Below-the-hook lifting device inspection under ASME B30.20: lifting beams, spreaders, clamps and magnets
ASME B30.20 sets three inspection levels for below-the-hook lifting devices: every lift, frequent (monthly to daily by service) and periodic (yearly to quarterly). What each covers, who decides a device stays in service, and the records worth keeping.
By Hovermarks team
Quick answer. ASME B30.20 covers the equipment that hangs from the hook to attach the load: lifting beams, spreaders, clamps, vacuum lifters, magnets and grapples. It sets three inspection levels. The operator checks the device before and during every lift. A frequent visual inspection runs monthly for normal service, weekly for heavy and daily for severe. A documented periodic inspection runs yearly for normal service, semi-annually for heavy and quarterly for severe. Any hazard takes the device out of service until a qualified person decides what happens next.
Below-the-hook devices sit between the crane and the load, and they are often the least visible part of a lifting program. A spreader beam may be used twice a year and stored outside in between. A plate clamp may move between three bays in a week. The crane gets a periodic inspection and a signed report; the beam hanging from it frequently has no identity at all.
What B30.20 covers
ASME B30.20 applies to below-the-hook lifting devices other than slings (B30.9) and rigging hardware (B30.26). That includes:
- structural and mechanical lifters: lifting beams, spreader beams, C-hooks, plate and beam clamps, coil lifters
- vacuum lifters
- lifting magnets, close-proximity and remotely operated
- scrap and material-handling grapples
Design of these devices is covered separately by ASME BTH-1. B30.20 is the standard for how they are marked, inspected, tested, maintained and used.
The three inspection levels
- Every lift. The operator examines the device before and during each lift for anything that makes it unsafe to use.
- Frequent. A visual inspection by the operator or another designated person: monthly for normal service, weekly for heavy service, daily for severe service. No record is required.
- Periodic. A documented inspection of the device's condition, the basis for evaluating it over time: yearly for normal service in place, semi-annually for heavy service, quarterly for severe service.
As with hooks and slings, the service class is per device, not per site. A beam used for occasional maintenance lifts and a production clamp in a fabrication shop carry different intervals even when they hang from the same crane.
When a device comes out of service
B30.20 lists inspection points by device type, from structural members and welds to vacuum pads and magnet controls. Whatever the device, the rule is the same: if an inspection finds a hazard, the device is removed from service, and a qualified person decides whether the deficiency is a hazard, needs repair, needs disassembly for further inspection, or calls for more frequent inspection. Missing or illegible identification, including the rated load marking, is a reason on its own not to use a device.
The record problem
B30.20 expects a documented periodic inspection per device, at an interval set by that device's service class, and a qualified person's decision recorded whenever a device is pulled. Paper systems tend to file these against the crane, which means a beam that moves between cranes loses its history and its next-due date with it.
Where Hovermarks fits
Hovermarks gives each below-the-hook device its own QR-tagged identity with its type, rated load and service class. Frequent and periodic inspections run as configurable checklists on a phone, a failed item raises a defect against that device, and the periodic record stays with the device wherever it is used. The crane and rigging solution shows how hooks, slings, hardware and lifting devices sit in one register.