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Mobile Crane Inspection Guidelines 
for OSHA Compliance Officers

U.S. Department of Labor
Occupational Safety and Health Administration

June 1994


This information booklet is intended to provided a generic, nonexhaustive overview of a particular standards-related topic. This publication does not itself alter or determine compliance responsibilities, which are set forth in OSHA standards themselves and the Occupational Safety and Health Act. Moreover, because interpretations and enforcement policy may change over time, for additional guidance on OSHA compliance requirements, the reader should consult current administrative interpretations and decisions by the Occupational Safety and Health Review Commission and the courts.

Material contained in this publication is in the public domain and may be reproduced, fully or partially, without permission of the Federal Government. Source credit is requested by not required.

This information will be made available to sensory impaired individuals upon request.

Voice phone: (202) 219-8259;Telecommunications Device for the Deaf (TDD) message referral phone: 1-800-326-2577

 

This report was written by Anthony D. Brown

 


Mobile Crane Inspection Guidelines for OSHA Compliance Officers

U.S. Department of Labor
Robert B. Reich, Secretary

Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Joseph Dear, Assistant Secretary

Office of Construction and Engineering
Charles G. Culver, Director

June 1994

TABLE OF CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

ABSTRACT

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

1.0 INTRODUCTION

2.0 MOBILE CRANES

2.1 Lifting Principles

2.2 Operational Considerations

3.0 REQUIREMENTS FOR MOBILE CRANES

3.1 OSHA Construction Requirements

3.2 ASME/ANSI and PCSA Requirements

4.0 INSPECTING A MOBILE CRANE

4.1 Preinspection

4.2 Crane Setup

4.3 Electrical Hazards

4.4 Load Charts

4.5 Safe Operating Precautions

4.6 Inspection Types

4.7 Starting The Inspection

4.8 Specific Inspection Items and References

APPENDIX A - GENERAL TERMS AND DEFINITIONS

APPENDIX B - GENERAL LOAD CHARTS AND OPERATIONAL CONSIDERATIONS

APPENDIX C - BASIC CRANE COMPONENTS

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Staff from the OSHA National Office provided assistance in preparing this report. Mike Marshall and Chuck Hardesty, Office of Construction and Engineering; Ted Twardowski, Office of Construction and Civil Engineering Safety Standards provided initial information and reviewed comments; James Calvert, Engineer in Training, typed and edited the report, and developed charts, tables, and graphics for the report.   

William Smith, Director of Safety and Health, International Union of Operating Engineers; Richard Giacin, Administrator, Local 478, International Union of Operating Engineers, Meridan, CT.; and Scott Buck, Safety Director, Local 150, International Union of Operating Engineers, Plainfield, IL, contributed technical assistance, photographs and review comments throughout the project.   

Individual members of the ASME/ANSI B30 Committee, provided technical information, materials, pictures and continual review comments. Those members include:   

Paul Zorich, U.S. Department of the Navy and Chair of the B30 Committee; Theodore A. Christensen, Liberty Mutual Insurance Co; Bradley D. Closson, President, North American Crane Bureau, West; James J. Headley, President, Crane Institute of America, Inc.; Carson L. Huneycutt, Equipment Operations Manager, J.A. Jones, Inc.; Edward E. Rudy, U.S. Department of the Army; and Robert C. Wild, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.   

A special thanks to Leon (Skip) S. Johnson, American Equipment Company for his technical assistance and review comments and in acquiring photographs and video footage of a simulated crane inspection on a Flour Daniels, Inc., construction project in LA.   

Steve Peterson, Training Manager, American Crane Corporation, Dennis Eckstine, Director, Product Safety, Grove Corp., and Dan Wolff, Manager for Engineering, National Crane Corp. for review comments and technical assistance.   

Tom Kollins, Vice President, Specialized Carriers and Riggers Association, SC&RA, through the membership, provided assistance and initial evaluation of contents and format.  

 

ABSTRACT

This document provides background information about lifting principles and serves as a guideline for inspecting mobile construction cranes. The relationship of many components of cranes and their inter-dependence in lifting operations, OSHA requirements for proper maintenance schedules, and safe crane operations will be discussed in this document.

This document contains a listing and description of major components or operations to be considered or examined when inspecting lifting equipment. Two types of commonly used cranes, a crawler lattice boom crane and a hydraulic rough terrain crane, were selected as examples in developing these guidelines. Descriptive text and photographs illustrate 18 inspection items critical to most crane inspections.

 

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

OSHA compliance officers, project safety and health managers, and insurance inspectors are often required to inspect construction cranes. Inspections normally include lengthy checklists that identify mechanical components and maintenance schedules without adequate descriptions or explanations, pertinent to the relationship between these components and the crane's overall function. Although some crane inspection checklist items are self-explanatory, it must be recognized that due to increasing applications of developing technology in the design and manufacture of cranes, OSHA compliance officers need a better understanding of crane operations and their basic lifting principles, and to keep abreast of related developments in today's construction industry.

Since cranes affect a large segment of work at any construction site, crane inspections by the compliance officer and project safety manager must include a survey of the entire operation questions on how the crane will be operating and how other crafts will be affected by working with and around the crane.

Observing crane operations prior to an inspection, or asking questions about how it will or has been operating, can indicate possible problem areas that may need a closer review during the inspection process.

This document provides an overview and background information on lifting principles of mobile cranes for OSHA inspectors. Also discussed is the relationship between various components of mobile cranes to their lifting capacity and the manufacturers' requirements for conducting proper maintenance schedules are also discussed.

Typical Construction Site Load Block Lowered for Inspection

TYPICAL CONSTRUCTION SITE
LOAD BLOCK LOWERED FOR INSPECTION


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