If your company uses cranes to install HVAC equipment in Atlanta, you’ve probably used us more than once. If you haven’t, give us a call at 678-848-6386. You’ll get a meticulously cared for crane, with a proficient operator, at a money saving minimum. Let us know your reach and load requirements and we’ll tailor the crane size to your particular HVAC lift.

Crane HVAC lifting is safer and more beneficial for your business.  Removing a rooftop HVAC unit without a crane can be time consuming and often quite dangerous.  At SS Crane & Rigging we often see our customers remove and replace several units at a time.  That is, most crews can  remove the old HVAC units, swing in the curb adaptors, then lift the new units into place… all within the minimum crane rental.

Carrier, Lennox, Trane, and others all furnish a complete lineup of rooftop units set up for rigging and ready for crane lifting.  Our cranes come equipped with rigging appropriate to lift any of these hvac units by crane… so let us take a load off your mind!

SS CRANE & RIGGING

678-848-6386

SS Crane & Rigging Corporation specializes in providing cranes by the hour to lift anything in the Atlanta and North Georgia area. We’ll send you a crane for one lift or a dozen. Our cranes are ’street legal’, so they are always ready to go, and we furnish the machine driven to your place and operated by an expert.

We lift air conditioners across rooftops from Rome and Cartersville to Canton and Woodstock, we lift tanks and stand them from Dalton to Marietta, and we also set pumps at water plants, transformers for power companies… its a long list.

You can call us anytime to order a crane to meet your crew, you name the time and the place! Meanwhile, please browse the site… it is packed with information on cranes, the lifting business, the operator’s concerns…

This site is written for our customer, the end user, the guy who has a job to do. We intend to help get that job done, whether through a good machine arriving on time with a helpful operator or just an easy place to find information related to the task at hand… LIFTING!

Be forewarned, there are many caveats to the figures in the load charts for modern cranes. Take the fine print seriously, in the lifting business it means everything!

The OSHA accredited crane operator’s exam has several hundred technical questions (the pass threshold is 80% correct answers, not the 60 or 70% we became complacent with in school). Most of the questions concern the crane load chart.

If you still want to read a load chart, read all notes from the beginning, browse through the tables, then carefully read the final page(s) of fine print. The boring stuff at the beginning and end defines and qualifies (reduces) a lot of the allowable load numbers in the tables. Then, when you are ready for the tables, make special note of the title of each section (most load charts are divided into sections based on the configuration of the crane.) Pay attention to the notes at the top, bottom, or to either side of the columns. Remember, among other things, the load radius is measured from the crane’s center of rotation to the center of gravity of the load you are wanting to lift.

For a sample chart from one of our rental cranes based in Atlanta, open this 40 ton crane load chart. The section title on page two “30-94′ BOOM AND HEAVY LIFT PACKAGE- ON OUTRIGGERS FULLY EXTENDED” is loaded with crucial information. That one statement defines the boom lengths covered, the counterweight installed, and the outrigger span required to lift the loads specified. Reading the section heading carefully tells us this section of the load chart covers what this crane will lift from the main boom with all outriggers fully extended. Note the column which specifies higher allowable loads for over rear. Drawings and notes on page one define the rear quadrant and describe the counterweight that must be in place to qualify for ‘Heavy Lift Package’ status.

On the other hand…

If you just want something lifted, quickly, effortlessly, and safely, by someone who has dozens of load charts memorized, call us at SS Crane & Rigging. For crane rentals in the Atlanta, Marietta, Kennesaw, Cartersville, or Canton areas call 678-848-6386.

Load charts from some popular cranes:

• Manitex 38100S (BIG boom truck)
• Terex T340 (40 ton truck crane)
• Linkbelt HTC8670 (70 ton truck crane)
• Grove GMK4100B (100 ton all-terrain crane)

When you rent a crane or boom truck you want the most for your money. You need to be able to quickly and efficiently communicate to the operator exactly what it is you are trying to do. Fortunately there is a universal language for directing crane movements… The Standard Hand Signals. These same signals are officially used all over the world… though right here in the USA we see some pretty imaginative variations from time to time!

Standard Crane Hand Signals

Don’t be afraid of the long list of signals, you can very effectively direct your crane operator’s movements with just four, and those four are simple and intuitive. What will take more attention and practice is the perception you want to have as signalman to keep the job going smoothly:

• The signalman becomes the eyes of the crane operator. Often, the operator can’t see the load, it is out over a flat roof or the other side of a wall, etc. Even when the load is right in front of him, he can’t see through it.

