Few things are scarier and more demoralizing than hearing about a crane accident. One of the main causes of crane accidents is a term called ‘crane overloading.’ Crane overloading is most often caused by human error, and can happen in a variety of ways.

How Crane Overloading Occurs

As you can probably deduce from the name, crane overloading most often happens when an operator tries to hoist a load beyond the crane’s capacity.

Another way for it to happen is when a load is dragged or swung, or is dropped too suddenly. Moreover, side loading a boom or having the wrong defective crane tools and materials could also lead to crane overloading.

How to Avoid Crane Overloading

Perhaps the most surefire way to be sure to read the OSHA loading capacity displayed on the crane. Thanks to wear and tear, these labels can sometimes deteriorate, causing operators to infer how much a crane can load. However, it’s always better to be safe rather than sorry, so obtain the true quantitative number, rather than go by gut feel. It’s vital to verify the weight of your load, and not leave anything to guesswork.

Mistakes are often made when operators are exhausted or more prone to error. As such, make sure you’re not making decisions when you’re not thinking clearly. Make sure all the i’s are dotted t’s are crossed. Moreover, use technology to your advantage to help quantify whether you’re overloading a specific crane.

At the end of the day though, it comes down to the operator. When you’re trusting the right experts, you can feel rest assured knowing instructions are being followed, precautions are being taken and loads aren’t being overloaded.

If you’re in the New England area and need reliable crane operators to help with a project, contact Astro Crane today.