Crane Assembly/Disassembly

 

OSHA’s subpart CC, Cranes and Derricks in Construction, has specific requirements for the assembly and disassembly of cranes. Employers must comply with all manufacturer prohibitions regarding assembly and disassembly.

Assembly/disassembly responsibilities
Qualified person — a person who, by possession of a recognized degree, certificate, or professional standing, or who by extensive knowledge, training and experience, successfully demonstrated the ability to solve/ resolve problems relating to the subject matter, the work, or the project.

Competent person — one who is capable of identifying existing and predictable hazards in the surroundings or working conditions which are unsanitary, hazardous, or dangerous to employees, and who has authorization to take prompt corrective measures to eliminate them.

The work has to be directed by an A/D (Assembly/Disassembly) director. The A/D director must meet the criteria for both a competent person and a qualified person, or must be a competent person assisted by a qualified person. The A/D director must:
• Understand the applicable procedures.
• Review the procedures immediately prior to beginning work unless he or she understands the procedures and has used them before for that equipment type and configuration.
• Ensure that each member of the crew understands his or her tasks, the hazards of the tasks, and any hazardous positions or locations to avoid.
• Verify all capacities of any equipment used, including rigging, lifting lugs, etc.
• Address hazards associated with the operation, including 12 specified areas of concern: site and ground conditions, blocking material, proper location of blocking, verifying assist crane loads, boom and jib pick points, center of gravity, stability upon pin removal, snagging, struck by counterweights, boom hoist brake failure, loss of backward stability, and wind speed and weather.

Inspection
After assembly, but before use, a qualified person must inspect the crane to make sure it is configured according to the manufacturer equipment criteria. If these criteria are unavailable, the employer’s qualified person, with the assistance of a registered professional engineer if necessary, must develop the appropriate configuration criteria and ensure that these criteria are met.

Ground crew
A crew member who moves out of the operator’s view to a location where the crew member could be injured by movement of the equipment (or load) must inform the operator before going to that location. The operator must not move the equipment until that crew member informs the operator that he or she has relocated to a safe position.

Rigging
All rigging must be done by a qualified rigger. Follow manufacturer procedures when using synthetic slings during assembly or disassembly rigging (even when the employer has developed its own A/D procedure as an alternative to the manufacturer’s other procedures.)
Protect synthetic slings from abrasive, sharp or acute edges, and configurations that might reduce the rated capacity.

This information is provided by Assurance Agency https:www.assuranceagency.com