“I’ve hoisted dozens of glass panels and bundles into place and I can’t even see clearly through most of them- maybe it’s me, but I depend on my signal man to let me know which direction to move the load. He is free to position himself where he can see the far corners of the load and any obstructions in the path of movement. He can also see the most diminutive target marks in the floor and accurately guide me to set the load exactly on them. Furthermore, the signalman can more directly communicate with, and help keep up with, people seemingly determined to place their hands and bodies in the path of or even under the load!” -clyde

• The signalman has to be aware of the path the load will follow for each signal he chooses. Crane signals are designed to tell the operator what function of the crane to activate and in what direction. A crane hand signal causes a load to move with respect to a crane, not a building or road.

“Moving a load along a road or between two walls running alongside the crane, for instance, will require a combination of signals because the operator will have to carefully coordinate SWING, BOOM luffing, and HOIST functions to follow a straight path. The crane SWINGS the load in a horizontal arc around the crane. Likewise, RAISE BOOM will cause the load to move in a vertical arc up and toward the crane. Converting these arcs into straight paths requires skill and familiarity with the particular nuances of each crane and configuration. Unless there are obstructions to be maneuvered around, your job will go more efficiently if the signalman recognizes the natural arcs of crane motion and moves the load in those arcs.” -ralph

• The crane moves when and where the signalman directs. This also means: THE CRANE IS NOT TO MOVE WHEN THERE IS NO SIGNAL VISIBLE! Your job site will be more efficient and safer if your signalman continuously signals as long as he desires motion of the crane. In other words, if the crane operator ceases to see a signal, he should smoothly stop the crane and let go the controls.

“Every day we see people show up at the edge of a roof, vigorously signal HOIST DOWN, then disappear from view! We want to do what you ask, we really do. But more importantly, we know that it is extremely dangerous to lower a heavy load with NO WAY to get an emergency stop signal if someone sticks their hand under it to feel for alignment or a previously unnoticed gas line or electrical wire is suddenly seen!” -david

• Be sure your signals are visible to the operator. The perception is that if you can make eye contact with the crane operator, he can automatically see your signals. Wrong… and it is a false perception that a good signalman has to work hard to change.

“We see this happen (or can’t see it) several times a day, sometimes several times on one job! There are lots of columns, people, work platforms, vehicles, door jambs, guard rails, bracing, etc. that you can put your signal hand behind while you look at the crane operator’s cab glass- keeping your face and eyes carefully in the only clear spot available!

TRY THIS: Put your signal hand in the clear spot, turn around and look at the load and watch where it’s going as you signal the crane!” -butch

Another clear visibility issue a signalman needs to be cognizant of:

Watch out for the sun (or work lights at night). If you see yourshadow ANYWHERE NEAR the crane cab, the operator may not be able to see you and/or may be unnecessarily in extreme discomfort trying to follow your wishes. Work lights need to be aimed to illuminate the signalman, the load, the travel path of the load, and the crane boom where there are known obstructions or hazards. The signalman, nor anyone else, needs to see the crane operator or the outside of the crane cab.

OK, I get it, it’s all about and around the crane. But why coded signals, can’t I just tell the operator what I want?

Well…yes, and please do…but also…

Along with the huge advantages inherent in any universally understood form of communication, using hand signals to direct your crane optimizes your job in the following ways:

• Clarity. The limited ‘vocabulary’ of the Standard Hand Signals limits ambiguity. The ’speaker’ may only use signals, or a combination of signals, to direct movements the machine can actually perform.

• Speed. Visual signals travel at, well, the speed of light. More importantly, with practice, the human hand can form a complex signal faster than the human tongue can get out even a single syllable.

• Distance. Cranes are generally used when a greater reach is required or loads must be handled over obstacles. Verbal directions quickly become easy to misconstrue as the distance between speaker and listener increases.

• Noise. Relying on HAND SIGNALS means the high noise levels at most industrial and construction sites don’t interfere with critical communication.

