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After having operated a concrete pump truck for years and worked with outrigger pads every day, Bill Steiner, president of Bigfoot Construction Equipment, understands outrigger pads from the ground up. It was hearing other operators and pump-truck owners complain about outrigger pads that convinced Steiner he could deliver pads that were better quality and competitively priced.

Within a year of starting up Bigfoot in , Steiner expanded into making plastic outrigger pads as well as wooden ones. &#;We&#;ve been offering plastic outrigger pads for 22 years,&#; says Steiner. &#;We have more experience with them than any competitor does.&#;

Today, Bigfoot Construction Equipment manufactures a wide range of outrigger pads at its new 20,000-sq.-ft. factory in Woodstock, Ill., and distributes them throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Australia, and Europe. The company offers plastic and wooden outrigger pads to meet the preferences of individual customers, and Steiner says Bigfoot is also testing new materials and manufacturing methods.

Here, Steiner offers tips on choosing and using outrigger pads.

Choosing

• Understand the OSHA requirements laid out in CFR . to CFR ..

• Calculate the size of pad you need, don&#;t guess. The pad should be larger than the outrigger&#;s float.

• How much larger depends on many factors, including the pressure exerted by the outrigger and the strength and stability of the ground. The pad must be big enough to reduce the ground-bearing pressure to a level that the surface underneath can support. Guidance can be found at the International Powered Access Federation website, and crane and aerial lift manufacturers&#; websites. Pad manufacturers can also help you.

• Choose a material that suits your needs. Wood is generally cheaper than engineered plastic, but plastic is generally lighter and more resistant to oil or other chemicals.

• If you choose wooden pads, check the quality of the wood, gluing, and waterproofing. Bigfoot&#;s wooden pads are made of Baltic birch from renewable arctic forests because it&#;s tough and resists moisture.

• Choose a shape that suits your space and aesthetic needs. Any symmetric shape will work well if sized properly.

• Look for handles that are made of sturdy material and anchored solidly.

• Think about extras. Plastic pads can include non-skid surfaces. Either wood or plastic can be made in special colors like hi-visibility orange or yellow. And either type of pad can be customized with your company&#;s logo.

Using

• Although it sounds basic, make sure your crew uses outrigger pads every time the outriggers are deployed. The pad can&#;t do its job if it&#;s not under the outrigger float.

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  Make sure the outrigger float sits on the middle of the pad so the pad can distribute the load evenly.

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  lways make sure the pad&#;s entire surface sits in contact with the ground. Never use the pad to bridge over a hollow.

• Check with someone who knows the site to make sure there are no hidden voids or shallow pipelines beneath the area where the pads will sit.

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• Look for loose material that may slip out from under the pad&#;s edge, and be sure to stay at least four times the pad&#;s diameter away from the edge of any excavation.

• If you don&#;t know the soil conditions, test them after the outriggers are deployed by slowly swinging the boom over each outrigger. If any of them begin to sink, swing the boom to take pressure off the outrigger and improve the ground condition beneath the pad.

• Monitor all outriggers and pads during each lift. If something doesn&#;t look or feel quite right, stop operation until you know the crane or lift is sitting solidly.

10 Tips for a Successful Crane Setup

It can be difficult to know if the ground beneath your crane will support the weight and pressure under your outriggers, yet knowing this is critical to safe crane setup. In response to this need, U.S. standards and regulatory bodies now place greater emphasis on understanding ground conditions and using crane mats or outrigger pads that are sufficient to provide the necessary foundation support for maximum crane safety.

Here are 10 mobile crane safety tips and topics for successful crane setup.

  Know your responsibilities. In the U.S., OSHA states that cranes must be assembled on ground that is firm, drained and graded sufficiently, in conjunction with supporting materials, such as blocking, cribbing, pads, mats, to provide adequate support and levelness. (OSHA .)

ASME states that outrigger blocking or cribbing must have sufficient strength to prevent crushing, bending or shear failure. And it needs to be of such thickness, width and length as to completely support the float, transmit the load to the supporting surface, and prevent shifting, toppling or excessive settlement under the load. (ASME B30.5-)

  Know the bearing strength of the ground and soils. Because this is an extremely complex combination, it&#;s a good idea to seek the advice of a geotechnical engineer. A low-cost way to determine ground conditions is to use a Dynamic Cone Penetrometer, which is portable and easy-to-use. This information can be compared to ground bearing pressure charts for different soil types.

  Identify any sub-surface hazards and avoid if possible.

  Evaluate and improve the ground if needed. Ways to improve the ground include compaction, removing un-compacted surface layers, or bringing in rock or other dense inorganic material. If the ground is wet, allow time to get the moisture out.

  Know the maximum pressure the crane will exert on each outrigger during the operation, or the maximum outrigger reaction force. Crane manufacturers provide this information for each crane model, and generally, it can be found in your operation manual. Many also offer free software solutions that allow you to input the lift data, which then outputs the outrigger reaction forces that will be generated.

  Select the right size outrigger pad or crane pad. Undersized pads can put you in an unstable condition, but oversized pads are inefficient in terms of purchase, labor, and transportation costs. Several methods are commonly used in the industry. DICA has evaluated each of these and have found that various methods produce widely varying conclusions and most methods don&#;t take into account the ground condition. DICA strongly suggests that you should use a sizing method that takes into account ground conditions (ground bearing capacity), and actual outrigger loads.

  Choose crane pads or outrigger pads that are designed and constructed to meet or exceed the bearing, flex and shear strength required. Their purpose is to distribute the load from the outrigger float over a large enough area that the bearing pressure to the ground surface is acceptable. They must be stiff enough that the crane will not go out of level as the load swings.

  Never place blocking, cribbing, pads or mats under the outrigger beam. For safer mobile crane setup, only use them under the outrigger floats or pontoons.

  Monitor every lift. If the outrigger pad or crane mat is showing significant deflection or bending, stop the lift.  The outrigger force is greater than the pad and ground can support.  Additional appropriate blocking or cribbing should be added. If the pad or mat is being driven into the ground, stop the lift. The pressure under the pad exceeds the ground bearing capacity. A larger pad, blocking or cribbing is needed to spread the load over a larger area, or the ground needs to be improved to adequately support the load.

  Use common sense. If it doesn&#;t look right, stop. If it doesn&#;t act right, stop. If it doesn&#;t feel right, stop. Products are never a replacement for common sense. Use your common sense. You never know the life you save may be your own.

DICA, Guthrie Center, Iowa, has been specializing in building a better outrigger pad since . By creating engineered solutions for improving equipment stability and ergonomic crane safety, DICA is leading the way in product innovation for outrigger pads and crane mats. DICA outrigger pads and crane mats are used in 20+ countries and on 6 continents around the world in construction, maintenance, electrical utility, oil and gas and tree care as well as local, state and federal government agencies.

DICA employs a three-step fitting process, including identification of the key data points for the equipment and the maximum outrigger reaction force. Then we work with customers in mobile crane safety to determine soil bearing capacity. Finally, we determine the proper material, construction, and thickness needed for the outrigger pad or crane mat to distribute the load over the intended area.

If you found this crane safety topic useful, please see the following links to learn more about our industry-leading Safety Tech Outrigger Pads and FiberMax Crane Pads.

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