Konecranes reduces risk with gear case inspections at Toyota-Lift of Minnesota

Hidden hazard

Imagine trusting your crane service provider to inspect your overhead lifting equipment—only to find out they were not telling you about comprehensive inspections that could be critical to the safety of your personnel.

That is what happened to Toyota-Lift of Minnesota, who used another crane service provider for nearly 15 years without being informed of the safety benefits involved with performing inspections on internal components. “We had not been told about these inspections, despite 14 annual inspections performed by companies other than Konecranes,” said Kyle Thill, Director of Service at Toyota-Lift of Minnesota.

The standard inspections performed at Toyota-Lift of Minnesota relied mostly on visual observations and measurements. However, not all defects can be seen with the naked eye.

Toyota-Lift found Konecranes after a few failed attempts to contact their vendor to schedule an inspection. “Their failure to do so for approximately two weeks made us look for alternative solutions, and we discovered Konecranes,” said Thill.

 

Ctitical Inspection

Konecranes worked with Toyota-Lift to develop a customized inspection plan for the 5-ton bridge crane. Based on the equipment’s use, environment and age of the hoist, Konecranes advised Toyota-Lift to perform internal inspections on the gear case, load block and hoist coupling.

The inspections revealed that the needle bearing in the gear case had started to fail. Without this inspection, the tear could have led to a sudden and catastrophic failure. Konecranes is now Toyota-Lift of Minnesota’s preferred vendor for crane inspections and maintenance.

“Now we have the comfort of knowing this piece of equipment is operating safely.”