With a good signalman’s perception of the crane operating parameters, here’s the four signals that’ll put your load on target quick and easy:

• STOP. The one of the four nearly everybody already knows instinctively… STOP! You simply place your open hand horizontally to the side about waist high, palm down. Move your palm sideways in a back and forth sweeping motion for an emergency stop. Don’t do emergency stop every time the load goes a little past where you wanted it. The load is moving, so the signalman wants to be thinking ahead and signaling in plenty of time for a smooth, controlled slow down to stop over the target… The way you want your load handled!

“I prefer my signalman to rarely or never use the STOP signal. To be efficient and do it all day, TRY THIS: As your load approaches within a few feet of the destination use the SLOWLY signal (place your other hand near the active signaling hand, palm open and toward the active signal). Then, as the load approaches within inches of the target, deliberately drop your arms to your sides, ceasing crane signals. Or deliberately change to a hoist down slowly signal if you are ready to place the load. The point is, since the operator is going to smoothly stop the load when he no longer sees a signal, to just stop signaling is a highly efficient, clear, and safe way to place a load!” -zane

Two of the other signals are so intuitive, you may already be using them to direct your cranes… SWING and HOIST. Both these signals are basically pointing with your index finger, or alternatively- especially signaling from a long distance- with your whole hand:

• HOIST- make the load go straight up or straight down.

Be sure your entire forearm is near vertical and slightly rotate your finger tip(s) as though drawing a circle with your hand. This signal is a mirror according to whether you want the load to be raised or lowered- your finger(s) point up for Raise the Load and down for Lower the Load.

Though not an official embellishment, circling faster or slower is prevalent to communicate your wish to speed up or slow down the hoisting speed. If you require very slow hoisting speed, the Standard Hand Signal is to place your other hand flat (horizontal) a few inches from, and palm facing, your circling fingers.

• SWING- move the load in an arc around the crane.

SWING is even simpler to do than hoist… JUST POINT! Really… use your entire arm when possible and point in either direction the crane can rotate about it’s center of rotation. Try to have your back somewhat to the operator’s cab and point somewhat perpendicularly into (or away from) the side of the boom. Usually it is pretty clear which way you want the boom to swing, but if you do this enough you will find that there are predicaments on job sites where the signalman is far removed from the suspended load and care must be taken to indicate a clear direction of rotation. For example, pointing at, or anywhere in the vicinity of, the operator’s cab does not tell him a whole lot, even if the boom is there too! Remember…The crane SWINGS the load in a level arc around the crane. The arc being part of a circle, the center of the circle being the center of rotation of the crane.

• BOOM luffing- make the load go away from or toward the crane.

The last signal, and the most misunderstood (misused anyway) is BOOM luffing. Luffing is changing the vertical angle of the boom with respect to level grade. It is not the same as extending or telescoping the boom (which is to change the length of the boom)…. and it is not the same as operating the load line hoist drum (which is done to RAISE or LOWER the load, not the boom). A signalman will use the RAISE BOOM orLOWER BOOM signal when he wants the load moved toward the crane or away from the crane. You will find it more useful on the job if you use the combination signals RAISE BOOM & LOWER LOAD or LOWER BOOM & RAISE LOAD. These combination signals let the operator know to keep the load at a constant elevation as he moves it either toward the crane or away from the crane.

RAISE BOOM. Also known as BOOM UP. If you want the load moved closer to the crane then you stick your arm out to the side, make a fist and point your thumb up, signaling RAISE BOOM. If it is important that the load not go up as it moves back toward the crane- use the signal titled RAISE BOOM & LOWER LOAD: Arm extended to side, thumb up, fist constantly opening and closing- the RAISE BOOM signal with a little motion. I like the title BOOM UP & HOLD the LOAD better but both titles refer to the same crane functions… the crane operator must boom up while he coordinates running the hoist drum down at a speed equivalent to the vertical velocity vector of the arc of travel of the boom tip. Fortunately, it’s usually a lot easier to do it than to explain it. The load should stay at approximately the same level as it slowly moves straight toward the crane.

LOWER BOOM. (BOOM DOWN) To move the load away from the crane, extend your arm at shoulder level, make a fist and point your thumb down. To be sure the load doesn’t also lower (since you are instructing the boom to be lowered), fully open and close your fist. The LOWER BOOM & RAISE LOAD signal let’s the operator know to hoist up on the load line drum in coordination with the lowering of the boom tip… keeping your load at a level height as it moves away from the crane. ALWAYS KEEP THE LOAD AS LOW AS PRACTICAL during LOWER BOOM & RAISE LOAD. If the crane were on weaker ground than supposed or any human error were made in terms of load weight, outrigger configuration, etc., everybody would most likely find out while moving the load further and further from the crane. Why be foolish? Keeping the load low doesn’t cost time or effort, but if you do enough lifting you will someday be thankful for good habits developed now!

