Crane Inspection

Overview

Periodic crane inspection is very vital program to the crane owners for the safe working of the crane and to increase productivity. The effective crane inspection program will increase productivity by reducing downtime due to unexpected breakdown, reduce insurance cost, comply to Australian Standards and State OH&S Departments, roadworthy acceptance, assist in quick acceptance by major construction sites and associations, mining companies, major contractors, will be legally defendable case for Owners “duty of care”.

Objectives

The objectives of crane inspection are to promote the safety and health of persons in the workplace and of the public, comply with occupational health and safety legislations, limit the potential damage to property, reduction or elimination of risk associated with the crane operations, determine the condition of the crane parts, detect potential failures at early stages, reduce the risk of injury by potential failure and increase the crane life. The crane inspection ensures that the crane is in a safe condition and it can continue to be used for a specified period into the future. The frequency of inspection of crane and its various parts is specified in AS 2550.1. CICA and CraneSafe (a division of the Crane Industry Council of Australia) also provide guidelines on crane inspection.

Visual and Ultrasonic Testing

LMATS performs independent thorough visual inspection followed by eddy current test, ultrasonic test without the need of removal of protective coating (expensive decorative paint). In certain circumstances, when there is a doubt about the subsurface or obscured discontinuity e.g. crack, a magnetic particle examination is performed prior to declaring the unacceptable defect.

Eddy Current Testing

Cranes, hoist and lifting devices are coated or painted with protective coating for corrosion resistance and aesthetics. Most of the cranes require periodic non-destructive testing to detect any fatigue cracks in the highly stressed areas.

Magnetic particle test is the very sensitive and relatively inexpensive test method. In order to perform adequate magnetic particle inspection, paint coating has to be removed. This removal of paint, coating and repainting after the test makes crane testing very expensive.

Eddy current testing offers a reliable and economical inspection practice. Eddy current test can be performed on the coated or painted surface by eliminating the cost of paint removal and recoating. Occasionally, paint analysis is required to be performed to ensure that the paint is not conductive which can affect the calibration sensitivity of the test instrument.

Asset Management

LMATS can schedule the testing with the clients and remind whenever the test or inspection is due.