Crane Pre-operation Inspection

What should you check for before operating a crane and before lifting any load you should start the crane and inspect it when it is moving. Look for:

A crane is a type of material handling equipment that transports a load vertically and horizontally. The lifting mechanism (hoist) is an integral part of the crane.

There are several types of cranes which have the same fundamental characteristics but differ in the way they are supported (mounted): overhead cranes (bridge), mobile cranes, or fixed cranes (tower). Each type may have specific safety operating requirements, but there are safety inspection elements that are similar. Follow the manufacturer's instructions for each type of crane.

• Rope appearance - lubrication, kinks, cuts, breaks, corrosion, reduced diameter, broken strands of wires or other signs of wear or damage.
• A rope drum - position of cable in groove tracking, means of anchoring and drum wear or damage.
• Sheaves - alignment of ropes, guides, dead ends, wear in sheave groove.
• Hooks - cracks, twisting, straightening, hook throat opening or other signs of wear or damage, bent safety latch and broken spring.
• Slings - appropriate type of sling, legible and appropriate capacity ratings, with no holes, cuts, crushed webbing or other damages.
• Lights - burned out, broken.
• Mechanical parts and guards - loose, bent, broken, and missing.
• Rails - broken, chipped, cracked.
• Wheels - worn (showed by bumpy riding).
• Bearings - loose, worn.
• Brakes - shoe wear.
• Bridge bumpers and trolley end stop - loose, missing, improper placement.
• Controllers and collector shoes or bars - worn, pitted, loose, broken, or faulty operation.
• Control buttons - labeled to indicate their function, properly function, immediately release without sticking.
• Foot walk zone - condition of the boards, railings, and ladders.
• Gears - lack of lubrication or presence of foreign material in gear teeth (indicated by grinding or squealing).
• A fire extinguisher must be in the crane cab.
• Make sure that no one is on or around a crane before closing the main or emergency switch, even when starting on regular duty.
• Before closing the main switch, make sure that all controllers are in the "off" position.
• Inspect oil only after opening and locking out the main switch.
• Make sure no overhead power lines are obstructing the crane operation.

Before lifting any load you should start the crane and inspect it when it is moving. Look for:

• Smooth play out of wire rope to and from a drum.
• Sheaves turning without binding or jerking as a rope passes over them.
• Proper alignment where ropes enter sheaves.
• Ropes not rubbing on rope sheave guards.
• Rubbing, scraping, or clattering noises during operation.
• Jerky movements.
• Proper operation of controls and brakes.
• Test the limit switch. Slowly raise the hook block with no load attached to the hook. If the switch is defective, make sure the block does not strike the cable.

Causes of Forklift Accidents

It is very hard to memorize a big list.However , it is very easy to remember ( HEET ) , where :

H stands for HUMAN Related Factor 

      1- Is the forklift operator trained?

      2- Is he certified?

     3- Is he oriented to time , place and person?

     4- Is he communicable via verbal and or non-verbal language with the others.

     5- Is he aware of team members, team leader and procedure ?

E stands for Equipment Related Factor

     1- Is the forklift inspected and certified by third party?

     2- Is the forklift stable, simple, suitable and safe? ( 4 Ss ).

E stands for Environment Related Factors

1- Physical Factors ; extreme of temperature, light and dimness, vibration, pressure and noise.

2- Chemical factors; presence of any toxic pollution with gases, liquids or particles.

3- Biological Factors; presence of any plants or animals hindering the operation.

4- Undesirable rains, winds, storms, TSUNAMI, hurricanes, tornados, earthquakes and volcanoes.

T task Related Factor 

1- Is the task simple or complicated?.

2- Is it covered by JOB HAZARD ANALYSIS?

3- Is the task very well explained to team members and team leaders?

4- Is the task routine or non-routine activity?

IF you consider the four elements of HEET in the Pre-Job Safety Meeting, I am quite sure that the probability of an accident will greatly decline.

Good luck with my ACRONYM ( HEET ) .

Feature Benefits and Disadvantages of Dry Powder Fire 

POWDER = P+O+W+D+E+R +

P = dry powder is made up of Particles

O = Open spaces are ideal for the use of the dry powder.

W = Weight is heavy. This is disadvantageous. 

E = Eye can not see properly because of the fog made by the powder. It is not advised for the closed spaces and offices.

R= Right alternative if the principal extinguisher A, B or C is not available.

Breathing Set ( SCBA ), HSE Tips

Before you put the SCBA on the shoulder make sure you check as follows: OLAC

( O ) Stands for Open the cylinder.

( L ) Stands for Look at the Pressure Guage for enough compressed air.

( A ) Stands for Allow Air Passage to the Mask utilizing the bypass valve.

Please keep your eyes on the pressure gauge. If the pointer moves fast towards the zero, we conclude that the regulator or pressure reducer is not working properly. In normal situations it takes an average of half an hour for the pressure to drop from the standard 220BAR to the ZERO. 

