Hoist Em Up: How Much Can a Crane Lift?

Hoist ‘Em Up: How Much Can a Crane Lift?

Our records show that the first crane was used in ancient Greece as far back as the 6th century. Historians used evidence of ‘lifting holes’ in giant rocks to assume the existence of a crane system!

Of course, the cranes that ancient people groups used looked much different than those today, right? We’ve created towering super-machines that have endless capabilities.

But exactly how much can a crane lift today? Surely our machines have more capabilities than they did when they were powered by men and donkeys (and even then they built the pyramids).

Read on to learn all the fascinating science behind crane weight!

So, How Much Can a Crane Lift?

This is a fairly loaded question (pun intended). Many different factors influence the weight capacity of a crane.

For example, Mr. Isaac Newton thought us that the mass of an object multiplied by its acceleration will tell us the total weight. If your load is in the air, a crane may be able to support it with ease. If the same load is on the ground, things could become more difficult.

Not only do the mass and acceleration of an object influence the crane’s ability to lift it, but also specifications about the crane itself. If the load is difficult to access, the crane arm may not be able to extend properly.

Cranes in ancient and medieval times had the capability to lift around 2,200-11,000 pounds. Thanks to technological advances around the 19th century, the current world record for heaviest crane weight lift is over 44 million pounds (according to Guinness World Records)!

Lifting Power by Type of Crane

Knuckle-Boom Cranes, like these, have a max weight capacity of around 39,000 pounds. Just like before, though, this capacity can be far less or far more depending on the crane itself and where the weight is situated. A load all the way down at the jib will be harder to lift than one up by the mast, for example.

Material Handler Loaders, like these, tend to have a lower max weight capacity at around 4,500 to 6,000 pounds. This type of equipment includes things like pallet jacks and forklifts for smaller-scale loading.

While they can’t lift as high as a tower crane, certain material handler loaders can lift up to 50,000 pounds! Again, each crane can be modified to lift certain loads better, so the answer to how much a crane can lift is foggy at best. Here are some of the most popular crane accessories to maximize lift capacity.

Cranes: An Ancient Giant

We still don’t know exactly how the ancient Egyptians built the pyramids, but evidence proves cranes were part of their process. To this day, we are still stretching the limits of how much can a crane lift.

Hopefully, this article has cleared up some of your curiosities, but if you’re anything like us you have plenty more. Luckily, we have dozens of articles on our site to explore! This one may shock you!

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Junk Guides: What Is a Scrap Yard Crane?

Junk Guides: What Is a Scrap Yard Crane?

The steel industry has been recycling scrap for over 150 years. Recycling scrap steel helps conserve raw materials, reduces landfill space, and helps to protect the environment.

The right scrap yard crane is an invaluable piece of heavy machinery in the steel industry that can help with tasks in the junkyard. Do you want to learn more about scrap yard cranes? Discover what they do and how they help keep operations running smoothly.

Why Is Scrap Recycling Important?

Scrap recycling helps the planet by collecting and sorting recyclable items such as cans, copper wiring, pipes, steel products, and more. It uses less energy and water than mining for ore, and recycling releases fewer greenhouse gas emissions.

Scrap yards recycle all kinds of metals, including valuable parts from your broken-down vehicles. In fact, 80% of a car can be recycled. Recycling scrap metals helps protect the environment by conserving raw materials and cleaning up landfills rather than letting those waste materials sit around.

Metals such as steel, copper, aluminum, iron, and brass can get recycled and reused in various applications. Right now, there’s a huge demand for steel due to the current steel shortage, meaning scrap yard recycling is more important than ever.

What Does a Scrap Yard Crane Do?

A scrap yard crane is an incredibly useful piece of heavy equipment in the waste and recycling industry. It helps with tasks such as loading scrap into buckets and hauling it away to get melted down.

These pieces of heavy machinery are designed to handle harsh environments and carry heavy loads. Scrap yard cranes are designed to hold up to the high levels of dust and vibration common in a scrap yard environment.

They have a load capacity of around 5-20t, so they can easily keep up with the increased amounts of scrap that accumulate each year. The scrap yard crane can remove heavy loads that would be too much to handle manually.

Certain features in higher-end models keep operators safer and more comfortable as well. Common examples include cranes with larger cabin windows, ergonomic seating, sway control, and more.

