I saw a friend in the forum asking how to buy a used crane. From this, it occurred to me that besides being cheaper than a new crane, there might be other differences between the two. So I googled and found another article explaining the difference in the supply chain between new and used cranes. I am posting this article for your reference. I think that existence is reasonable. Although I am skeptical about buying second-hand cranes, I believe there must be a way to take into account both cheap and easy-to-use cranes.
Before we start, it's worthwhile pointing out that this is in no way meant to be a put down of the purchase of second hand cranes. When done correctly, purchasing a second hand crane is completely fine, so long as you are provided with all of the required documentation and that the supplier is actually doing everything that they should be from their side.
There are lots of reputable second hand crane suppliers out there, that without a doubt will supply you equipment that is technically correct and safe however like every industry, there’s companies who cut corners and don't have all of the required documentation to back up the equipment so you just need to be careful and do your due diligence before going ahead with a purchase.
The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) is established across the world as the leading trade association for all those involved in the lifting equipment industry and by using a Full LEEA member you can be confident that the equipment you are being supplied is compliant with current legislation.
You can check if your lifting equipment provider is a Full LEEA member by searching on the membership database.
In the section below, we've outlined the steps that are carried out when you purchase a new overhead crane from Hoist UK.
You'll notice that the steps are tailored so that we can ensure that you are getting a piece of equipment that is designed specifically to suit your application and that the necessary technical information and guidance is provided to ensure that there are no issues when it comes to the installation and commissioning of the crane on your site.
Now, this is where it gets a little more complicated as the requirements for the supply of a second hand crane completely depend on the circumstances of the supply.
For ease, we’ve split this into the following 3 categories:
Let’s say for example that a second hand crane and accompanying gantry steelwork have been purchased and removed from one customer’s location and is being re-supplied for installation at a new customer’s site.
If the equipment remains within its original operational parameters; (eg. the SWL, span, height of lift, hoisting and travel speeds all remain the same) and the crane was supplied after introduction of the Machinery Directive and is CE marked, then the supplier of this equipment can still use the original EC declaration of conformity.
The imposed load case on the supporting structure from the overhead crane and gantry steelwork should remain the same as the original supply however, if this information is not available additional design work may be required as this should be submitted so that the customer can validate that the floor is adequate for these loadings (generally this will be done by a structural engineer).
If the information is not available, then the second hand crane supplier will need to almost “reverse engineer” the crane design to find out crucial information such as spans, wheelbases, component weights, section sizes, steel grades etc. so that the required calculations can be carried out correctly.
Once installed at the new site/location, a thorough examination must be carried out by a competent person prior to the crane being allowed to re-enter service and as part of the test, a load test should be carried out.
Let’s say for example that a second hand crane and accompanying gantry steelwork have been purchased and removed from one customer’s location and is being re-supplied for installation at a new customer’s site. However, whilst some of the original parameters remain the same (eg. the SWL and the hoisting and travel speeds), modifications need to be carried out.
Like the previous example, the crane was supplied after introduction of the Machinery Directive and is CE marked.
The modifications could be one or more of the following:
Regulation 10 of PUWER requires the user to ensure that any item of work equipment that was first provided for use in the workplace after 5th December 1998 is designed and constructed in compliance with the EHSRs of the Machinery Directive relevant at time of supply. Even considering the modifications above the supplier may use the original EC Declaration and CE marking as evidence that the crane met the EHSR’s at time of supply. A new assessment against the EHSR’s is not required, however due to the modifications above the following additional documentation should be provided:
Like the previous example, the imposed load case on the supporting structure from the overhead crane and gantry steelwork should remain the same as the original supply however, if this information is not available or not valid anymore due to the modifications carried out, then additional design work may be required as this should be submitted so that the customer can validate that the floor is adequate for these loadings (generally this will be done by a structural engineer).
If the information is not available, then the second hand crane supplier will need to almost “reverse engineer” the crane design to find out crucial information such as spans, wheelbases, component weights, section sizes, steel grades etc. so that the required calculations can be carried out correctly.
Once installed at the new site/location, a thorough examination must be carried out by a competent person prior to the crane being allowed to re-enter service and as part of the test, a load test should be carried out.
Let’s say for example that a second hand crane and accompanying gantry steelwork have been purchased and removed from one customer’s location and is being re-supplied for installation at a new customer’s site. However, most of the original parameters have been changed.
Like the previous example, the crane was supplied after introduction of the Machinery Directive and is CE marked.
The modifications could be one or more of the following:
The modifications are such that the crane would now need to be considered as a new piece of equipment and therefore the original EC declaration of conformity is no longer valid. The second hand crane supplier is now classified as the manufacturer and as the crane needs to comply with the Machinery Directive, a new technical file should be prepared.
This should include an assessment against the Essential Health and Safety Requirements of the Machinery Directive and on completion an EC Declaration of Conformity should be prepared and placed in the technical file. The CE mark should be affixed, and the owner of the equipment be provided with a copy of the EC declaration.
The assessment must cover the whole design of the crane and should not be just limited to the parts affected by the modifications.
There are some additional questions that come with these sorts of modifications:
As you can see, there are so many unknown variables and by the time that all of these points are satisfied to the level of which they SHOULD be (through structural analysis and design validation), it would likely be more economical to just start from scratch with a PURPOSE BUILT CRANE for the specific application.
Unlike the previous examples, the imposed load case on the supporting structure from the overhead crane and gantry steelwork will completely differ from the original supply and therefore additional design work will be required as this should be submitted so that the customer can validate that the floor is adequate for these loadings (generally this will be done by a structural engineer).
Once installed at the new site/location, a thorough examination must be carried out by a competent person prior to the crane being allowed to re-enter service and as part of the test, a load test should be carried out.
You as the owner of the equipment are responsible for making sure you get a copy of the EC declaration of conformity for the new crane, from the person who is selling it to you. Not the documents from what appear to be the original manufacturer as they are no longer the manufacturer once the modifications have been carried out.
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