Crane Failure / Safety Sense

50% of crane failure or total collapse is from improper use of outriggers. A proactive safety approach is using outrigger pads on all setups. The outrigger pads will displace & reduce the PSI the ground “ sees ” from the point of contact of the outrigger/ shoe/ float/ pontoon on the equipment. The outrigger pads will also remind the personnel at the job site to ensure the outrigger system is being used & used correctly. Bigfoot is the first company to manufacture safety orange. This was done to address tripping hazards & make sure the outrigger system is deployed by bringing attention to the operator & other personnel on the job site.

The outrigger system shall be used according to the manufacturer’s standards.

• The setup & leveling is critical on any setup or with any style of outrigger system on the equipment. Always follow the manufacturer’s chart on level & grade % allowable for equipment to be set up.
• Get recent soil conditions. Getting a known ground bearing capacity ( GBC) will help with knowing what outrigger pad is the best fit.
• Check for location & know where utilities are overhead & underground.
• Maintain proper clearances on overhead power lines.
• Outrigger pads shall not be used to bridge any gaps or span over voids.

After the equipment is set up, level & according to the manufacturer recommendations & with Bigfoot outrigger pads, perform a dry run with spotters. The boom should be run over & around all the outriggers with a spotter not under the boom but looking at the outriggers. The spotter is looking to see if any of the floats are sinking, shifting, or sliding. If there is any issue, stop & stow the boom. Now is the time to re-check the equipment level, improve soil conditions or add Bigfoot outrigger pads & cribbing. There are some great starting points with setting up, but this will not cover all equipment set up. Having a lift director or person in charge on the job site to address setting up will help.

• Knowing the max PSI/ PSF ( this does not factor in shock or impact loading, which is common in DEMO & tree care or removal work. Speed plus mass equals force, which is measured in PSI/PSF & will go through the outrigger system).
• Size of outrigger/ shoe/ float/ pontoon on equipment
• Soil conditions

In many but not all setups, having this information will address the 3 times the square surface area on grade A soil conditions. The 3 times the square surface area on grade A soil conditions will displace the PSI from the equipment through the outrigger pad, depending on the GBC value that needs to be maintained. If there is a known GBC value needed & an engineer has values needing to be reached, Bigfoot can help.

Cribbing or dunnage should not meet or exceed the height of the base outrigger pad. Example: A 36 X 36 at 2” ( P363620 ) should not have cribbing or dunnage meet or exceed 36” on any setup. The bottom layer or base outrigger pad will be carrying the PSI ( when you see pictures of other outrigger pads with wood cribbing or dunnage underneath or on bottom, the cribbing or dunnage is carrying the load, the top pad is the cushion). Knowing this, the sheer value is needed on the setup as well. Bigfoot recommends using the same material to maintain consistency with sheer values, our custom composite cribbing is made from the same material as our outrigger pads.

Bigfoot’s American custom composite has no grain lines. This allows the set up of outrigger pads & cribbing to be exceptionally user-friendly. This will eliminate the question of vertical pressure or out & down outrigger systems, which direction should the pads or cribbing face? The sheer value of Bigfoot’s custom composite is the same in either direction. Bigfoot’s material is not injected or extruded or 100% recycled material, these materials will have different directional shear values & need to be addressed in addition to setups. This is another area that Bigfoot has & can help with operators, lift directors, or personnel in charge. This will without question, using Bigfoot outrigger pads, help with setups & reduce human error to make sure the hard-working personnel are using STRENGTH/ STABILITY/ SAFETY on their job sites & equipment.