Page 6 - Crane and Rigging

Visual Inspection
Are there any tags on the crane?
A red DANGER: DO NOT OPERATE tag means go no further and
terminate the inspection. A certification tag on the hoist or crane means
check with your supervisor or maintenance department if you are not sure
about the certification.

Is there any obvious physical damage?
• Loose or missing parts
• Missing end stops at each end of a monorail, beam or runway. These stops prevent the trolley
from running off the beam or runway.
• Check the hoist chain or wire rope.
• Make sure it is not twisted, kinked or otherwise damaged.
• Make sure the wire rope is properly seated in its drum and sheave grooves without any slack or
overlapping and without lying across grove ridges.
• Know the location of the disconnect switch for the hoist or crane. It should cut power only to the
hoist or crane.
• Check the areas in which the crane will be operating. Make sure there are no obstructions in
the crane’s path.

Operational Tests
Operate the crane several feet in each direction it travels.
Listen for any unusual noises.
Look for jerky movements

• Check the control station.
• Make sure all buttons are labeled to indicate their function.
• Operate each button to make sure it functions properly and
does not stick.
• Make sure the UP button causes the hook to rise and the DOWN button causes the hook to
lower. If they don’t, do not use the hoist. Do not attempt to fix it by swapping wires in the
control station.
• Check the upper hoist limit switch by slowly raising the block
to trip the switch.

Lower the hoist block to activate the lower limit switch if the crane is
so equipped, leaving at least one turn of rope on the take-up drum.

If the crane has no lower limit switch, stop the block before it
contacts the floor, leaving at least two turns of rope on the drum.

Check the hook. It must have a safety latch that closes the throat of
the hook.

If the latch is bent, its spring broken or it is otherwise damaged, the latch must be replaced before the
hook can be used.

CAUTION:
NEVER INSTALL A LONGER LATCH ON A STRETCHED
HOOK. REPLACE THE HOOK.
Newer cranes come equipped with a safety latch hook designed to lock closed.

An ANSI (American National Standards Institute) warning tag listing many of the above checks should
be located on the control section of the lower block hook.

Overhead Crane and Rigging 6 Rev 3 November 2021