)