Improving Safety On Construction Sites Using Crane Scales
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Hanging Scale from
Carolina Scales

As the United States begins to re-invest in critical infrastructure and continues to build taller buildings, we need to recognize the hazards that accompany working with heavy equipment such as cranes.

Many crane accidents come from one of two possibilities – inexperience and/or overloading. The first is something that can be dealt with only through years of training, and teaching operators proper technique. The second, however, only requires the use of crane scales. We can look at incidents in recent years that demonstrate the need for crane scales in large construction projects:

  • In May, ten injuries were caused, traffic was diverted, and thousands of dollars of property damage were caused when an air conditioner broke free from the crane that was lifting it in midtown Manhattan.
  • In July, in Pembroke Pines, Florida, a crane overturned and caused damage to its load due to being overloaded.
  • In the Chicago area in August of 2012, a crane that was lifting a gantry section for an overhead railway signal fell across numerous train tracks due to the load being too heavy, disrupting train traffic for hours.
  • Overloaded cranes regularly cause damage to infrastructure such as water lines, roadways, sidewalk, and more – often, these problems aren’t even noticed until after the crane has left the site.

Had construction crews been using crane scales, and paying attention to the cranes’ weight requirements and load capacities, these accidents may have been avoided. There are numerous other incidents that happen on a worryingly regular basis, leading to damage, injury, and sometimes death, that can be avoided through the use of specialized weighing equipment. Make sure that if you are using a crane in your summer construction project, you are also using a crane scale to prevent accidents from happening.

Carolina Scales is a trusted supplier of crane scales and hanging scales. These scales measure the weight of a load being lifted before it is suspended from a crane, hoist, or winch. For more information, please feel free to call us at 1-800-277-2439, or email info@carolinascales.com.

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