Another very useful embellishment I see a lot is to open and close your fist faster when you want more hoist speed and slower when you want less. Unofficial, of course, but handy to keep that load just the right height when the operator can’t see it.

PS: Don’t worry about your signalman too much just yet. At SS CRANE & RIGGING our operators are there to get your lift done quickly and safely. We always have and always will communicate any way that works… cell phones, radios, your particular form of hand signal, or just tell us where you want the load and when to start lifting it! Call us at 678-848-6386 for the best performing combination of crane and operator at a NO SURPRISE price!

A crane load rating in ‘tons’ is an ultimate test load used to roughly classify or ‘group’ machines.

For example: A new 100 ton crane has been tested by the manufacturer to lift the 200,000 lbs at an 8 foot radius. This doesn’t tell you a whole lot about how much it’ll pick out there over the roof of the hospital.

That same 100 ton crane will only lift about 10,000 lbs if you have to place the load, let’s say, on a four story building, sixty feet back from the edge of the roof.

The important thing to remember, for your pocketbook, is that if you change any of three critical parameters, you change the crane requirements. A quick example: You can place that 10,000 lb load on that four story building with a 40 ton crane all day long if the load only has to go 20′ back from the edge of the roof.

As you can see, changing one critical parameter made the difference from a $3000.00 crane bill to a $500.00 bill…$2500.00 stays in your pocket because of one ‘little’ measurement!

For crane rentals in Atlanta give us a call at 678-848-6386. Our operators can tell you exactly how much the crane will safely lift for you.

Here’s what we’ll need to know:

1) You have a fairly level solid place to set up your crane with outriggers extended.

2) Where the aerial obstructions are. Booms are fairly straight so there needs to be a clear operating area at least 40′ high extending from your set-up site to around 30′ above your load placement spot. The edge of a building is a typical obstruction. Carefully measure in three places: (1) Feet from the edge of the building to the center of the spot where the load is to be set in place; (2) Feet from the edge of the crane setup area to the wall of the building, and; (3) Feet from the ground level of the setup area to the top edge of the building that the boom must clear. These critical measurements take about five minutes at the job site and/or can often be done from the drawings.

3) How much the load you are lifting weighs! We work just as well with pounds or kilograms.

With respect to cranes, the load radius is the horizontal distance from the center of rotation of the crane to the center of gravity of the load being lifted. The load radius is a critical consideration when determining what size crane is required for most lifts. A five foot increase in reach required can easily mean a ten thousand pound reduction in capacity.

Horizontal is another term for level in crane talk. Horizontal measurements are made with the tape measure stretched flat and level (along the ground, or a roof top, for instance) and measuring to the nearest foot is usually good.

The center of rotation is a plumb line passing through the exact center of the crane turntable or swing gear. If you hold a plumb bob over the center of the swing gear, the string would be the center of rotation.

It might have to be a long string. If we want to know the load radius to set an air conditioner out in the middle of a roof, we need to know the horizontal measurement. If the building has a 45′ eave height, we’d need to start a good 40′ directly above the exact center of the crane turntable, a 41′ plumb string would be in order! Obviously, in the real world, its a lot easier to measure to something that is already plumb, like the wall, and then go up on the roof and measure from the eave on across the roof to where the unit center will be. Adding these two measurements will furnish the appropriate load radius.

The center of gravity is just a term for the very middle of the weight of the load. This is not always the tape measured middle of the unit.

If the load is a bundle of 12 foot long 2X4s then the center of gravity (c.g.) is indeed pretty close to 6′ from one the end and about half way across the bundle. If the load is a 50′ steel wide flange beam, the c.g. is pretty much exactly 25′ from the end, go ahead and choke it right there. Most rooftop HVAC units, on the other hand, have heavier internal components concentrated toward one end/side or the other. You can’t accurately determine the c.g. of most HVAC units with a tape measure.

The exact location of the c.g. notwithstanding, if you are so close to overloading your crane that one or two feet internal weight distribution makes a difference, it is usually best to move the crane closer to the load destination.