( C ) Connect the mask to the face.

Important questions and answers: 

1- How do I know for how many minutes will the SCBA serve me 

The normal adult utilizes an average of 40 liters of air per minute.

The standard pressure in a 7-liter bottle is 220 BAR. It means 220 times the atmospheric pressure ( as if we repeated the filling of the bottle with 7 liters of air successively for 220 times) .

Air stored in a bottle = pressure x volume 

Air stored in a bottle = 220 x 7 = 1540 litres 

1540 liters will be divided by the rate of consumption of air per minute which is 40 yielding 38.5 minutes.

2- How do I verify whether the SCBA is leaking or not?

3- How to avoid being panic? 

The answer of question 2 and 3 are as follows : 

1- Before you wear the mask make sure that straps are loose.

2- When you put on the mask you start inhaling immediately to activate air flow.

3- to avoid being panic, please hold your breathing for 10 seconds.

4- During the 10 second of no breathing, you carefully listen to whistling sound which is your clue for the presence of leakage.

The alarm of the SCBA rings when the pressure in the cylinder drops to 50 Bar and continues ringing down to above zero. When you listen to the alarm you have limited air in the cylinder which is calculated by the equation 

50 Bar x the volume of the cylinder.

If the cylinder is 7 liters then the amount of air at 50 BAR when you listen to the alarm is 50 x 7 = 350 liters.

Average person uses 40 liters per minute. Then divide 350 by 40, you will end up with how many minutes still you can breath after listening to the alarm of the SCBA. roughly speaking 10 minutes.

I wish you all the best,  if you need any further assistance, please drop an e mail.

British and US Classification of Fire and Extinguishers

Before Rushing to the Use of Fire Extinguishers, we have to bear in mind that there are 3 ways od controlling any fire :

1- deprivation of fuel ( burning material )

2- deprivation of Oxygen.

3- Deprivation of energy or heat.

1- British Standard: 

BS EN 3 : Identify the type of materials in the area 

Class A:	SOLIDS such as paper, wood, plastic etc
Class B:	FLAMMABLE LIQUIDS such as paraffin, petrol, oil etc
Class C:	FLAMMABLE GASES such as propane, butane, methane etc
Class D:	METALS such as aluminium, magnesium, titanium etc
Class E:	Fires involving ELECTRICAL APPARATUS
Class F:	Cooking OIL & FAT etc

Types of fire extinguisher

Water Fire Extinguishers:
The cheapest and most widely used fire extinguishers. Used for Class A fires. Not suitable for Class B (Liquid) fires, or where electricity is involved.

Foam Fire Extinguishers:
More expensive than water, but more versatile. Used for Classes A & B fires. Foam spray extinguishers are not recommended for fires involving electricity, but are safer than water if inadvertently sprayed onto live electrical apparatus.

Dry Powder Fire Extinguishers:
Often termed the ‘multi-purpose’ extinguisher, as it can be used on classes A, B & C fires. Best for running liquid fires (Class B). Will efficiently extinguish Class C gas fires, BUT BEWARE, IT CAN BE DANGEROUS TO EXTINGUISH A GAS FIRE WITHOUT FIRST ISOLATING THE GAS SUPPLY.  Special powders are available for class D metal fires.

Warning: when used indoors, powder can obscure vision or damage goods and machinery. It is also very messy.

CO2 Fire Extinguishers:
Carbon Dioxide is ideal for fires involving electrical apparatus, and will also extinguish class B liquid fires, but has NO POST FIRE SECURITY and the fire could re-ignite.

Wet chemical 
Specialist extinguisher for class F fires.

For Metal Fires: A specialist fire extinguisher for use on Class D fires - metal fires such as sodium, lithium, manganese and aluminium when in the form of swarf or turnings.

Colour Coding

Prior to 1st Jan 1997, the code of practice for fire extinguishers in the UK was BS 5423, which advised the colour coding of fire extinguishers as follows:

Water - Red

Foam - Cream

Dry Powder - Blue

Carbon Dioxide (CO2) - Black

Halon - Green (now 'illegal' except for a few exceptions such as the Police, Armed Services and Aircraft).

New extinguishers should conform to BS EN 3, which requires that the entire body of the extinguisher be coloured red. A zone of colour of up to 5% of the external area can be used to identify the contents using the old colour coding shown above.

2- American Standard ( NAFP ) 

Class A : Solids 

Class B : Liquids and Gases 

Class C : Electrical 

Class D : Metalic 

Class K : Kitchen Fire Due To Cooking Oil 

Utilisation of Fire Extinguishers does not differ regardless of the way of classification.

