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I’m Ron Wittmeyer, and today I want to talk about construction cranes, including some of the very basics about cranes. I’m particularly interested in cranes right now because we’re representing a client who was injured when a load came loose from a crane on a construction site, dropping a 70-foot steel beam.

OSHA requires that crane operators be certified by nationally recognized crane training and certification operators, but only when they are operating a crane with a capacity to lift more than 2,000 pounds. Let’s talk about some of the common types of construction cranes and their use.

Mobile cranes

Those are the cranes you see where the entire crane is on a truck that’s capable of going down the highway. They are very versatile and can travel to and from construction sites by themselves.

Telescopic cranes

Another type of crane is the telescopic crane. That’s where you’ll see the hydraulics. The crane will extend the boom by means of the hydraulics and in a telescoping fashion.

Tower crane

Another type of crane that you often see on downtown highrise construction sites is a tower crane. Tower cranes can go up to a thousand feet. And when they go to any height, you’ll see them attached to the building. It’s a very useful type of crane for highrise construction.

Truck mounted crane

Another type of crane is a truck mounted crane. That’s the type of crane you’ll see mounted on a flatbed truck. It’s used primarily to pick up building materials off the truck and deposit them on the job site.

Crawler crane

Another type of crane is a crawler crane. That is a crane with steel tracks on it. It’s very stable but not very mobile.

Overhead crane

Another type of crane is an overhead crane. That’s where you see a steel structure and the crane moves back and forth on the header of that structure to deliver equipment and move equipment or materials around the job site. This type is also very commonly used in industrial settings.

Equipment that’s excluded from the OSHA certification requirements

There’s also some lifting equipment that is excluded from the operator certification requirements under OSHA. Here are just a few of the types of equipment that do not require an operator to be certified: backhoes, excavators, tow trucks, and fork lift trucks. If I can answer any questions, please feel free to shoot me an email.