You’re using an overhead crane to move a few heavy tools from one place to another in your facility. Suddenly one of the objects slips out of the sling and falls to the ground below.
Luckily, none of your employees were hurt — this time. Overhead cranes are an easy and effective way of moving items throughout your facility, but if you don’t take the correct safety precautions, using them could end in disaster.
Safety needs to be your top priority no matter what machinery you’re using. To help you keep your workplace safe for everyone, here are three critical overhead crane safety tips.
1. The Hoists Need to be Maintained
The quickest way to experience disaster when using overhead cranes is neglecting to maintain your hoists. Without regular testing, you’ll never know how much weight your hoists can take at one time.
It’s also a known fact that machines get old. Moving parts do wear out after a while. Without maintenance, you won’t be aware when these parts start breaking down.
To avoid danger, take care of your machines and get them checked regularly.
2. The Slings or Attachments Should be Secured
A lot of accidents involving overhead cranes could have been avoided if the slings had been appropriately secured. When you fail to make sure everything is secure, the heavy items could slip out and go crashing to the ground. You can only guess what happens if there were a bunch of employees in the way.
Some hoists use a hooked latch. If you don’t close it all the way, the items can slip out like in the example above. While you’re at it, make sure any other attachments for the hoist are appropriately sized and are nice and secure on the hook saddle.
3. Notify Your Employees of the Possible Risk
The easiest thing that you can do to avoid risk is to keep your employees informed of the danger at all times. Place “hoist danger” signs around the area, so that workers are aware that lifts are swinging above their heads.
Training is also essential. All employees should be aware of necessary safety procedures like not walking under a full load. The employees in charge of operating the crane should know not to hover heavy items over the workers on the ground.
Overhead Crane Safety Tips to Keep in Mind During Every Job
While using an overhead crane to transport heavy items in your facility can be convenient, it can also be dangerous if done incorrectly. Use these safety tips to keep yourself and your employees aware so that you can avoid disaster in your workplace.
Part of keeping your employees safe is making sure all your machine parts are up to date. Contact us to ask us questions about our products or request a quote!