A scrap yard crane magnet can assist in quickly and efficiently gathering scrap metal. The operator lowers the steel disc and turns on the electricity which allows the electromagnet to collect bits of metal. Once the scrap is moved to its destination, the operator turns the electricity off, and the scrap falls off the magnet.

Electromagnets are an easy way to separate and sort scrap. It can collect steel, nickel, iron, and other magnetic metals. The lifting capacity for these magnets varies, but many can lift up to several tons.

Scrap It for a Greener Future

A scrap yard crane plays a huge role in the steel recycling industry by handling heavy loads. Using scrap yard cranes makes recycling scrap metals easier and helps to keep up with the increasing demand for steel, all while protecting the environment.

Scrap yard cranes can make our lives easier. However, it’s important to understand crane safety before operating one, so brush up on our tips first. Make sure to check back for even more informative articles on all types of cranes and heavy equipment.

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Top Tips for Safe Crane Operation

Top Tips for Safe Crane Operation

Cranes are essential pieces of equipment across a range of industries, ideal for lifting and moving heavy loads for a variety of purposes. Crane operation can also be dangerous, with statistics showing us that there was an average of 42 crane-related deaths in the United States each year between 2011 and 2017.

Crane operation safety is paramount to avoid worker injuries and fatal accidents. With proper use, cranes can significantly speed up construction projects and industry operations. In this blog post, we will highlight some top crane operator tips to ensure that cranes are safely utilized on-site.

Perform Daily Operator Checks

If you are a crane operator, it is essential that you perform a daily inspection to ensure that the crane is safe. This should include pre-start checks, engine start-up checks, and safety system checks. These checks will confirm that the crane’s basic features are in working order, the crane is ready for operation, and that fail-safes are in place to prevent any accidents.

Choose the Right Crane for the Project

There are many different types of cranes and you should select the most suitable crane for your specific project. There is no point in choosing a tower crane for a very small project, for example. Fixed cranes like tower cranes are most suited to complex and tall construction projects.

Mobile cranes include carry desk cranes, rough-terrain cranes, and all-terrain cranes. Choosing the right type will help to ensure worker safety on the job.

Always Read Operator Manuals

Cranes from different manufacturers will be different from each other and have unique controls and features. Therefore, it’s important to always ensure that the operator has a strong understanding of the specific crane that is being used.

The operator’s manual contains important information about the crane. This includes safety mechanisms, load capacities, operator controls, and stabilizers, and counterweights.

Communication Is Key

There are specific hand signals that can be used to oversee the correct and safe operation of a crane. These hand signals communicate the following:

• The direction of travel of the crane
• When to stop the crane
• When to swing and lift the boom
• When to hoist and lower the load

Radios may also be used to ensure that everyone is in communication with each other during the operation of the crane. It is useful to set out communication plans in advance so that everyone is on the same page.

Important Tips for Safe Crane Operation

Cranes are wonderfully useful and efficient pieces of equipment that are essential to modern construction and manufacturing industries. However, they are also potentially dangerous when not properly utilized. The above tips are designed to ensure safe crane operation, allowing workers and the public to remain safe.

Everything Cranes is your No. 1 source for quality informational articles about cranes and related heavy equipment. Click here to learn more about how to ensure safety when operating a crane.

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Crane Hand Signals You Need to Know

Crane Hand Signals You Need to Know

When operating a crane, it can be difficult to hear other workers in your general vicinity. If only verbal cues are used, there would be a lot of “what?” shouts back-and-forth. So, it is necessary to have other means of communication to keep everyone safe. Having non-verbal communication can also help a project run more smoothly.

Before starting up an operation with a crane, make sure that you and your team know these important crane hand signals to keep everyone safe.

Stop Crane Hand Signals

From 2011 to 2017, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that there were 297 deaths involving cranes. Out of those deaths, over 20% involved the crane operator. This highlights how crucial it is to brief all personnel around the worksite on safety procedures.

Some of the most important hand signals to assure safety are stop hand signals. The top three stop signals are

• Stop
• Emergency Stop
• Dog Everything

The stop signal requires the signaler to extend one arm with their palm facing down. They will then swing their arm back and forth, touching their chest, and then back out to the side. This signals an action to be paused or stopped.

The emergency stop signal is similar, but with both arms extended horizontally from the body. This larger movement indicates a more serious stop.

The dog everything signal is used to stop all activity. This signal is performed by clasping both hands together and placing them at waist level.

Any of these three hand signals for crane operation indicate a need to stop or pause work on a worksite.

