Crane Service Inc. Launches New Podcast
Crane Service Inc., a longstanding DICA customer and full service crane rental company based in Albuquerque, N.M. recently launched episode 1 of their Crane Rental TV podcast. You you can subscribe to it on iTunes here.
Hosting the podcast was Chris Martin, Marketing Coordinator, who sat down with Todd Brown, Safety Training Coordinator to discuss crane mats and proper ground conditions.
According to Brown, when it comes to using crane mats, “It’s never acceptable to do nothing. Maybe you could get away with it once, but by doing nothing (not using crane mats), it tells the whole world that you didn’t take the time to mitigate a hazard.”
Chris Martin and Todd Brown of Crane Service Inc. recently hosted a podcast on the topic of crane mats and proper ground conditions.
The following excerpts from their conversation provide insight into how essential the use of crane mats is to the job. Listen to the full podcast or read a related article, written by Martin, which appeared in February 2016 Crane Hot Line.
Brown explains that crane operators need data to know how much pressure the ground can withstand per square inch. Then they can determine how much supporting structure is needed to setup the crane.
Brown compared the importance of crane operators understanding and using the crane manual to understanding and using outrigger pads and crane mats to support the crane. “It’s part of the job,” he said. It’s never acceptable to setup a crane without using some kind of crane pads or crane mats, according to Brown. “We believe you should always mitigate a hazard. When someone pulls up [in a crane], shoots the outriggers out and sticks them down on soil or asphalt [without using crane mats or outrigger pads], then they haven’t mitigated a hazard.”
He continues: “Complacency. That’s what not using proper matting is.” When you don’t use proper crane matting “you are putting everyone else on the site, their lives, at risk,” adds Martin.
Brown advises, “We look at the supporting surfaces and the information we have and make determinations [as to what matting is needed.] Various scenarios dictate different responses, but never undersize the crane mats.” Once crane pads are selected, Brown explains that it’s important to monitor all outriggers during operation, to make sure the surface remains stable as the crane rotates.
Martin reminds others that ground conditions can change. “We had a perfect situation where there was gravel on top of beautifully compacted soil when we checked the job. But when it came time to actually do the job, it had rained all weekend before work was to begin. So the gravel looked perfect, but underneath, wet soil had not dried out. After driving on it, it was rutted. As weight was put on the area, it was sinking down.”
Brown explains that they had to re-evaluate the crane setup. “Do we need to wait for it to dry out? Can we grade it out with a backhoe? Or can we mitigate by adding dunnage and supporting structure.” As it turned out, Crane Service Inc., used oak mats underneath their DICA crane mats to sufficiently spread the load over the area.
“The real skill of a crane operator is before you pull the levers. Knowing how to organize your people. How to set up your crane properly. Knowing radius, capacities. Making sure rigging is correct. And making sure you have proper matting and supporting structure,” said Brown. “Life exposes us to hazards. It’s how we handle that—how we pick and implement the crane matting—that’s the real measure of what we do.”