Inspection Sheets

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Permalink Reply by Troy Taylor on September 12, 2008 at 9:54am

Heather,

I checked CFR 1910.179 but could not find a time period. My best guess is for one year at which time another inspection is due.

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Permalink Reply by Heather Schimmelpfennig on September 12, 2008 at 10:04am

1 year - that sounds good to me. Thanks :)

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Permalink Reply by Troy Taylor on September 12, 2008 at 10:25am

We have eight cranes at our facility and my annual crane inspection is now due. As I prepared for the inspection I read about load testing after the initial installation. So...I searched for copies of the load test sheets to review. (The cranes were installed prior to my employ.) The load test documentation could not be found. I am now entertaining a big out of pocket expense ($10K) to have the cranes re-load tested so I have proof in case of an OSHA inspection. I think the load test only needs to be done one time and the paper work archived or unless a crane has been modified then it needs to be re-tested. I'm hoping this is an acurate interpretation of 1910.179.

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Permalink Reply by Heather Schimmelpfennig on September 12, 2008 at 4:12pm

I thought that you had to have the testing done every year?

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Permalink Reply by Troy Taylor on September 12, 2008 at 4:29pm

I'm going to check with my crane inspection contractor. For sure crane inspections are annual, but I'm not so sure of the load testing. My interpretation of 1910.179 might be off, but Im pretty sure load testing is only done after a new installation or after a modification. I'll see if I can get a more carved in stone answer.

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Permalink Reply by John Miley on September 12, 2008 at 6:04pm

Due to the large and heavy objects often being transported by overhead cranes, routine inspections are necessary to ensure continued operation of the crane and the safety of the employees around the crane. An initial inspection of the crane prior to initial use of new and altered cranes is necessary. Once placed into service, overhead cranes will require two different types of inspections. Frequent inspections are done at daily to monthly intervals, while periodic inspections are completed at monthly to annual intervals. The purpose of the two inspection types is to detect critical components of the crane and to determine the extent of wear, deterioration or malfunction. I am unaware of any OSHA mandated period to maintain these records. I have always kept all documents for the life of the equipment for several reasons. As Troy Taylor pointed out, it can become quite expensive to re-accomplish and document initial or altered inspections. I have also had cases where records dating back a few years help to troubleshot maintenance problems. I suggest to my clients, scan all equipment documents and store them on the network server/hard drive in case the documents become lost or damaged and they always have a backup copy.

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Permalink Reply by Troy Taylor on September 15, 2008 at 9:51am

Thanks John & Jason. You guys hit the crane inspection regs. on the mark. And John, excellent idea about scanning documents. The engineers at my company are now complaining that I'm tying up the network scanner. Perfect way to archive hand written documents!

Can anyone comment on load testing? How often? Record keeping? This is not an inspection but an actual load test of the cranes rated capacity.

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Permalink Reply by John Miley on September 15, 2008 at 9:41pm

Periodic Inspections

Items to be inspected:
Deformed, cracked or corroded members
Loose bolts or rivets
Cracked or worn sheaves and drums
Worn, cracked or distorted parts such as bearings, gears, rollers, etc.
Excessive wear on brake system parts
Inaccuracies in load, wind and other indicators
Electric or fossil-fuel motors
Excessive wear of chain drive sprockets and chain
Deteriorated electrical components such as pushbuttons, limit switches or contactors

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Permalink Reply by Jason A Beck on September 12, 2008 at 6:32pm

I believe that you must do an annual inspection and keep the records for at least 3 years. You might also want to check with your insurance carrier such as FM global or whomever you have. They might have separate regulations.

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Permalink Reply by Heather Schimmelpfennig on September 16, 2008 at 8:43am

Jason,
Do you mean have the crane certified annually by a crane company?

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