The United States Department of Labor has an administration that trains, certifies and qualifies individuals to perform routine overhead crane inspections. This administration is referred to as, "OSHA" (Occupational Safety/Health Administration). An overhead crane should not be in operation unless an OSHA-certified individual has performed routine inspection.
An inspection composed of many steps must be taken before an overhead crane is used to lift a workload. Inspectors must make periodic, if not daily, inspections on key overhead crane components. Components should be thoroughly examined for wear, corrosion, cracks or other damage that may compromise the integrity of the crane. An overhead crane that features compromised components can fail and injure a worker.
Crane operators and people who work near overhead cranes are injured every year by overhead cranes that have been improperly inspected. Maintaining a proper inspection and maintenance schedule for an overhead crane decreases the risk of injury to crane operators and bystanders.
In New England, consumers can seek OSHA certification at Keene State College in Manchester, New Hampshire. In the Midwest region, Sinclair Community College in Dayton, Ohio and Northern Illinois University in Dekalb, Illinois serve as OSHA-training facilities. In the Southern region of the country, OSHA certification is offered at the Southwest Education Center in Mesquite, Texas. These are just a few of the many institutions across America where one can pursue OSHA certification.