Crane Inspection Checklists
Seamless crane inspections with a mobile app to mitigate crane accidents and fatalities
What is a Crane Safety Inspection?
Crane inspection checklists are vital tools that guide users in conducting crane inspections. Performing regular crane inspections not only complies with legal regulations and standards like OSHA (Occupational Safety and Health Administration), it also mitigates the risk of costly fines, repairs, and workplace incidents associated with crane usage.
What is Crane Inspection?
Crane inspections are essential in keeping cranes in peak operating condition and ensuring the safety of workers and bystanders. OSHA Standard 1910.179 requires industries to conduct regular crane inspections to prevent workplace injuries and fatalities. According to the Crane Manufacturers Association of America (CMAA), it should be conducted by experienced and trained individuals only. Crane inspectors are expected to have formal training in the following:
- Safety and design codes related to overhead cranes
- Federal, state, and local codes and standards
- Safe operating practices of cranes and hoists
- Proper documentation procedures
- Crane and hoist terminologies
3 Types of Crane Inspections
According to OSHA, ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), and CMAA standards, maintenance supervisors or plant managers are required to perform three different types of inspections throughout the lifetime of crane equipment.
- Initial Inspection
OSHA Standard 1910.179 requires all new and altered cranes to be inspected prior to initial use. Appointed or authorized personnel will conduct an inspection on the crane’s components to check its installation and functions. - Frequent Inspection
This is done through visual and operational inspection which is performed on a monthly or weekly basis, depending on usage of crane. Frequent inspections involve checking of hoist brake, wire rope, load chain, and the hook and latch to see if there are any abnormal sounds or damage in the mechanisms. - Periodic Inspection
Like frequent inspections, the frequency of conducting periodic inspections depends on the usage of the crane. Cranes not used in more than a month but used within the last six months will be required to undergo a periodic functional test inspection prior to its next use. Periodic inspections entail checking for the following:- Deformed, cracked, or corroded members
- Loose bolts or rivets
- Cracked or worn sheaves and drums
- Worn, cracked, or distorted parts such as pins, bearings, shafts, gears, rollers, and locking and camping devices
- Excessive wear on brake system parts, linings, pawls, and ratchets
- Load, wind, and other indicators over their full range, for any significant inaccuracies
- Gasoline, diesel, electric, or other power plants for improper performance or noncompliance with applicable safety requirements
- Excessive wear of chain drive sprockets and excessive chain stretch
- Electrical apparatus and signs of pitting or any deterioration of controller contractors, limit switches, and push-button stations
Digital Tool for Efficient Crane Inspections
Make crane inspections easy with a digital tool. The iAuditor crane inspection app allows you to perform inspections on your mobile or tablet device. Keep compliant and stay on track of crane conditions with a digital solution that lets you achieve the following:
- Conduct crane inspections using easy-to-build inspection templates that you can use and customize
- Identify damages, hazards, or problem areas and provide supporting photo evidence
- Be proactive and assign corrective actions to areas that need urgent repairs
- Never miss out on inspections with iAuditor’s scheduling feature
- Save time from manual reports and automatically get comprehensive reports after completing an inspection
- Instantly share your reports with multiple recipients in just a tap of a finger
- Get operational insights on your crane mechanisms with analytics data provided by the iAuditor web app
To help you get started, we’ve prepared a free collection of best practice crane inspection checklists below. Use and customize them for your specific cranes and worksite.
Featured Crane Inspection Checklists
Tower Crane Daily Operator Checklist
Use this template to inspect a tower crane before, during and after operational shifts. Begin by conducting pre-operation checks by recording work permits issued, evaluate operator’s competency and check emergency controls. Next, inspect the components of the crane by capturing photo defects and observe if safety measures were applied. Lastly, assess the post job operation to ensure that the crane is safely unattended. Provide final recommendations during end of shift to improve crane safety.
Overhead Crane Pre-task Inspection
This template can be used by operators to conduct daily safety checks for overhead cranes prior to use at the beginning of each shift. Begin by conducting basic safety checks before touching the controls. Then conduct equipment checks for the bridge, hoist, trolley and runways to ensure there are no loose, broken or damaged parts. Next conduct safety checks for attaching and moving loads. Finally provide any observations or recommendations that should be reported to the next operator or safety official.
Overhead Crane Monthly Equipment Inspection
Ratchet and electric chain hoists need to be inspected monthly to ensure better crane performance. Use this template to perform a detailed equipment evaluation for overhead cranes, capture photos of defects and notify persons in-charge for immediate resolution.
OSHA Overhead and Gantry Cranes Checklist
This OSHA overhead and gantry crane checklist converted through iAuditor is used to ensure operators comply with mandated safety regulation. Use iAuditor to perform a digital inspection that thoroughly checks the crane equipment and its electrical connections. This will also cover testing and maintaining the working condition of all cranes before using it.
