Crane safety systems
Cranes
A crane is a machine that can be used to lift, lower and move materials horizontally. It is composed of simple machines, as thus has been used since ancient times in varying size and complexity. A crane is useful because its use of simple machines enables it to move loads beyond human capability, and as such is employed extensively in the construction, manufacturing and transport industries.
It is used in construction to lift large tools and machinery and put concrete or steel walls into place in buildings. Cranes can be used in the manufacturing industry to assemble large machines (such as cars), and is useful in the transport industry for loading and unloading freight off ships.
There are two main types of cranes: mobile and fixed. Examples of mobile cranes are truck-mounted cranes, sidelift cranes, rough terrain cranes, all terrain cranes, floating crane, aerial cranes and crawler cranes. Fized cranes are able to reach greater heights and carry larger loads because of better stability, and can take the form of tower cranes (the most common), telescopic cranes, overhead cranes, bulk-handling cranes, stacker cranes and hammerhead cranes.
Crane Safety Systems
Due to the height of cranes and the size of the loads that they carry, mistakes can be potentially deadly. As a result all operators must be trained and certified to reduce the risk of injury on construction sites. Additionally, there are safety systems that can be installed to ensure that the crane operates as it should and that the operator is given warning if there are any faults.
Examples of crane safety systems are load monitors, load moment indicators, wind speed indicators, overhead voltage indicators, boom angle indicator systems, and anti-2-block systems. Other instruments that could be used include tension load cells, load measuring shackles, handheld indicators, linear displacement transducers, pressure transmitters and load measuring pins.