Tag Archive: overhead equipment

1. 6 Tips for Increasing Crane Safety in Your Facility

   April 20, 2016 2:13 pm Leave a Comment

   Over the past 50 years, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration’s (OSHA) specifications for crane safety have remained relatively unchanged. To begin enhancing the training and safety opportunities in the overhead lifting industry, OSHA has recently renewed a five-year alliance with the Crane, Hoist and Monorail Alliance (CHM).

   The partnership demonstrates OSHA’s confidence in CHM as a trusted resource in an ongoing effort to increase workers’ safety. In a recent EHS Today article, OSHA’s Assistant Secretary of Labor Dr. David Michaels said, “Our alliance with CHM has been invaluable in helping to reduce and prevent serious or fatal incidents in the material handling industry.”

   To follow the example that these industry leaders have set, here are six ways that you can increase crane safety within your own facility:

   1. Create Accountability with Your Inspection — Develop written guidelines for your crane and hoist inspection and maintenance programs; implement this code to train every operator on proper crane equipment use and safety protocol.
   2. Schedule Your Inspections — Create a pre-planned schedule to stay on top of equipment functionality through preventative maintenance. Having a schedule will help to avert any breakdown repairs by ensuring that your equipment always meets the necessary safety requirements.
   3. Read the Manual — It may sound silly, but it is crucial that every operator has read the manufacturers’ operation manuals. Implementing this practice will add an extra level of protection at your facility.
   4. Conduct Pre-Shift Inspections — Crane operators should understand the applicable OSHA, national, state, and local inspection requirements for their machinery and ensure that all products are in compliance with these specifications at the start of each shift.
   5. Implement a Lockout/Tagout Procedure — Lockout procedures safeguard employees by cutting equipment off from the energy source before any maintenance work. This precaution helps prevent accidental or unexpected operation from stored energy, as well as the resulting risk of injury.
   6. Know Your Equipment’s Limits — Employees should always be aware of crane load limits as well as the capacities of each payload.

   By taking these simple precautions, you can increase everyday workplace safety for your operators. To learn more about how to increase crane safety in your facility, we invite you to download our maintenance troubleshooting guide, “What Your Cranes Wish You Knew.”
   
   
   

2. Optimize & Protect Your Production Team with Overhead Equipment

   December 2, 2015 9:20 am Leave a Comment

   Industrial material movers can be divided into two categories: on-floor and overhead. More and more businesses are discovering the advantages of replacing their traditional on-floor movers, such as trucks, forklifts, and fixed conveyors, with overhead equipment for material handling within facilities. Overhead movers include three main types: cranes, hoists, and monorails.

   Cranes utilize hooks, hoists, magnets, and other devices to transport loads. A crane’s operational range depends on the axes and rotational capabilities.

   Hoists are simple but adaptable pieces of machinery that use wires, ropes, or chains to move freely suspended loads. Hoists can be powered manually, electrically, or by air. Monorails operate like overhead conveyors; they run along fixed paths in the ceiling using a single circuit or network of routes.

   Compared to on-floor movers, each type of overhead material handling system provides the following benefits:

   • Reduced footprint — Cranes and hoists require some floor-based support structures, but these can be strategically placed at facility edges and corners to minimize their footprint. Monorails run on tracks installed directly into the ceiling and, therefore, leave no footprint on the floor at all.

   • Improved health and safety — Overhead movers reduce physical labor, which enhances ergonomics and removes employees from potential danger zones.

   • More power — Cranes, hoists, and monorails are typically stronger than on-floor systems. They have greater load capabilities and more lifting mechanisms to handle a variety of loads.

   • Increased productivity — Overhead movers allow for direct-path transportation, as opposed to on-floor movers that must navigate around various obstacles on the floor. The fixed monorail system reduces the opportunity for human error, which in turn lowers production losses.

   Traditional on-floor material handlers create many facility limitations. Bulky ride-on movers generate clutter and restrict floor space because they require wide pathways and intersections to maneuver. Even when they are not in operation, forklifts and ride-on movers take up a large amount of space on the floor and get in the way of production.

   On-floor machinery also depends on employee operation, making workers prone to long-term health risks and workplace injury. If a load is unbalanced or too heavy, forklifts can topple over.

   Impaired visibility on ride-on machinery can result in workers getting caught between walls or driving off of loading docks. Raised conveyor belts force employees to strain themselves reaching for objects and risking entrapment of clothing or limbs in machinery. Overhead movers minimize all these risks.

   American Crane & Equipment Corporation (ACECO) is equipped with the resources to fit both standard and custom crane solutions. With over 40 years of experience, our team thrives on a problem solving culture.

   To learn more about the advantages of utilizing overhead equipment, we invite you to read our eBook, “The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Overhead Equipment.”
   
   

3. American Crane’s Problem-Solving Culture

   October 28, 2015 12:25 pm Leave a Comment

   How One Team Handles Materials, Problems, and More

   Solving complex problems with real customer impact is what we do at American Crane & Equipment Corporation.

   From concept to physical existence, our team builds solutions for companies of all kinds. Our environment is dedicated to problem-solving from the inside out — by definition, our company fosters the appreciation of all members’ creative diversity through trust, respect, and openness.

   This dedication is a huge part of American Crane’s goal as a company. We seek to increase our competitive advantage through improving overall company efficiency by managing and leveraging this creative diversity. It improves communication and teamwork and has led to reduced friction costs and sustainable organizational success.

   This problem-solving culture is reflected in every machine we make — overhead lifting systems from American Crane are designed to solve problems in workplaces of all kinds.

   Cranes

   Hooks, hoists, magnets, and other devices affixed to overhead cranes can lift, move, and place loads for maximum facility coverage. Their range can span a narrow corridor for a dedicated task, or be designed to span an entire facility, moving any material for any process.

   Hoists

   Simply versatile, this type of machine is similar to a crane, designed to lift and move freely suspended loads. They’re useful in manufacturing facilities as well as in construction and warehousing environments, using wire, rope, or chain to move materials.

   Monorails

   This unique overhead lifting solution runs on tracks in either a single circuit or a route network. Installed directly into the roof of a facility, one or more carriers traverse the tracks to transport materials. They’re ideal for dangerous or hard-to-reach applications, eliminating the opportunity for human error with the fixed track system.

   Each of these systems can be adapted and engineered to solve a company’s specific problems. Additionally, they do so while taking up minimal space, being installed along the edges or — in the case of monorails — on the roof of a facility. As a strong, long-lasting high-load solution, these machines offer durability and versatility in moving a wide variety of materials and containers, making workflow easy and effective.

   Beyond all of these benefits, these overhead lifting systems reduce injuries and physical stress on employees. Workplace safety is the number one priority at American Crane. We are devoted to maintaining a safe, healthy work environment, because we value our employees as individuals and as part of our overall success.

   We’re proud to be able to share tools to help solve problems and enhance wellbeing and safety for our fellow manufacturers. Learn more about our problem-solving solutions by downloading our free eBook, The Ultimate Cheat Sheet for Overhead Equipment.