Boom Direction Hand Signals

The next category of hand signals involves letting the crane operator know which maneuver they should perform with the crane’s boom.

The top four boom signals to be aware of are

• Raise boom
• Lower boom
• Swing boom
• Extend boom

To indicate raising or lowering the boom, the signaler will extend their arm horizontally to the side of their body and signal with either a thumbs up (raise) or a thumbs down (lower).

To indicate swinging the boom, the signaler will extend their arm out horizontally and use their index finger to point in the direction the boom is to swing.

Lastly, to signal to extend the boom, the signaler will place their hands at the front of their waist with both thumbs pointing outward and their remaining fingers in a fist.

Load Instruction Hand Signals

Material load handlers, such as Hiab’s forestry crane, can help worksites with their difficult tasks. By using load signals, the crane operator can know what to do after the crane lifts the load.

The primary two load hand signals are

• hoist load
• lower load

To signal either of these two actions, the signaler will extend their arm horizontally and point with their index finger either towards the sky or towards the ground. Once they’ve pointed, they will make a circle motion with their finger.

Read More About Crane Operation

You’re now aware of several crane hand signals to utilize on your work site to keep your team safe. It might be helpful to create a crane hand signals chart to have readily available, so all of your operators are on the same page for communication. Utilizing a unified method for non-verbal communication will ensure everyone is safe and the project runs smoothly.

If you are interested in reading more about safe crane operation, please check out our many other guides under crane safety.

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How Are Cranes Built?

How Are Cranes Built?

Drive through any major metropolitan area and you’ll no doubt see the skyline dotted with construction cranes. Condo highrises and other residential projects accounted for 49 percent of all cranes counted in 2020 by the Rider Levett Bucknall Crane Index.

But cranes can provide more than just construction support. They’re used to transport materials, haul timber, and even make home deliveries. A forestry crane helps keep our living environments clean.

These sophisticated machines help build our cities and do so much more. But you might be wondering, how are cranes built?

How Are Cranes Built

Archeologists uncovered evidence that cranes first came into use in the sixth century B.C. The Ancient Greeks were the first to use cranes, likely to lift heavy stones while building temples.

While the technology for building cranes has evolved over time, the basic use remains the same. Although there are many different types of cranes, the most commonly used in the construction of tall buildings these days is the tower crane.

Unlike a mobile crane that’s driven to and from a construction site, tower cranes are erected on site. But it takes time and planning to do so.

A concrete foundation provides the base for a tower crane and anchors secure the crane to the ground. Local building codes and the configuration of the project will dictate how much concrete is required.

Erecting the Crane

The remainder of the crane is often built off-site and transported to the grounds. The mast is made up of lattice sections stacked on top of one another. The crew uses a mobile crane or crawler crane for this.

The tower crane builds upon itself using a top climber or climbing frame to add additional mast sections. Once at the desired height, the operator’s cab and a turntable get placed and secured atop the mast.

The turntable connects to the working arm, or jib, which extends out horizontally. The trolley mechanism, hoist and hook attach to the jib. These provide the crane’s lifting functions.

Behind the cab extends the counter-jib, which houses counterweights to stabilize the crane at rest and during movement. This section also supports the main winch, motors, and electronics.

More Than Just Tower Cranes

Although there is an abundance of tower cranes dotting city skylines, those aren’t the only types of cranes out there. Load handling equipment continues to evolve, getting smarter and stronger each year.

Cranes are used to do more than build sky-scrapers. Junkyard and recycling cranes help move waste efficiently. Knuckle-boom cranes provide compact and maneuverable options for loading and lifting.

Loader cranes can be used for retail delivery and warehousing. Other construction cranes exist to help manage even the heaviest jobs out there.

Building a Better World

HIAB is the world’s leading provider of on-road load handling equipment, intelligent services, and connected solutions. No matter how are cranes built, HIAB knows safe and efficient equipment and machinery help build a better world.

Find a sales or service point near you to see how HIAB cranes can keep your business building.

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What Is Crane Rigging?

What Is Crane Rigging?

Modern-day construction projects would not be possible without the aid of cranes. A typical crane can lift up to 19.8 tons. That’s about the equivalent of a fire truck or two school buses!

Crane rigging is an integral part of the crane lifting process. While everyone has seen a crane, few people understand how crane rigging equipment works. Read on to learn about what rigging is used for in different situations.

What Is Crane Rigging?

It’s a common question: What is crane rigging? Rigging refers to both the act of setting up a crane for use and the crane equipment.

