Crane Handbook

Book excerpt: Crane Handbook offers extensive advice on how to properly handle a crane. The handbook highlights various safety requirements and rules. The aim of the book is to improve the readers' crane operating skills, which could eventually make the book a standard working guide for training operators. The handbook first reminds the readers that the machine should be carefully tested by a regulatory board before use. The text then notes that choosing the right crane for a particular job is vital and explains why this is the case. It then discusses how well-equipped and durable the crane should be. The next chapters talk about the crane's operating controls; each control is identified and explained. The book lists the requirements that the crane must meet, while the final chapters explore proper set-up, maintenance, and precautions. The text is a very helpful reference for crane operators, owners, and contractors and could be of interest to casual readers as well.