Safety takes a concentrated effort.  It doesn’t just happen by chance; it is a series of good decisions, habits and carefulness combined with skills and knowledge that will help an operator return home at the end of the day.  However, as the days turn into weeks and the weeks turn into months and then years, it is easy to become complacent with some of the less exciting facets of an operator’s job duties; such as the pre-shift inspection.

Maybe the operator just performed the pre-shift inspection yesterday, the day before that, and every day last week. Eventually they might not be taking it seriously. But, they NEED to take it seriously! We’ve seen very serious (more…)

Check out the album with a few select photos from class earlier this week. New and seasoned overhead crane operators had the opportunity to apply the concepts learned with hands-on exercises at the Crane Tech Training Center.

Boaters know the importance of course correction in order to get where you want to go. Sailing blindly or making an educated guess can land you on the rocks.  An experienced captain uses a GPS and backs that up with calculations to be on the right bearing.  In the business world there is no GPS to plot against and a captain’s license won’t get you very far.  I think most would agree that success is devised of a whole lot of little decisions that add up to the place where you are.  The here and now. If you find something is working well, you keep doing it and trying to do it better.  If you find something is missing the mark, you course correct.

While most companies would not necessarily dream of writing about their course corrections, I think that when circumstances create (more…)

Let’s face it, rigging gear doesn’t have an unlimited life.  A sling is not made to be used day after day, year after year without eventually showing signs of wear and fatigue. However, when rigging becomes damaged before the end of its expected life span, it can be used as an opportunity for improvement instead of just seeing it as another piece of gear that has to be replaced.

Looking Past the Obvious

Several weeks ago, we blogged about Removing and Destroying Rigging Gear from Service. What we failed to mention is that it should not be enough to just find a damaged sling or know a problem exists and just replace it. Instead a good rigging program will take a closer look and evaluate “Why?” (more…)

Undoubtedly a knowledgeable management team mitigates risk and builds a safer jobsite. After all the old adage “You don’t know what you don’t know,” is true for many managers and supervisors when it comes to crane operations.

Construction Business Owner: Why Management Should Be Informed About Mobile Crane Safety

Bo’s high-level thoughts about some of the items management should know were shared in the March 2016 edition. Check out this article and let us know what you think!