Crane Runway Inspection
Ensure structural safety, performance, and compliance across your crane systems.
The Runway Systems that carry overhead crane rails endure millions of duty cycles, shock loads, and thermal swings. Undetected cracks, misalignment, or loose fasteners jeopardize structural integrity and worker safety. Smithwick Engineering provides detailed runway inspections for factories, warehouses, and heavy-manufacturing plants, ensuring safe, compliant, and reliable lifting operations.
What Our Runway Inspection Covers
- Fatigue Cracking – Visual Inspection of fatigue sensitive areas based on our knowledge of structural systems. If suspect areas are identified visually, coating will be removed and non-destructive testing such as magnetic particle or dye penetrant testing will be utilized to confirm and size the cracks.
- Corrosion Loss – When medium to heavy corrosion is observed in critical members, relative measurements will be taken to record the percentage of steel section loss. This percentage will be used to determine the suitability of the member or joint and support the criticality ranking of the observation. Our team also looks for root causes of local corrosion and provides recommendations to mitigate the impact.
- Fastener & Connection Audit – Accessible fasteners will be checked for tightness and proper tightening guidance will be provided. A log of fastener sizes and locations will be provided, which include but are not limited to rail clips, tie-backs, beam seats, splice plates, end-stops, etc.
- Rail Condition – The rail will be inspected visually to identify wear, local rail head damage, gross misalignment, rail splice condition, loose or missing rail fasteners, etc.
- Runway Structural System – The columns and bracing systems will be inspected for local impact damage, missing or loose bolts, gross misalignment, damaged footers or visible foundation systems. All observations will be reported with recommended actions or further engineering studies that may need to be performed.
- Non-Engineered Systems – Structural modifications that have been performed without engineering validation will be recorded. This also includes the identification of joints and details with poor fatigue resistant properties.
- Regulatory Compliance – Reporting against OSHA 1910.179, AIST TR-13 and AISC guidelines.
Customer Testimonials
What We Include
- Pre-job Briefing – Scope, shutdown window, and access points confirmed with production and safety teams.
- Hands-On Examination – Aerial lifts allow close-range inspection without scaffolding. Aerial drone may also be utilized for alternate visual inspections where the structure is inaccessible.
- NDT (as needed)– Visual inspection or magnetic-particle testing identifies hidden fractures. Non-destructive testing will be performed if visual inspection identifies an indication that requires further investigation or crack sizing.
- Every rail clip, tie-back connection, girder seat bolt and splice bolt is checked. Loose or over-stressed fasteners are tagged and marked on an observation map for quick repair planning.
- Actionable Reporting – You receive a colour-coded digital report summarising findings, photos, and recommended actions with criticality rankings for repair planning. An observation map is also provided to identify the location of each observation. We hold a debrief with maintenance staff to discuss repair options, safe working loads during interim operation and recommended re-inspection intervals.
Our Work
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Key Benefits
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Downtime Mitigation – Early detection of defects avoids unplanned shutdowns and costly emergency repairs.
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Extended Equipment Life – Correcting rail elevation and tightening clips reduces wheel wear and motor strain.
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Audit Ready – Detailed, standards-referenced report satisfies insurers and regulatory inspectors.
Schedule Your Runway Inspection with Smithwick Today
Get in touch today to start developing your customized survey plan, and get an inspection program tailored to the equipment and operations needs of your organization.
Contact Info
Portland Office
901 Austin Street
Portland, Texas 78374
Houston Office
Houston, TX 77070
Baton Rouge Office
Baton Rouge, LA 70810