A few questions regarding cranes ...

BuildingBridges · Feb 11, 2014

I am taking a "Supervisor Assessment" for an entry level field/project engineer position I'm interviewing for. I have a few question regarding cranes and would appreciate any help:

1. What should be done when one of a cranes outriggers starts to sink? a. boom up, b. boom down, c. swing to high side or d. swing to low side

2. When initially picking up a load boom deflection if not accounted for will cause the load radius to do what? a. increase, b. decrease, c. change or d. no change

3. If the pendant lines are tight on a lattice boom you may remove the boom pins ... a. on top forward of pendant lines, b. on bottom forward of pendant lines, c. on top behind pendant lines or d. on bottom behind pendant lines

4. In order for outriggers to be properly set ... a. the beams must be extended, b. the tires must clear the ground, c. dunnage must be used or d. the jacks must be extended

5. Personnel platforms cannot be used to lift ... a. personnel, b. personnel with tools, c. supplies without personnel or d. test weights

6. When traveling with a load the boom angle should be ... a. at a maximum, b. at a minimum, c. does not matter or d. over the side

7. Blocking under outrigger pads shall ... a. be evenly spaced, b. support the pad 100%, c. be 5 times the pad diameter d. support the pad perpendicular

8. Operating a crane 1% out of level can reduce its capacity by ... a. 25%, b. 5%, c. 15% or d. 10%

Thanks in advance.

BuildingBridges · Feb 11, 2014

My father has his bachelor and master degrees in civil engineering and this was his response:

1. c
2. a
3. guess ... c
4. guess ... a
5. a
6. guess ... b
7. guess ... b
8. guess ... a

Does anyone concur or disagree? ... Help would be much appreciated; thanks.

kat09 · Feb 11, 2014

Bridges, Answers without knowledge is a very dangerous thing. You need to start with some basic crane class. Lots of books out there to read. Don't mean to be a smart a** but you have to know and ask the why's to go along with the questions and answers. A good place to start is IPT's crane and rigging training manual / www.iptbooks.com / e-mail:info@iptbooks.com This book is used a lot in the crane tests and certs.that are out there. P.S.-#1 and #5 aren't right. Remember cranes are probably the most dangerous thing on the job site-Be Safe!!

old-iron-habit · Feb 11, 2014

BuildingBridges said:
I am taking a "Supervisor Assessment" for an entry level field/project engineer position I'm interviewing for. I have a few question regarding cranes and would appreciate any help:

1. What should be done when one of a cranes outriggers starts to sink? a. boom up, b. boom down, c. swing to high side or d. swing to low side

2. When initially picking up a load boom deflection if not accounted for will cause the load radius to do what? a. increase, b. decrease, c. change or d. no change

3. If the pendant lines are tight on a lattice boom you may remove the boom pins ... a. on top forward of pendant lines, b. on bottom forward of pendant lines, c. on top behind pendant lines or d. on bottom behind pendant lines

4. In order for outriggers to be properly set ... a. the beams must be extended, b. the tires must clear the ground, c. dunnage must be used or d. the jacks must be extended

5. Personnel platforms cannot be used to lift ... a. personnel, b. personnel with tools, c. supplies without personnel or d. test weights

6. When traveling with a load the boom angle should be ... a. at a maximum, b. at a minimum, c. does not matter or d. over the side

7. Blocking under outrigger pads shall ... a. be evenly spaced, b. support the pad 100%, c. be 5 times the pad diameter d. support the pad perpendicular

8. Operating a crane 1% out of level can reduce its capacity by ... a. 25%, b. 5%, c. 15% or d. 10%

Thanks in advance.

1. No answer here. With out knowing if your crane is boom heavy or counterweight heavy you can not answer this question. If an outrigger is sinking you better get your load on the ground if you can. Most of the time it sinks because the crane was not properly set up on the first place.
2. A,
3. A, Provided the boom forward of the pennant lines is blocked and the pin is neutral. Used during tear down or boom shortening.
4. B. Per every in crane manual I have ever read. Although nearly all hydro's have a chart to pick and carry with the outriggers up.
5. C. In addition, any time you are going to pick personnel in a man basket, OSHA requires a test pick with a certified weight duplicating the farthest point you will be taking personnel to. Most company safety policies prohibit man baskets unless there is no other possible way to do the job. Man baskets must also have a structural engineers stamp on them certified the construction of them.
6. B.
7. Our policies are 5 times the pad size. Some outriggers require 100 percent support when blocking also. Need to check the crane specs.
8. A. Usually 25 percent. The crane computers shut many of our cranes down at anything over 1 percent.

