Date: 06/22/2020
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Downtime is one of the biggest operational costs a facility endures. Unexpected maintenance and minor equipment problems not only cause profit loss, but also increase property risk and reduce worker and equipment performance.
The most efficient and productive facilities prioritize their equipment to prevent downtime altogether through scheduled inspections, preventative maintenance and crane inspection technology like the OLI app.
Follow The Law With Scheduled Inspections
The Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA) requires organizations to regularly inspect overhead cranes to prevent accidents. Crane inspections required by OSHA fall under two categories: frequent inspections and periodic inspections. Frequent inspections are performed daily to monthly and cover the operating mechanisms, parts of the air or hydraulic systems and the hooks and hoist chains. Periodic inspections are completed monthly to annually and cover the load and wind indicators and gas and electric systems (per OSHA 1910.179). Crane inspectors must keep signed and dated written records of these inspections on file.
While OSHA-regulated inspections meet the minimum requirements for crane safety guidelines, they are not created for your specific equipment’s needs. Additional steps are necessary to ensure facility safety and prevent downtime. For more information about OSHA requirements, consult the current addition of OSHA 1910.179 - Overhead and Gantry Cranes. For the requirements of the American National Standards Institute, consult ANSI B30.2.0-1967 Safety Code for Overhead and Gantry Cranes.
Plan Ahead With Proactive Maintenance
To protect your investment in your crane and hoist equipment, performing proactive maintenance in accordance with the crane and hoist’s duty cycle is a must. Each crane has its own duty cycle classification, the combination of operating time and load spectrum. Cranes and hoists are engineered to meet specific, standardized duty service classifications so that operators can understand the Safe Working Period (SWP) of their equipment. The equipment’s duty cycle must be sized for the crane’s operation in order to comply with the manufacturer’s recommended service intervals.
Some hoists come equipped with condition monitoring units that assist with your maintenance plan by providing real-time data on your crane’s conditions and usage. R&M experts can program a condition-monitoring unit to collect data on functions that affect the safety of your hoist and calculate the remaining SWP of your hoist and key wear parts. Together, R&M’s HoistMonitor® and HoistWatch can track the theoretical lifetime of your hoist, including the brakes electrical components of your hoist per your operation’s unique working conditions. It also provides additional safety indicators such as overloads and emergency stops.
Prevent Downtime With Crane Inspection Technology
In a perfect world, a basic inspection and maintenance plan would be enough to protect your facility from risk, but only real-time data can prevent downtime altogether. That’s why R&M Materials Handling developed the OLI app.
OLI, or Overhead Lifting Information, is a wireless app that works with the HoistMonitor to provide easily-accessible, real-time condition, event and usage data on your hoist. The app is simple and effective, with raw data formatted and presented in an easily understood format right on your iOS or Android device. The app can calculate the Safe Working Period of your hoist, hoist brake and contactors to show you exactly how much time is remaining before maintenance or replacement is needed. With the OLI app, access up-to-date and easy-to-read data on your hoist’s full load hours, max full load hours, hoist cycles, temperature, current load and runtime at your fingertips.
Your crane is one of your facility’s most important investments. For over 90 years, R&M Materials Handling has helped our customers rise above their competition by extending the life and operational efficiency of their hoists and cranes with overhead material handling technology. To learn how a hoist monitoring system can boost productivity in your facility, contact an R&M distributor in your area.