In recent years the crane industry has seen a boom in sales. At Cargotec, owner of HIAB and other crane and material handling equipment brands, sales were up 11 percent (more than €300,000/$330,000) in the full year 2019.
A loader crane is very different from other heavy machinery and we’ll explore some of their most popular uses in this guide.
Here are our top five uses for a loader crane.
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Safety First
Before we discuss the various uses of loader cranes (also known by the brand name HIAB), here's a small warning. Never use a crane without following safety guidelines.
A crane load chart can provide details on how much weight the crane can safely lift. The crane load cell indicates how much weight is being lifted. Crane load test procedure should always be followed before the first use and after each relocation.
1. Loading and Unloading on Construction Sites
Loading and unloading resources for construction companies is a primary use scenario for loader cranes. Sometimes, a loader crane is called a truck loader crane or truck-mounted crane.
They’re often at the rear of the vehicle, and they can load or unload construction materials and goods from the truck to the ground or another vehicle. That makes them indispensable to construction companies that always need to move large amounts of building materials from one place to another. The crane operator needs to ensure that lifting, loading, or unloading tasks are done properly. You can even contact a renowned supplier of a rental crane near you for material lifting. The majority of rental crane companies offer certified operators which makes the task a lot easier.
2. Recovering or Delivering Vehicles and Machinery
When vehicles or machinery break down it can be challenging to move them to an appropriate location for servicing, maintenance and repairs.
However, a loader crane can easily move any size of vehicle or machinery onto another vehicle for transportation.
3. Digging Using an Auger and Erecting a Pole
Attachments, such as an auger, can be used to bore holes in the ground and poles can be inserted using loader cranes.
That makes them very useful in construction, above and beyond their function of transferring materials from one place to another.
4. Lifting Human Operators in Personnel Cages for Inspection
When people think about using loader cranes, they usually consider moving goods rather than people.
However, when a member of personnel needs to perform inspections at height, a personnel cage mounted on a loader crane can provide a quick, safe and efficient solution. Members of staff can inspect tall buildings without needing to build expensive scaffolds.
5. Lifting and Moving Specialized Materials
Extra attachments such as magnetic devices and grab claw attachments can enable a loader crane to move materials that would otherwise be difficult to lift and move. That includes scrap metal and hazardous materials.
Electromagnet devices can collect large bundles of magnetic metals and then they can be released onto vehicle truck beds or processing machinery.
A Loader Crane Can Make a Good Investment
To summarize, the main uses for a loader crane are in construction and vehicle recovery. They make a great investment for businesses that offer heavy machinery rental or have expanding construction projects.
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