Growing Support – Guidance for Outrigger Pads & Mats
While ground stability and load stabilization have long been recognized as vital factors in the heavy lift industry, the recent demand for increased load handling capacity has led to the development of larger cranes. In turn, creating a greater focus on ground conditions and reaction forces.
For quite some time, the available guidance on this subject was limited to just three books: “Cranes and Derricks” by Lawrence and Jay Shapiro, “Rigging Engineering Basics” by Keith Anderson, and “Mobile Crane Support Handbook” by Dave Duerr, which has earned a reputation as the definitive resource in this space.
Now, several organizations, including the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) P30 Committee; The North American Matting Association (NAMA); the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA); and a collaboration between the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Forest Products Laboratory (FPL), and Mississippi State University, are actively developing best practices and standards for equipment support and emphasizing the importance of this critical aspect to ensure safety and efficiency in heavy lifting and transport operations.
In the July issue of Crane Hot Line, Mike Walsh, President of Dearborn Companies, compiled a list of resources that are currently available and a sneak peek into documents that are in development by various organizations and associations.
“Mike Walsh did an excellent job providing a comprehensive round up of the resources, documents, and organizations that are collectively establishing best practices for this important topic,” said Kris Koberg, CEO. Koberg is a contributing guest on ASME P30, chairman of the SC&RA Task Force, and he serves on the technical committee for NAMA.