Outrigger Safety what did you cover in risk assessment and ...

It is a common mistake to assume that the weight of a load on any crane will be equally distributed across all four pads. You need to calculate the potential force that will be exerted on one pad before deciding whether or not it is safe to perform the lift.

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RULE number one is look for hazards 360 degrees around you before setting up, RULE number two before you set up, you must be a TRAINED COMPETENT worker in this type of activity!

But before you lift before you run out the outriggers did you, have you done  a Site Survey It is essential that a survey be conducted to establish what the load to be lifted is, what all the characteristics are, weight, size, type of lifting lugs etc., what the ground conditions are, where it has to be lifted from and to, what the access route is like, etc. The survey must be completed by a competent person(s). No load must be lifted without the following crucial information: - the load weight - the overall dimensions (length, width and depth). - indication of the position of centre of gravity. - the lifting/slinging points - the pickup radius - the final location radius - the height to which the load has to be lifted. - the overall weight (load + all lifting accessories)

Outlined below are the measures needed to protect you from injury as well as guidance on training, selecting materials and using cribbing and blocking to ensure your unit is set up properly. Knowing your equipment has safety features is not enough. You also need to know how to safely use the equipment.

Terms:

• Ground conditions means the ability of the ground to support the equipment.
• Support materials means blocking, mats, cribbing or similar supporting materials or devices.
• Blocking is commonly used to provide a foundation for heavy loads such as outriggers.
• Cribbing is used when a heavy load must be supported at a height greater than blocking can provide.

The first step is choosing the right product for the application. &#;Three factors must be considered when selecting an outrigger pad: ground conditions, size of outrigger foot, and maximum outrigger load of the equipment. By looking at those three conditions we can recommend the ideal pad that provides high performance load distribution and ergonomic safety,&#; said P bar Y Safety.

 

Common sense reminders. Examples include:

 

• Never use outrigger pads or cribbing that are smaller than the outrigger foot itself. Doing so will concentrate, rather than spread the load, creating a point loaded setup that could fail.

 

• Outrigger feet must be smooth and free from debris in order to be stable and achieve solid contact with a outrigger pad.

 

• To create a better setup, poorly compacted soil conditions should be improved by utilizing appropriate soil compaction measures.

 

• Do not under any circumstances use Outrigger Pads to span or set up over depressions or voids of any type. Failure to comply can result in serious injury or death in addition to significant property and equipment damage.

 

• Proper foot placement is critical to proper load distribution. The outrigger foot must be placed squarely in the center of each Outrigger Pad.

 

Selecting Material:

• Material must be physically capable of handling heavy loads induced by the unit outrigger.
• Material must not be cracked, deformed, rotten, bent, worn or damaged.
• Select material that is larger than the foot of the outrigger.
• Material should be of sufficient thickness, width, and length to prevent shifting, toppling or excessive settlement of the load.
• Material must be free of oil, grease or debris and kept dry to prevent slippage.

Personal Protective Equipment (PPE):

• Personnel should wear steel-toed boots, gloves and eye protection when handling cribbing and blocking.

Use of Cribbing and Blocking:

• Material must be placed on a firm level base or foundation to properly disperse the weight of the load.
• Ensure no debris is under the cribbing or blocking which may prevent it from resting firmly on the ground or surface.
• It should be placed directly beneath the outrigger and stacked to avoid slipping.
• Frequently inspect cribbing and blocking during unit operation for settling, slippage, cracking, bending, crushing or shear failure.
• Cribbing should never be taller than twice the width of the blocking base.

Blocking under outrigger floats, when required, shall meet the following requirements:

(1) sufficient strength to prevent crushing, bending, or shear failure

(2) such thickness, width, and length, as to completely support the float, transmit the load to the supporting surface, and prevent shifting, toppling, or excessive settlement under load

So how do you determine what &#;adequate support&#; is? You have to calculate it.  No rules of thumb, no wing and a prayer, no best guess, just a calculation to determine the size of cribbing/blocking required.

A key thing to remember is that as a crane works and rotates over the various corners and quadrants, the load will shift and at any one time a greater load will be placed on one outrigger than on the others. It is for this reason that equally dividing the load around the outrigger pads is a mistake.

If you consider that 100% of crane and maximum load may be exerted on any one outrigger pad at any time you can plan for proper outrigger set-up.

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Sure it sounds simple, but we all know that having adequate information to complete the calculation on-site can be challenging depending on whom you talk to.

