Cranes are one of the backbones of the construction sector, and with every good building site comes the necessity to conduct crane inspection. As part of wider checks and inspections across the workplace in the construction sector, periodic crane inspections are now often undertaken using paperless tools. Digital inspection solutions are widely used across many industry sectors for various purposes due to their adaptability and future-proof nature, and in the construction industry, this can be more important than ever.
With new technology, new standards and new material always flowing into the construction sector, it’s important to have a forward-thinking solution that can be tailored to your needs and requirements. With crane inspections, you may not always be using the same crane across work sites or using the same crane throughout the construction process. With different hooks, ropes, slings, chains and loads also being switched during a build, it is vital for success to have effective crane inspection in your building site.
Crane inspection using Pervidi paperless solution is much the same as many other inspections already using the Pervidi solution. Cranes are registered as assets, meaning that any inspection, service, repair or check will get logged against the asset in the database for access 24/7 by crane operators, site managers and other stakeholders. It also means that previous inspection data and history for that specific crane can be accessed and attached to the next inspection for the crane.
Alongside the benefits of having all the crane inspection data in one place for easy access comes the ability to cross-reference performance using business intelligence and analytics tools. With all the data in a centralised location, crane performance over time, across sites or work types can be measured; and improvements can then be made. For the crane itself, it will benefit not only from the historical tracking of its performance, but also from better inspections. Using a mobile device to carry out an inspection means that pictures can be taken, GPS timestamps automatically recorded, barcodes/RFID/BLE scanned etc. During the inspection, repair, service or maintenance process, the personnel can also use speech-to-text services or offline recording. Standardised response checklists can improve the speed of quick checks, whereas attachment of reference material such as industry standards (AS 2550, AS 1418 etc.) or operational manuals will increase the efficiency and proficiency of the overall inspection.
Within a crane inspection & service there may be things that are discovered that are perhaps not working as they should be. When such a time occurs, the inspector or technician can make the recording on the digital checklist, and be provided with an automatically suggested pre-configured corrective action or recommendation . This is something that can be set up by management in the event of an issue arising, with the action being one that has been pre-approved to take at the time of the incident being recorded. For example, if there is an electrical failure in one of the switches or safety lights on the crane, the inspector would record this within their inspection. This would automatically trigger a correction action such as rebooting the electrical power or to take the crane offline for safety reasons.
This incident could also send a proactive trigger and/or notification to the service and maintenance team, highlighting the issue and what’s likely to be required. If it’s the case of a broke safety light, the maintenance and repair teams can quickly assess whether replacements are available, and make a judgment of the necessary downtime to remediate the problem. The trigger and alert system when paired with the corrective action means that the cranes can always be operating safely, and if maintenance is required, the lead time for this be drastically reduced. Additional benefits are the removal of paper forms, which often provide inaccurate data and need to be stored, as well as alerts and corrective actions in real time.
Having crane inspections and maintenance on a digital solution isn’t just a benefit for the operator or technicians with new features and functionalities during the inspection, it also acts as a failsafe for management. Sometimes pen and paper checklists can be lost in a process, the inspection not completed to an adequate standard or be done later than it should have been. Things like this contribute to a large issue of standards within a workplace and can be disastrous if incidents occur. With digital inspection solutions, the possibilities for this are greatly reduced. Inspections of crane equipment can be logged and scheduled via work order systems as part of a greater Computerised Maintenance Management System (CMMS).
With certain operations also requiring a pre start inspection, GPS timestamps can prove completion prior to work being undertaken. The timestamps can also be vital when site safety is questioned or an audit is completed, with no possibility for cutting corners. The aforementioned ability to log all the data digitally means that crane performance can be monitored remotely and be taken into the boardroom when a build is being discussed. Essentially, the shift of all inspection data onto a digital platform means that it is much more difficult to have a heal-hearted approach to site safety or crane inspection. Paperless tools will not only improve your inspection abilities, but they will ensure that all your crane inspections are carried out to the standard that they should be; guaranteeing that your site is as safe as possible.
Pervidi paperless inspection solution is tailored individually to each business in the construction and lifting industries, being it a crane operator, site manager, hire company, safety inspector, crane manufacturer, technician or a crane driver/ operator, meaning that different inspection procedures (e.g. pre start checks, pre/post hire, periodic inspections, service and maintenance, repairs) can be implemented into your business operations, to improve performance, safety and efficiency.
To learn more about how you can use paperless solutions for inspect cranes, visit
https://pervidi.com.au/solutions/lifting-inspection/