Overhead crane fall protection, ensuring overhead crane maintenance safety

 Overhead crane safety is always tops first. Industrial cranes maintenance and inspections need crane workers to access overhead cranes systems in areas which may be dirty, narrow, and cramped, with the little space to move, where the fall protection is needed.

Overhead crane fall proetection 

What are the overhead crane fall protection? What are the steps to provide adequate protection for overhead crane maintenance and inspections staffs working on, above, adjacent to, or beneath a crane? In the following, the fall protection for overhead crane maintenance is discussed for your reference.

Planning for overhead crane maintenance fall protection

Before the maintenance of overhead crane, the fall protection plan is needed to protect the workers from the danger, injuries during maintenance and inspections. The overhead crane maintenance fall protection plan should be detail for a novice to execute the following steps:

• List the proper steps clearly before the beginning of any work 
• The overhead crane operators, workers, and supervisory personnel and other related working staffs should be informed of the crane maintenance work schedule. Overhead crane operators who are using the same runway as a crane that is undergoing the maintenance should be attention to the limited travel lengths of the overhead crane. And also, it is important for the crane operators to know that the impacts with overhead cranes that are “down” or being “serviced” can result in injury or loss of life.
• Make sure the crane maintenance schedule be informed to all the related workers
• Visible tape or personnel barriers are needed to prevent workers entering an unsafe area where hit accidents may happen. On the same time, a visual reminder to operators that there is an inoperable crane with workers on the crane structure above the roped-off barrier.
• Hang a 4X6 fluorescent flag from the runway to notify the overhead crane operators of the crane in service.
• The bridge crane and runway inspected or repaired should be locked out and tagged out. If maintenance will occur on the bridge only, and the remainder of the runway needs to be electrified, lockout and tag-out the bridge and section of runway under repair.
• The temporary runway rail stop clamps will be used to prevent the intrusion of a powered crane into the working area of a crane undergoing repair or inspection. The stops crane should be placed at the place where at least 15 feet from any personnel lift of crane undergoing maintenance for the stops will not guarantee the powered crane will be stopped.
• Consider position temporarily disabled “buffer” cranes between live cranes and the crane being serviced.
• crane manufacturer Team work is needed. While the primary maintenance worker focuses on the repair or inspection, the second worker should be guardian the primary worker from the potential dangers and help in the event of an injury or emergency.

Fall protection for crane maintenance

Every section of the bridge and runway must be fully accessible to crane inspectors. Make sure the function of the structural supports are working properly with no damage. If the personnel lift access is not available, and the crane’s work area prevents the use of a passive system, the fall protection is fully needed, such as, fall restraint or fall arrest.
Fall arrest can be used along runways and bridges. Single point attachments work well on hoist if a boom lift can safely provide access to the attachment points. Fall protection along a runway is commonly consists of wire rope and rigid track. Fall protection along a bridge is commonly consisted of guardrail, or walkways, wire rope, and rigid track. Fall protection at the hoist is common consist of boom lift, fall restraint, and single point attachment.

Overhead crane fall protection, ensuring overhead crane maintenance safety