When you work with a professional crane hire company, we make the lifting process seem simple. As one of southeast Queensland’s leading crane operators. Regal Crane Hire has more than 25 years of experience operating cranes on a variety of commercial, residential, and mining projects.
We’re a family-owned and operated crane hire company that works across Brisbane, the Gold Coast, and the Sunshine Coast. Our expertise in crane and rigging operations lets us work alongside our clients to provide a seamless lifting experience – but there’s a lot going on behind the scenes that you may not be aware of.
We often get crane hire enquiries promising us “it will just be a quick lift”, or “it’s only a small job that won’t take long”. The reality is there’s a lot of work involved in the planning, setup, and pack down of each job – regardless of size.
Lift planning
A comprehensive plan is at the heart of every safe and efficient crane operation. Even seemingly routine lifts must consider the following aspects at a job site:
- Ground elevation, terrain and condition
- Powerlines
- Underground services
- Obstructions such as trees and nearby structures
- Weather conditions, including wind speed
- Surrounding traffic – both vehicles and pedestrians
Regal Crane Hire inspects each job site prior to the lift date. However, these conditions can change. For this reason, site conditions must be closely checked by the crane operator during the planning stage and again on the day of the lift.
Common site checks
Before we start a lift, we’ll confirm that:
- The site and ground conditions can support all equipment during set up and pack down.
- The correct size and amount of blocking material is available and in good condition.
- The load’s centre of gravity is identified wherever possible. If it’s not possible for us to accurately identify the centre of gravity, we’ll put steps in place to prevent any dangerous movement.
- The boom sections, boom suspension systems and components are rigged to maintain stability. Suspension ropes and pendants must not be able to catch on the boom.
- Counterweights are well secured to prevent unintended movement.
- Solid backward stability allows safe swinging of upperworks, travel, and the attaching and removal of crane components.
Crane set up
Outriggers and stabilisers are used on most jobs. These take time to set up and pack down; the ground elevation will determine how much work is involved in this assembly and disassembly. Whenever outriggers or stabilisers are used:
- They must be either fully extended or deployed as specified in the load chart.
- Outriggers must be set to remove the equipment weight from the wheels, except for locomotive cranes.
- Outrigger floats must be attached to the outriggers if used. Similarly, stabiliser floats must be attached to the stabilisers if they’re used.
- Each outrigger or stabiliser must be visible to the operator or a signal person during extension and setting.
At Regal Crane Hire, safety is our #1 priority! Our processes and procedures – which we ensure are documented daily – not only establish the safety of our staff but also our clients and the wider community. Regardless of the job size, we’re meticulous about following all checks and take personal accountability for delivering our commitment of safe operations.
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