As part of its effort to educate crane industry professionals, Konecranes is offers a rigging fundamentals course through its New Berlin, Wisconsin-based Konecranes Training Institute. The program, which seeks to reduce crane injuries, is a key element in the portfolio of equipment and expertise with which Konecranes supports its customers.
“Many crane accidents are caused by poor or improper rigging practices,” said Jim Lang, general manager of the Konecranes Training Institute. ”One of the key items we learned from our Crane Accident study covering 10 years’ worth of overhead crane accidents was that 59 percent of the time when a load dropped this was due to a rigging issue. 
This very common deficiency is what we address in our Rigging Fundamentals course.”
Details revealed by the study are available in a short video produced by Konecranes Training Institute and available on YouTube by searching for the “LiftingBusinesses” channel. It’s estimated that up to 70 percent of the overhead crane accidents may have been prevented through proper training.
According to Lang, the Rigging Fundamentals course from the Konecranes Training Institute teaches workers how to safely rig loads for different lifting conditions. For example, a 5,000-pound load rigged for a low headroom lift close to the ceiling could potentially require chains rated at 25,000 pounds or greater rather than 5,000 pounds depending on the angle between the hook and the load. Acute angles may multiply lifting stresses by more than five times the actual weight of the load.
— Source: Konecranes
