Code for tower cranes

1.1 General

This Standard applies to the design, characteristics, construction, installation, dismantling, operation, inspection, testing, and maintenance of tower cranes.

This Standard applies to tower cranes powered by electric motors or internal combustion engines and any variations thereof that retain the same fundamental characteristics. The scope includes cranes of these types that adjust operating radius by means of a

a) boom-luffing mechanism;

b) trolley traversing a horizontal boom; or

c) a combination of the two.

This Standard is also intended to cover self-erecting tower cranes. Tower cranes can be mounted on fixed or travelling bases. Additional mounting means can include arrangements that permit the crane to climb in the structure being built or that permit increasing the tower height as the structure rises.

1.2 Purpose

This Standard is designed to

a) guard against and minimize injury to workers, and otherwise provide for the protection of life, limb, and property by prescribing safety requirements;

b) provide direction to owners, employers, supervisors, crane erectors, operators, and others concerned with, or responsible for, its application; and

c) guide governments and other regulatory bodies in the development, promulgation, and enforcement of appropriate safety directives.

It is also expected that this Standard will have a major application in industry, serving as a guide to manufacturers, purchasers, and users of the equipment.

1.3 Application

This Standard applies to new and existing tower cranes unless otherwise specified in this Standard.

1.4 Terminology

In this Standard, shall is used to express a requirement, i.e., a provision that the user is obliged to satisfy in order to comply with the Standard; should is used to express a recommendation or that which is advised but not required; and may is used to express an option or that which is permissible within the limits of the Standard.

Notes accompanying clauses do not include requirements or alternative requirements; the purpose of a note accompanying a clause is to separate from the text explanatory or informative material.

Notes to tables and figures are considered part of the table or figure and may be written as requirements.

Annexes are designated normative (mandatory) or informative (non-mandatory) to define their application.

1.5 Units of measurement

The values given in SI units are the units of record for the purposes of this Standard. The values given in parentheses are for information and comparison only.