In general this is a very poor test. Unless it is deliberate. Anyone that just picked one of the multiple choices would fail in my book. Good luck.

old-iron-habit · Feb 11, 2014

BuildingBridges said:
I am taking a "Supervisor Assessment" for an entry level field/project engineer position I'm interviewing for. I have a few question regarding cranes and would appreciate any help:

1. What should be done when one of a cranes outriggers starts to sink? a. boom up, b. boom down, c. swing to high side or d. swing to low side

2. When initially picking up a load boom deflection if not accounted for will cause the load radius to do what? a. increase, b. decrease, c. change or d. no change

3. If the pendant lines are tight on a lattice boom you may remove the boom pins ... a. on top forward of pendant lines, b. on bottom forward of pendant lines, c. on top behind pendant lines or d. on bottom behind pendant lines

4. In order for outriggers to be properly set ... a. the beams must be extended, b. the tires must clear the ground, c. dunnage must be used or d. the jacks must be extended

5. Personnel platforms cannot be used to lift ... a. personnel, b. personnel with tools, c. supplies without personnel or d. test weights

6. When traveling with a load the boom angle should be ... a. at a maximum, b. at a minimum, c. does not matter or d. over the side

7. Blocking under outrigger pads shall ... a. be evenly spaced, b. support the pad 100%, c. be 5 times the pad diameter d. support the pad perpendicular

8. Operating a crane 1% out of level can reduce its capacity by ... a. 25%, b. 5%, c. 15% or d. 10%

Thanks in advance.

Most of these questions do not have a correct answer. Number 1 for example. If you are boom heavy or tail heavy the opposite reaction applies. If a outrigger is sinking in most cases the crane was not properly set up. Cat09 is correct. You need to get you feet wet slowly and keep the crew alive. Tell them you know nothing and start to learn. Every situation is different and every crane has a big set of charts and they are all different.

Plant Fitter · Feb 11, 2014

BuildingBridges said:
I am taking a "Supervisor Assessment" for an entry level field/project engineer position I'm interviewing for. I have a few question regarding cranes and would appreciate any help:

Don't want to offend you here, but have a think about it - if you have to turn to a forum to ask these questions then you probably shouldn't be going for a Supervisors job. Just saying, there is nothing worse than a supervisor giving orders when he doesn't even know the basics of how things should be done.

digger242j · Feb 12, 2014

5. Personnel platforms cannot be used to lift ... a. personnel

5. a

Well that one right there makes me wonder about the rest of his answers... :cool2

On edit: Although, to be fair, since it's generally forbidden to hoist personnel, I can see where one might choose that answer. I was looking at it from the standpoint of What the heck else would you do with one? I probably shouldn't have been so sarcastic.

digger242j · Feb 12, 2014

@BuildingBridges--Cross-posting the same content in two different threads can be confusing, especially when it's more than one post. This is a case in point. Old-iron-habit replied to you in both of those threads, and I replied in one. Later, I came back to edit my post, and unknowingly opened the other thread. I PMed both oih and PF, to try and figure out how their posts had disappeared, and PF set me straight about there being two threads.

Your threads have been merged. I'll take part of the blame, because I usually catch those cross-postings myself, but I wasn't fully awake at 3 a.m.

Anyway, since you confused me, I get to yell. DON'T DO THAT! :cussing

There. I feel better now.

And welcome to heavy Equipment Forums. :drinkup

cecil89 · Feb 12, 2014

3. If the pendant lines are tight on a lattice boom you may remove the boom pins ... a. on top forward of pendant lines, b. on bottom forward of pendant lines, c. on top behind pendant lines or d. on bottom behind pendant lines
My suggestion to you about this question is open the manual for that particular machine because I have only seen one answer to this question in a manual. Now I have seen a couple of these answers done. If you have no experience with erection or disassembly of lattice booms find some one that has experience with it. How do they put it in the manual- Danger death or injury and or property damage may result! Heed this warning many people found out the bad way

qball · Feb 12, 2014

Nothing kills quicker than ignorance, unless it is ignorant knowledge.
Cranes can get hairy FAST, and have a large circle of death.
I have had a crane accident, it still scares me even though nobody was hurt.

Tiny · Feb 12, 2014

To be honest , When I read thru those question I figured someone was trying trip you up with sideways questions . You need a ton more knowledge to tackle this . If this is all they are using to judge weather or not you are qualified to over see crane operations something is wrong .

old-iron-habit · Feb 12, 2014

To be fair I don't think BuildingBridges is after a supervisory job. Entry level field or project engineers are usually right out of college or even summer help between junior and senior levels. He did say it was a "supervisors assessment" which to me is even more scary. Hopefully they leave the cranes to the real field crews.