I hope these information are informative

If you need more help drop me a line via email

Fun With Words ( Electrical Fires )

Carbon Dioxide Fire Extinguisher for Electrical Fire

To simplify teaching for candidates try to use the letter C as a nominator for the class of electrical fires where : 

C 1

Class C Fire ( Electrical Fire ) 

C2

Current of electricity should be these in the conductor to fit the definition of electric fire otherwise it could be converted into class A fire ,combustible solids 

C3 

Carbon Dioxide is the best extinguisher for that class 

C4 

CO2 is NON-Conductor to the current of electricity

C5 

Closed or Confined Spaces are the best places to apply CO2 fire extinguisher

C6

Clean and Clear are two advantages of CO2.

C7

Carryable is a positive feature of CO2 fire extinguishers .It can be lift easily if compared to other fire extinguishers which are relatively heavy.

C8

Coolness is a major feature of CO2 fire extinguisher. You are not advised to touch the nozzle of CO2 fire extinguisher because it is the interphase of heat absorption reaction in which the liquidized CO2 in the cylinder in gaining heat from the atmosphere and it expands and converts into gaseous CO2.

C9

Color code is black related to the color of Carbon. However CO2 is colorless.

I hope you enjoyed my meditation

Dry Powder Fire Extinguishers DPFEs

Fun with Words

P        O          W         D         E         R

p

Dry powder is made up of particle.

O

Open spaces are ideal for the use of DPFE

W

Weight is heavy .

D

Class D fires are combustible metals.

E

Eye can not see in the white fog of the DPFE

R

Right alternative for class A, B and C fire

Class A Fire ( Combustible Solids )

Fun with Words

it is the class of the letter A

1- A : Class A

2- A : Animal

Solid could be derived from Animal e.g. sponge, leather and plastic .

3- A : plAnt

plAnt ( solid material could be derived from PLANT e.g. paper from trees.

N.B. Both animal and plant need water to survive and die if they are deprived from water.Burning ( making fire ) is a sentence to death for solid material. The only hope lies in water. Water is a good coolant.

4- A : wAter

Water Extinguisher is ideal for class A fire.

I hope you enjoyed my page

Must Know Facts About Gas Detector

Multiple gas detector is primarily designed to measure 4 types of gases, namely Oxygen, H2S, CO and LEL ( Explosive Hydrocarbon ).

Explosive Hydrocarbon could be any of the 10 hydrocarbons, methane, ethane, propane, butane, pentane, hexane, heptane, octane, nonane and decan.

It is equipped with 4 cartridges, the sensitivity of which is known , adjusted and calibrated towards the targeted gas.

It is used for personal protection as a detection device in the oil and gas field and to give early signal before the toxic gases reach deadly concentrations.

It must be routinely tested and calibrated.

It gives characteristic sound ( bleep ) if activated by the toxic gases.

Oxygen concentration to be accepted must range between 19.5 and 23.5 %.

LEL means lower explosive limit.

Example of LEL

Methane 5 %

Ethane 1.2 %

Gasoline 1.2 %

H2S 4.3%

LEL is adjusted to give early warning by detecting as low as 10 % of the real LEL.

In case of methane it starts bleeping at 0.5% ( which is 10 % of the 5 % ) .

H2S PEL ( Permissible Exposure Limit , is 10 ppm over 8 hours followed by 16 hours rest away from H2S ).

H2S PEL does not apply in confined spaces.

In a confined space zero tolerance is adopted and immediate ventilation to wash out H2S is applied.

We should have zero tolerance for H2S in a confined space.

CO PEL ( Carbon Monoxide PEL , permissible Exposure Limit ) is 35 ppm.

In a confined space zero tolerance is adopted and immediate ventilation to wash out CO is applied.

I hope you find this information helpful.

Regards

Common Mistake with Rubber Tube and Gas Detectors

When intended to reach certain depth for measuring the gas, you are advised to use a rubber tube.

Rubber tube is connected to the gas detector which usually has a suction pump for the suction of air from the designated level.

A common mistake is to connect the rubber tube while the pump is on and then inserting thr tube down to the target level. This simply makes suction of gases from all the way through till reaching to the target level.

To avoid this error, please insert the tube first to the required target level where you want to measure the gas and then connect it to the pump opening at the side of the gas detector.

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Fatal Errors When Measuring Gases

Fatal Errors When Measuring Gases

If you are required to measure gases in a space or tank or vessel, you need not to commit the following mistakes:

1- Being satisfied with one reading

Deep spaces require gas testing at least in three different levels namely the upper , middle and lower levels.

Being satisfied with one reading as av average is not correct. Please repeat your job considering three trials.

2- Faulty Technique

dragging the rubber tube from one level to another to take readings is not correct. You should consider each level as a separate trial. Get the tube disconnected, clean it with air flushing via the pneumatic gun, reset the gas tester and then insert the rubber tube to the destination level. Finally connect the other end of the rubber tube to the pump opening at the side of the gas detector and get the reading.

3- keeping the gas detector on the ON mode

It is a nother type of errors that should be avoided. You need three readings which are independent.

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