A crane operator who is setting up a crane is rigging the crane, for example. The chains and latches used to attach loads to the crane are also known as rigging.

Rigging Equipment

Rigging equipment encompasses a wide range of equipment. Rigging shackles are u-shaped connecting devices that have a removable pin. The load-bearing devices can support the full weight of any cargo that is lifted.

Connecting the shackles to the cargo and the crane are several large chains. Industry experts grade chains by their load-bearing capacity. Grade 80, 100, and 120 chains are suitable for crane use.

Slings, spreaders, anchors, and bars are also used to secure and lift cargo for a wrecking crane or another type of crane.

How Construction Crews Rig Equipment

Understanding what is crane rigging requires a look at the process of setting and lifting heavy loads of cargo. Setting crane and rigging requires analyzing the load to ensure that construction workers use the right rigging equipment.
For example, the jib on the crane needs to be long enough to pull the lift.

Adequate counterweights should be used to balance the crane. The ground that supports the crane needs to be stable enough to support the crane rigging process.

Crane operators need to understand the correct angle to use when lifting a load. Properly using the ideal angles of a crane lift is part of managing construction risks. Inclimate weather can also be a determining factor in whether to move forward with rigging.

For folks who aren’t familiar with what is crane hoisting and rigging, the process, as you’ve learned, is complicated. The process of rigging a load is potentially dangerous and should only be performed by qualified construction professionals.

Most construction crews double-check rigging before the load is lifted. Having extra eyes on the rigging process is one way to ensure that potentially dangerous mistakes are not made.

Shop Our Catalog of High-Quality Cranes

Is it time for your company to upgrade its crane rigging or to purchase a new crane? Everything Cranes is your source for insight into crane safety and factors to consider before purchasing a crane. Our articles cover equipment like forestry cranes, grapple cranes, and other types of knuckle cranes.

We also offer expert safety advice on how to safely operate cranes. Make Everything Cranes your first and last stop for news and trends in the crane industry.

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Best Practices for Heavy Equipment Transport

Best Practices for Heavy Equipment Transport

Do you own or manage a construction company? If you do, you must focus on transporting your construction equipment. You must do it in a safe manner to prevent accidents.

There’s no room for errors when transporting heavy equipment. An accident involving unsecured construction equipment can turn fatal. There are practices you can use to safely transport heavy equipment.

Read on to learn about the best practices for heavy equipment transport.

Inspect the Truck or Trailer

It’s no secret that moving heavy equipment is no easy task. For heavy equipment hauling, you need the right truck or trailer. Inspect its hauling capacity.

Never exceed the weight limit. If you have oversized equipment, you might need to file for permits.

Inspect the tires, lights, and brakes. Check the tie-down points as well. These ensure the trailer can carry the load without issue.

Loading the Heavy Equipment

You must have the right tools to load heavy equipment. Before loading the equipment, you must clean the ramp and trailer. Remove debris and oil to ensure there’s enough traction to move the equipment up the ramp.

When loading (as well as offloading) equipment, you must use the right type of crane. A knuckle boom crane is a good option. If you need one, it’s a good idea to use a knuckle boom truck.

Once everything is on the truck, it’s time to chain down the equipment. Transporting heavy equipment on public highways requires you to follow state cargo securement laws.

All accessory equipment and movable parts must be lowered. Check the equipment owner’s manual for assistance if needed.

Outfit the transport vehicle with signs and flashing lights. These will alert drivers of an oversized load.

Heavy Equipment Hauling on the Road

Know the route you’re going to take. Check the route to see if there are any obstacles along the way. These include roadblocks and major traffic.

If the route requires you to drive under a bridge, your equipment must be under the max height. If you’re going to drive over a bridge, make sure the equipment and truck are not over the weight limit.

The best policy is to have a designated transport route planned ahead. At certain stages of the route, you must conduct inspections. It might take some extra time, but it’s worth doing.

Follow These Practices for Safe Heavy Equipment Transport

Now you know how to transport heavy equipment. Following these practices for heavy equipment transport, you can help prevent major accidents. Safety must be a top priority in each stage.

Heavy equipment transportation requires you to have a plan. It’s important to inspect the vehicle and the equipment load.

You must use the right tools to load and unload the heavy equipment. It’s a good idea to use a knuckle boom crane. If you use one, you need to use it with care to avoid mishaps.

Visit our website to learn more about crane safety.

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