| During the
life of your top running or underhung crane, you
need to inspect the condition of
the runway on which it operates for damage or wear.
Depending on the frequency of use, ratio of nominal wheel
load and available load capacity for the runway, these
inspections may need to be performed more often
than you might normally think.
The typical requirement for a runway on any crane is once a
year. With heavy class D or E cranes
and for any crane operating in a harsh
working environment, you should make an inspection
more often, and in some cases much more often. |
Runway
inspections should include:
-
General condition of the rail tread surface for the full
length of the runway
-
Rail splice conditions and bolts
-
Rail fasteners including bolts, clips, or hook bolts
-
Rail span inspection for parallelism
-
Crane endtruck wheel condition
In some
situations, rail elevation for levelness should also be
checked.
These
runway inspections and any subsequent repairs can save your
company or organization thousands of dollars in down time,
emergency repair or damage from accidents.
Failure
to make timely inspections can
lead to endtruck/girder or runway cracks or fractures,
broken tie-backs and other serious damage.
Broken
or damaged splices can cause immediate and catastrophic
wheel or wheel bearing failure.
Engineered Lifting Systems recommends that companies have a
runway inspection once a year for cranes that are used in
production. Also, a comprehensive report should be created
and reviewed by a designated person at the facility in order
to develop a course of action for any repairs needed to
maintain the runway structure as well as determining the
frequency of future interim inspections based on likely wear
and tear.
Engineered Lifting Systems offers expert crane inspection
and uses laser alignment, laser span (distance), and laser
level for the most accurate evaluation and repairs of runway
rails whether top running or underhung type.
There is no
substitute for proactive periodic crane and runway
inspection for a safe and productive workplace. Save
money, save time and avoid accidents or injuries.
For more
information or assisting with your crane inspection
requirements, please contact Eric
Brown.
|
Eroded rail
running surface
Broken and missing splice bolts
Fractured and eroded rail splice
Broken and deformed splice joint
Repaired rail splice |