4 step process:

1. Calculate the FORCE exerted on the ground (i.e. crane weight and attachments, plus load weight and rigging) Obtain the Ground Bearing Capacity (GBC) permitted for the soil you are set-up on. This is the PRESSURE the soil can withstand.
2. Determine AREA by calculating FORCE ÷ PRESSURE
3. Find the square root of the area to determine the blocking dimensions

When it comes down to it, a rule of thumb is a principle with broad application that is not intended to be strictly accurate or reliable for every situation. While it is something that is easily learned and applied to make a preliminary determination.

So when setting up cribbing and someone says, &#;just make it 3x times bigger than the outrigger pad&#;, just say NO! Take the time to calculate and plan &#; it can make the difference between a safe lift and a sunken one.   This is a great app used to help you the worker get the job done, 

General Calculations to Determine the Correct Blocking Size:

• Rule of 5: Take the maximum lifting capacity in tons of the unit such as 50 tons, divide that by 5 = 10 sq. ft. of cribbing or blocking
• Rule of 3: Take the square footage of the cranes floats and multiply by 3. Such as a 2×2 fl oat = 4 sq. ft. Take 4 sq. ft. x 3 = 12 sq. ft. of cribbing or blocking

 

Calculator

• Add the weight of the crane itself to the weight of the load you are attempting to lift to get the total weight that will be pushing down on the outrigger pads. It doesn't matter if you are using the metric or English standard systems.
• Multiply the square of the radius of one of the outrigger pads by pi to obtain its surface area. The radius of the pad is equal to half of its diameter. Be sure to use the same system of measurement, metric or English standard, that you used in Step 1.
• Divide the total weight calculated in Step 1 by the surface area calculated in Step 2 to obtain the total potential load that will be exerted on one of the outrigger pads, either in pounds or kilograms. If your crane is not rated to handle this amount or more, it is not safe to perform the lift.
• Estimate how much weight the soil at your job site will support without compressing. Rock can support about three tons per square foot. Silt will only support about 2,000 pounds per square foot, and the most common soil type, Type A or &#;cohesive soil,&#; will support about 3,000 pounds per square foot.
• Calculate the maximum total weight of your fully loaded crane. A 50-ton crane, capable of lifting 100,000 pounds, itself weighs 86,000 pounds. It will, therefore, have a total loaded weight of 186,000 pounds.
• Divide the pounds per square foot of soil resistance (for example, 3,000 pounds per square foot for Type A soil) by 144, which is the total number of square inches in a square foot. For type A soil this works out to 20.9 pounds of soil resistance per square inch.
• Divide the weight of your loaded crane by the weight the soil under your crane can support. A loaded crane that weighs 186,000 pounds on Type A soil that will support 20 pounds per square inch needs a total of 9,300 square inches of support under each crane outrigger.
• Calculate the square root of this total support area to determine the size of the cribbing pads you must use under each outrigger foot. The square root of 9,300 is about 96.5 inches. So you must use a square cribbing pad that measures at least 96.5 inches on each side to support the weight of a 186,000-pound crane on Type A cohesive soil. The weaker the soil, the larger the cribbing pads must be.

Examples of Soil Types and Load Bearing Capacities:

 

*check the load chart or consult the unit manufacturer for the maximum outrigger down pressure for a single outrigger.

Outrigger Pad/Float Size in Square Inches:

 

 

Specific Calculations to Determine the Correct Blocking Size:

Maximum outrigger down pressure* ÷ outrigger pad/fl oat square inches = amount of pressure per square inch on the blocking material.

Example:

62,800* ÷ (sq. outrigger pad 36×36) = 48.5 lbs psi

Now consult the soil type chart above. With 48.5 lbs psi, the unit can be safely set up on &#;Mixed granular soil&#; or any soil with a higher load bearing pressure than 48.5 lbs psi.

 

Description

SafetyTech® is a high load capacity outrigger crane pad with a vertical load bearing capacity of up to 140,000lbs* for our largest size. It is designed to fully support vehicles and cranes without warping, splintering or bending and the pad features a safety textured tread surface to further improve grip and stability. SafetyTech® is manufactured from a highly durable proprietary engineered thermoplastic material which provides exceptional support. It is non-conductive, non-magnetic, and resistant to temperature, chemicals, water, and oil. SafetyTech® features high visibility safety orange patented TuffGrip® handles ensuring optimum maneuverability and will return to normal after bending, retaining its original shape.

*Load bearing capacity is subject to ground conditions.  Sizing is subject to a manufacturing variance of +/- 5%.