5 Hand Push Gantry Crane Facts That You Should Know

Many businesses need hand push gantry cranes. They are affordable and safe, provided you have the right people operating them. That’s why you need experienced crane operators for your business if you want to avoid any workplace accidents.

Hand push gantry cranes are something that many workers know about already if they use them as part of the daily routine. For those who don’t know much about them yet, here are a few facts that should interest you.

They Have Several Notable Advantages

To put it as simply as possible, you use cranes to move things around that you couldn’t easily move using other means. Often, you need cranes because what you’re moving is extremely heavy, dangerous, or cumbersome.

Hand push gantry cranes are a particular crane variety that works well in many different factory settings. You don’t need support columns that could block your floor plan if you utilize hand push gantry cranes. The maintenance costs are minimal if you compare them to some other equipment varieties.

They are also inexpensive if you compare them to the other crane types. They can maneuver in the tightest of spaces or over uneven surfaces.

They Are One of the Easiest Crane Types to Relocate

When some people think about cranes, they think about these massive contraptions that you need to look up into the sky to see. That’s certainly one of the varieties that are out there, but hand push gantry cranes are much smaller and easier to operate.

They’re also super easy to relocate. You can break one down relatively easily. If you can’t use a particular facility anymore, and you need to disassemble the hand push gantry cranes to transport them, you should be able to do that. You can also move them to another spot within the facility if you feel that’s what makes the most sense for your needs.

They Are Highly Customizable

Another thing that many industries particularly like about the hand push gantry crane is that you can customize the ones you get. For instance, you might get one that can lift as little as one ton or as much as ten tons. You can get one that spans eight feet or as many as thirty.

You can adjust the height as well. You might have yours set at ten feet or up to twenty. Because of this, you can set them up in many different workshops or warehouse spaces with no trouble.

You Can Get Them with All Kinds of Options and Accessories

Crane manufacturers also understand that these hand push gantry cranes are not one size fits all. Because of this, you can get them to modify the ones you buy before you make a down payment.

You might get one with a fixed-length v-groove track, or perhaps you need end stops. You can get one with steel v-groove rigid body casters without brakes, or maybe you require four-position bolt-on swivel locks.

Some crane users get them with phenolic casters with brakes. You can usually get this feature only on the one-ton models. You might need floor-protecting urethane castors, with a brake or without.

You Might or Might Not Require a License to Operate One

One more thing about hand push gantry cranes that you should know is that you might or might not need a license to use one. That depends entirely on the state in which your business operates.

Generally, you are not going to need a license. You can always check with OSHA to be sure, though, if you want to avoid fines.

Assuming the operator doesn’t need a license, you’ll need to do a thorough background check when you hire a new one. That’s probably far from the only thing they’ll do as part of their job, but you should be sure they have the requisite experience before you put them to work using such a potentially dangerous tool.

Most people don’t consider the hand push gantry crane to be as intimidating of an equipment piece as some of its counterparts, but you still need to know what you’re doing to operate one. You might have a candidate operate the crane as part of the interview process if they say they’ve done so before.

You can find companies that will sell you cranes of this nature, or they might even rent them to you in some circumstances. Now that you know about them, nothing prevents you from getting some for your business.