You do not need to be a rocket scientist to ensure that your overhead cranes are safe and functional. By scheduling your inspection and maintenance jobs regularly and by ensuring that you undertake preventive maintenance in a professional manner, you can definitely preserve the health of your overhead cranes and extend their life. In fact, regular maintenance is the simplest way to ensure efficient as well as safe crane operations.

Overhead crane failure can be attributed to several reasons and there are very rare occasions when your equipment registers a mechanical failure without sending out early warning signs or symptoms. Your cranes may need to be frequently inspected if they are used frequently. There are chances that you may fail to detect problems even though your cranes are being inspected to the Health And Safety Executive (HSE) standard. This is a case that you may come across when you are not allowing for enough inspections. Sometimes, a failed crane may be excluded from a maintenance regime just because it was not included in the inspection contract.

While most overhead cranes come with the manufacturer’s recommendations on the frequency with which each component of an overhead crane should be inspected, many companies still fail to design an appropriate preventive maintenance program that is based on those guidelines. Sometimes, companies assume that they can ensure equipment reliability just by keeping an annual HSE inspection in place, but the fact remains that the HSE inspection needs to comply with the Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) inspection and preventive maintenance guidelines. Often, the inspection contracts are awarded to the lowest bidder on a fixed quote and this may prevent companies from getting a professional service that addresses their specific equipment maintenance needs.

If you are looking for a vendor, you should ideally check if the vendor has a strong reputation in the industry and whether it can tailor its programs to accommodate your needs. You should also check whether your vendor agrees to conduct routine maintenance jobs while complying with HSE and OEM guidelines. When you evaluate your existing service provider, you should try to identify the areas that can be improved upon. Your vendor might be providing you with a set of services that are specifically mentioned in the contract and that may just be the minimum requirements. To be very honest, the programs that are based on a limited budget are not the best options.

Additionally, you cannot adopt a one-size-fits-all approach while scheduling inspections. Some cranes are used more frequently than others and they will demand greater attention. While selecting a vendor you should check whether it can address your specific needs and if you really want to extend the life of your overhead cranes, you would surely want to invest in a professional inspection program.