A Q&A on Tag Lines – Part 1

Under certain U.S. Federal and state OSHA regulations failure to use a tag line on a freely suspended load could be a violation of law. Regulations where tag lines are mentioned include:

• General Industry OSHA §1910.180(h)(3)(xvi)  states “…A tag or restraint line shall be used when the rotation of the load is hazardous.”
• Construction OSHA §1926.1417(w) says “A tag or restraint line must be used if necessary to prevent rotation of the load that would be hazardous.”
• Hoisting Personnel OSHA §1926.1431(k)(5) regulates “tag lines must be used when necessary to control the platform.”

So now we know what the letter of the law says, over the next several weeks we are going to look at some of the many other questions that get asked about tag lines and talk about some best practices for use. This week we are going to start with some basic information and progress from there:

What is a tag line?

According to OSHA §1926.1401 (more…)

Obtaining an NCCCO Certification can be quite challenging. We know this, because we’ve provided CCO certification training for 19 years. At Crane Tech we have students who come to us with years of operating experience thinking certification will be a breeze only to find out, there is a lot of information regarding crane operation they don’t know or may have forgotten.

In a former post on Clarifying CCO Certification Crane Tech discussed the topics around what it means to be CCO Certified and what does it take to become CCO Certified, but we are constantly getting asked, “Do I need to take a CCO Prep Course?” (more…)

When purchasing new rigging, Crane Tech cannot stress enough the importance of an initial inspection before any rigging is placed into service!  How do YOU KNOW it is what the manufacturer and rigging shop says it is, if YOU don’t take the time to check it out yourself?

Let’s look at a couple of real life examples on some slings:

1” x 16’ 2-ply Twisted Eye Nylon Slings

Check out the tag… it says 16 feet.  Now check against the tape measure, do any of these actually measure 16 feet? Nope. Not a single one. They aren’t really even close, what do you do? (more…)

When you purchase a new 300 ton crane, one of the most important supplemental investments one can make is in the training of the operators and crew who will be working in and around this machine on a daily basis.  That’s why Crane Tech was called in, to get this team up and running and most importantly comfortable with their new Grove GMK5250L.

So where in the world is Crane Tech? The Falkirk Mining Company (FMC) in Underwood, ND which is an operating branch of the North American Coal Corporation.
(more…)

By the hundreds of likes/comments already received through various social media posts, everyone agrees that standing/working under a suspended load is a bad idea and should be avoided at all costs if possible—regardless if it meets the permitted “legal” criteria to do so. In the words of one reader, “lifting operations are inherently dangerous as we are always attempting to defeat gravity.” And we know that Murphy’s Law of “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong.” is alive and well, it is only a matter of time. (more…)