A new safety specification from the Crane Manufacturers Assn. of America (CMAA) sets performance standards for the manufacture, service, maintenance and inspection of overhead traveling cranes and associated hoisting equipment. "Specification No. 78" is the first to recognize such safety guidelines, says CMAA managing director Hal Vandiver. "We wanted to raise the bar for the end-user community as an industry, instead of just a collection of people doing whatever they think is appropriate." The regulations were drafted by crane manufacturers who are members of CMAA, in recognition that maintenance crews and technicians have no current guidelines for tasks like the period and frequency of repairs, he says.
The 40-page guide is available at www.mhia.org.