HATCHEQUIP · Feb 12, 2014

Old iron I agree with your answers but on tear down of boom forward of the pendant cables with the cables tight and the end of that section being either the tip or insert the bottom pins should be removed then boom down and remove top pins and keep going back section at a time this is the way I've always done this when using just the crane itself or are you talking about using another crane to work the boom where that crane would hold that section up then let it down after the top pins were removed so the bottom pins can be removed. Like you and others have said these questions are too vague different applications require different means to an end answer

old-iron-habit · Feb 12, 2014

HATCHEQUIP said:
Old iron I agree with your answers but on tear down of boom forward of the pendant cables with the cables tight and the end of that section being either the tip or insert the bottom pins should be removed then boom down and remove top pins and keep going back section at a time this is the way I've always done this when using just the crane itself or are you talking about using another crane to work the boom where that crane would hold that section up then let it down after the top pins were removed so the bottom pins can be removed. Like you and others have said these questions are too vague different applications require different means to an end answer

Howdy HATCHEQUIP
The one I was referring is on a truck mount lattice boom. The manual says to install dunnage under outer end of section to be removed. Set boom on dunnage enough to relieve load and remove top pins. The next step is to boom up slightly and place supporting dunnage under the bottom end of the section. Remove bottom pins and boom up and away. I think they showed it this way to gain clearance to boom up and away. I totally agree with the way you mention also. We often did it that way and swing slightly to avoid the top sockets as we boomed up above the removed section. As stated numerous times on this forum all the questions had way to many answers.
Roger

HATCHEQUIP · Feb 12, 2014

Gotcha that works to

Buckethead · Feb 13, 2014

kat09 said:
Bridges, Answers without knowledge is a very dangerous thing. You need to start with some basic crane class. Lots of books out there to read. Don't mean to be a smart a** but you have to know and ask the why's to go along with the questions and answers. A good place to start is IPT's crane and rigging training manual / www.iptbooks.com / e-mail:info@iptbooks.com This book is used a lot in the crane tests and certs.that are out there. P.S.-#1 and #5 aren't right. Remember cranes are probably the most dangerous thing on the job site-Be Safe!!

Agreed 100%! If someone just gives you the answer, you still won't understand the subject matter. If you study and read and observe for yourself you will understand the subject better and remember better.

HATCHEQUIP · Feb 13, 2014

Learning it out of books is good but until you actually get that hands on experiance you cant really understand all the little things that go into it. imho you need to spend time with a crew and operator before you start tring to head up a crew. Then what you have read will be alot clearer. Nothing worse than someone spouting regs that doesnt understand them to begin with...Good luck

Buckethead · Feb 13, 2014

HATCHEQUIP said:
Learning it out of books is good but until you actually get that hands on experiance you cant really understand all the little things that go into it. imho you need to spend time with a crew and operator before you start tring to head up a crew. Then what you have read will be alot clearer. Nothing worse than someone spouting regs that doesnt understand them to begin with...Good luck

Yes, absolutely. I was just trying to help him find out the answers to the test himself, rather than looking for someone to give him the answers.

HATCHEQUIP · Feb 13, 2014

I agree with you 100% bucket and I know what you were tring to get across to him being around cranes you really need both

liebherr1160 · Mar 12, 2014

BuildingBridges said:
I am taking a "Supervisor Assessment" for an entry level field/project engineer position I'm interviewing for. I have a few question regarding cranes and would appreciate any help:

1. What should be done when one of a cranes outriggers starts to sink? a. boom up, b. boom down, c. swing to high side or d. swing to low side

2. When initially picking up a load boom deflection if not accounted for will cause the load radius to do what? a. increase, b. decrease, c. change or d. no change

3. If the pendant lines are tight on a lattice boom you may remove the boom pins ... a. on top forward of pendant lines, b. on bottom forward of pendant lines, c. on top behind pendant lines or d. on bottom behind pendant lines

4. In order for outriggers to be properly set ... a. the beams must be extended, b. the tires must clear the ground, c. dunnage must be used or d. the jacks must be extended

5. Personnel platforms cannot be used to lift ... a. personnel, b. personnel with tools, c. supplies without personnel or d. test weights

6. When traveling with a load the boom angle should be ... a. at a maximum, b. at a minimum, c. does not matter or d. over the side

7. Blocking under outrigger pads shall ... a. be evenly spaced, b. support the pad 100%, c. be 5 times the pad diameter d. support the pad perpendicular

8. Operating a crane 1% out of level can reduce its capacity by ... a. 25%, b. 5%, c. 15% or d. 10%

Thanks in advance.

I'll be quite honest with you here.
Simply because im tired of academics coming onto the job half smart and plenty dangerous. And because you did a course ,your buddies like to try and take guys like me apart. Im just a dumb construction worker ,we went to college.. Id pile drive them all in the ground if I could , every last one of them .

I really don't have the time of day to explain Newton's Law's , Load Moment , ground compaction , bearing pressure , and a litany of other stuff that has to be considered.
Spend 5yrs around a crane ,before you even attempt to answer those questions.

Ive heard it all, It boils down to "I don't know how to do your job ,but my book says your doing it wrong" .

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