Fatalities or serious injuries can occur if overhead cranes are not inspected and properly used. Fatalities may occur when workers are struck by a load, or pinched between the load and another object. The following are some safety tips for overhead crane operators to follow while operating the crane and moving the load.
•Do not engage in any activity that will divert your attention.
•Do not lift, lower, or transport a load with the crane or hoist until all personnel are clear of the load and the load’s path.
• Verify that the load, crane and hoist will clear all obstacles before moving or rotating the load.
•Do not move loads over personnel.
•Do not lift, lower, or transport personnel by means of the crane, hoist, trolley, hoist hook, or load.
• Slowly inch the hook into engagement with the load to eliminate wire rope slack and reduce impact loading of the crane and hoist.
• Avoid unnecessary inching and quick reversals of direction.
• Lift the load only a few inches to verify that the hoist braking system is functioning properly before continuing with the lift.
• Avoid swinging of the load or hoist hook when the bridge trolley or hoist is traveling.
• Avoid sharp contact between trolleys or between trolleys and stops.
•Do not use the primary upper limit device as an operating limit. Use other operational limits if they are available.
•Do not lower the load beyond the point where less than two wraps of wire rope remain at each anchorage on the drum, unless a lower limit device is provided, in which case no less than one wrap of wire rope shall remain at each anchorage on the drum.
• Activate the manual warning device (if provided) before starting the bridge or trolley travel motion of the crane and intermittently during travel of the crane when approaching people in the travel path of the load.
• Verbally warn people before starting the bridge or trolley travel motion of a floor-operated crane that does not have a warning device that may be positioned in the load’s travel path and during travel of the crane when approaching people in the load’s travel path.
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