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SAFETY FIRST . . . ALWAYS
SAFETY FIRST . . . AL
MAJOR INSPECTION OF CRANES – GUIDANCE
Purpose and Scope
This Guidance Note provides guidance on the major inspections of cranes to assess their suitability for continued safe operation.
Background
Regulation 708(1) of the Occupational Health & Safety (Plant) Regulations 1995 (‘Plant Regulations’) requires employers to ensure that plant is maintained to eliminate or reduce risk, so far as is practicable; and that the plant is inspected to ensure that the risk associated with the plant is monitored.
Crane owners or other persons in control of a crane must undertake the hazard identification, risk assessment and risk control process in compliance with the Plant Regulations. Where manufacturers specifications are available this process must still be undertaken in order to ensure the maintenance requirements specified by the manufacturer are adequate and that nothing has been omitted.
The Code of Practice for Plant (No. 19), clause 21.4, states, in part, that “published technical standards should be used as a starting point to help control risks”. The accompanying table of published technical standards includes the AS 2550 Cranes, hoists & winches - Safe use suite of Australian Standards. In particular, section 7 of AS 2550.1 Cranes, hoists and winches - Safe use, Part 1: “General requirements”, provides guidance on the maintenance, inspection and repair of cranes. AS 2550.4 and AS 2550.5 provide further guidance on the maintenance of tower cranes and mobile cranes respectively. The standards specify major inspections of cranes as a significant component of a well-structured preventative maintenance program – and necessary to enable proper assessment for continued safe operation. Such an assessment is a critical part of any strategy to control the risks (i.e. likelihood) of failure or malfunction of the crane.
(Note: Any reference to AS 2550.1 in this document is to be also read as a reference to the other relevant parts of AS 2550.) Maintenance Factors
The type of maintenance carried out on cranes and the length of time between maintenance should be determined after considering the following factors where known:
• Manufacturer’s recommendations or the recommendations of a competent person.
• Recommendations from published technical standards.
• Number of hours of operation and the type of loading the unit undergoes.
• The time spent in transit (oscillating loads applied during transit can increase the fatigue of a crane).
• Whether the unit is under the control of the owner or is hired out (units that are hired out generally require higher
levels of maintenance due to more severe use).
• Conditions in which the crane operates − in a corrosive or wet environment, or in abrasive conditions.
• Age and history of the unit.
• Special consideration of parts of the crane that may be prone to failure or high wear – the manufacturer,
Note:
supplier, authorised repairer, or a competent person may provide information on parts which need to be more frequently replaced.
The external visual appearance and the hours of operation of a crane may not be reliable indicators of crane wear and fatigue.
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