What is a hoist inspection checklist?
A hoist inspection checklist ensures that you comply with the safety standards set by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and the Crane Manufacturers Association of America (CMAA). They include all the criteria listed by these organizations, so that you as an inspector can verify that everything’s up to code.
All three organizations require that you perform three different crane inspections, with a separate checklist for each. These are:
1. Initial inspections
These are conducted before the initial use of any new, repaired, modified, altered, or reinstalled crane.
Qualified OEM representatives inspect the new crane and ensure that it complies with OEM standards. Meanwhile, a qualified person (but not always an OEM representative) should check modified, altered, reinstalled, or repaired cranes.
2. Frequent inspections
Frequent inspections are a combination of operational and visual checkups, done on a daily or monthly basis. Their frequency depends on environmental, service, and application factors, which are identified by compliance officers.
3. Periodic inspection
Periodic inspections are more detailed than frequent inspections. Here, each component of your crane is tested to make sure it’s in good condition. You can perform periodic inspections quarterly or annually.
Regardless of which type of inspection you are performing, follow the recommendation included by the crane manufacturer.
Table of contents
How to conduct effective hoist inspections
Construction is a hazardous industry, and even more so when safety measures are taken for granted. Having a hoist inspection policy in place mitigates risks, maximizes productivity, and ensures legal compliance.
Here are some tips to have an effective hoist inspection policy. Use this together with your periodic or daily hoist inspection checklist.
Always conduct pre-use check ups
Different external factors can cause changes in the hoist’s condition between inspections. So a pre-use review is a good way to identify any problems before they escalate.
Your OSHA hoist inspection checklist should include:
- Visual checks of all load chains for severe damage
- Ensuring the hoist is properly secured
- Ensuring that the load is within the load limit indicated on the warning label
- Inspecting the motion of hoists to make sure it’s smooth and regular, without any vibration, unusual noise, binding, or other irregularity
- Checking that hoist chains aren’t damaged or kinked
Follow scheduled inspections
OSHA requires hoists and cranes to undergo at least one inspection per year. But as mentioned, pre-use, daily, weekly, and monthly checkups are necessary safety measures. No matter what your inspection schedule is, it’s vital that you stick to it.
ASME issues the following guidelines for periodic inspection intervals:
- Normal service – annual
- Severe service – monthly or quarterly
- Special service – as recommended by a qualified inspector
Your hoist inspection schedule depends on the work environment and how often you use your equipment.
Immediately take action
Once you find an, immediately start the corrective action process. Report the situation to the plant or operation manager to prevent the issue from becoming a safety hazard.
Keep your checklist structured but straightforward.
A practical hoist inspection checklist is straightforward. Having too many unnecessary steps can be counter-productive. Instead, only include the most relevant information for the inspection. Look carefully at OSHA and other agency requirements to learn what your checklist needs to include.
Organize inspection data
Organizing and keeping inspection data can provide other teams insight when they face similar issues. Having access to inspection results help them quickly find and resolve issues. Digital hoist inspection checklists are convenient because your data is stored automatically.
Keys to an OSHA-compliant hoist inspection program
Having an OSHA-compliant inspection policy ensures workers are safe and companies that have legally met all the requirements. Compliance starts when you familiarize yourself with OSHA, CMAA, and ASME inspection standards.
The information is necessary when:
- Conducting regular overhead crane inspections
- Performing maintenance on overhead cranes
- Training crane operators and maintenance technicians
1. Conducting inspections
Cranes that are used regularly have two types of inspection based on their frequency – frequent and periodic inspections.
As per CMAA #78, a frequent inspection should check the following items:
- Hoist or crane has no out-of-service sign
- All motions conform with control device markings
- Stopping distance is normal, and braking movements don’t have excessive drift
- Hooks have no cracks, deformation, twist, or wear on their saddle or load-bearing point
- Wire ropes are adequately lubricated and have no damage or deformation to the rope structure
- The load chain has no twist, excessive wear, or distorted links
- The wire rope is reeved correctly and not twisted and is settled perfectly in drum grooves
On the other hand, periodic inspections need to examine possible safety hazards like:
- Cracks, corrosion, and deformities in the structural members, or impediments in the footwalks
- Fire extinguishers in place in the operating cabs
- Loose or broken bolts and rivets in connection points
- Properly functioning brake systems
- Signs of deterioration in electrical apparatuses
2. Maintenance
OSHA 1910.17 requires that you take the following precautions before repairs and adjustments start:
- Repairing the crane must not interfere with other work operations
- All controllers need to be in the OFF position
- You need to place an “Out of Order” sign on or under the crane, or on the hook
- Put rail stops in place to prevent interference from other cranes in operation
- Remove all maintenance equipment, reinstall all guards, and reactivate safety devices before using the crane again
3. Training
ASME B30.20 states that management is responsible for training their crane operators and maintenance crew.
Crane operators need training so they can handle their equipment in line with best practices. Maintenance, on the other hand, should be trained on repair skills.
Hoist inspections with workflow automation software
Relying on a lot of paperwork to perform hoist inspections is inconvenient and easy to lose track of. Workflow automation software like Lumiform makes it easier perform inspections, access and secure documents, and resolve any issues. This saves time and helps workers handle lifting equipment safely.
<
Using Lumiform’s mobile app and desktop software, safety officers and workers can:
- Perform inspections on-site via the app using a smartphone or tablet, even offline
- Easily document any issues by including pictures and writing comments
- Assign and track corrective and preventive actions in real time
- Complete inspections up to 4x faster thanks to detailed and intuitive custom checklists
- Share automatically generated hoist inspection reports with appropriate personnel immediately so you can design corrective actions and improve future maintenance
- Save all information securely in the cloud and access it at any time
