The work area where cranes are needed to lift loads is already considered to be an accident-prone area. There are heavy weights in the air, various types of machinery, workers and then there are the environmental effects that make it even more difficult to operate lifting equipment safely. How do bad weather conditions affect the operation of lifting equipment?
External factors such as extreme cold or heat, wind or fog can cause serious challenges in the operation of cranes, whether they are mobile or installed.
A extreme conditions can not only multiply the duration of the work to be carried out, but can also cause serious accidents at work and failure or damage to lifting equipment if the necessary precautions are not taken.
The winter months and the winter months that come with them cold weather can pose a number of challenges for the lifting equipment and operators on site. In this post, we will look at the precautions you should take to ensure the safe operation of cranes in low temperatures.
Maintenance
For cranes - and this is not We can do it enough to voice - increased attention should be paid to regular maintenance.
In winter, ice and snow can accumulate on machines and should always be removed or prevented by storage.
Battery efficiency can be reduced, so frequent checks are recommended. Rubber seals and other components can also react badly to low temperatures, so it is worth checking them more often to prevent leaks. Sub-freezing temperatures can affect the viscosity of lubricants (oils, greases, hydraulic fluids), so make sure they are suitable for winter use.
Considering that cranes can be out of use for days or even weeks at a time due to unsuitable weather conditions or even a holiday period, it is an essential maintenance task to ensure that machines are properly protected from external influences by proper storage during such periods.
Weight is important!
When starting the cranes in winter a longer warm-up period is required, so manufacturers' recommendations should be taken into account, to ensure that the machines reach the optimum operating temperature before use.
The lifting capacity - especially in extreme cold - is also reduced, as the steel structural elements of the hoists become stiffer due to the low temperatures.
The manufacturer taking recommendations into account is also essential to maintain safe operation in this case. Accumulation of ice and snow can affect not only the lifting equipment but also the load. Continuous cleaning is recommended to reduce weight.
We will continue on this topic in our next post, which will cover the precautions to be taken by personnel working with or operating cranes.
