A 20 ton overhead crane is an awesome investment that can help you improve the productivity and the efficiency of your work processes. However, you need to keep in mind that your investment is actually as good as the amount of maintenance and protection you are willing to offer it. Here are a few tips to help you keep a 20 ton overhead crane long working life, without major repair works.
The first thing to do is to observe the recommended maintenance schedule and to stick to it by all means. Manufacturers of heavy lifting machines and equipment used to make sure recommendations to their clients. Furthermore, the best ones are also ready to offer their expert maintenance services, so that you don’t need to worry about hiring people who aren’t familiar with the equipment. Some may even require you to use their teams if you don’t want to void your warranty. As that’s something you might want to do anyway, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t choose a manufacturer only because of this.
Anyway, regular maintenance is the best way to secure the smooth functioning of all mechanisms and elements of your equipment. Always make sure that the railway is clean and free from any debris. Also, check the elements that need oiling, to ensure that they are properly lubricated at any given time. Teach your operators to take good care of the machine, to clean it, and to inspect it before and after every job or work shift. Such inspections shouldn’t take more than a few minutes, but they can save lives and extend the useful life of your machine.
The other best thing you can do to extend the useful life of your 20 ton overhead crane is to perform frequent inspections of all its main components. The parts that move are extremely important. The wheels, the rails, the pulleys, and other such parts are subject to a lot of wear and tear. This is why you need to inspect them often and to fix all the problems you find. By addressing these issues in their early stages, you avoid having to deal with bigger problems later on.
If you want your overhead crane to serve you for a very long time, you have to ensure that your workers use it only as intended, without exceeding the maximum load, and without pushing its capabilities to the limit. Extreme or clumsy handling of the equipment may result in major damage that may be difficult to repair. Such things may shorten the life of your overhead crane, so you should make sure that you always provide your teams of operators the best training possible. Also, watch them closely, in order to see if they do everything by the book.
These are a few tips to help you make the most out of your investment in heavy lifting equipment. A 20 ton overhead crane should be able to serve you for a big number of years. Take proper care of it and it will do so.
