When you have made the hefty investment of purchasing a crane and the decision to repair or replace arises it is a critical one which must be carefully analysed. It involves numerous considerations spanning from cost-efficiency to safety, and the overall effect on operations. In this weeks blog post, we delve into the different aspects, providing a broad guide created to help crane owners and operators in making a well-informed decision.

3 Factors to Consider

The Crane’s Lifespan

It is key to understand the lifespan of your crane. This can vary massively depending upon the type, usage, and maintenance. Routine assessments of the crane’s age against its expected lifespan will give you an insight into its remaining useful life.

It is also beneficial to balance the immediate needs of the crane with the long-term goal plans. The immediate benefit of a repair may be a quicker fix, but the long-term advantages of a replacement might outweigh the short-term convenience.

For example, if the crane is approaching the end of its useful life, breakdowns might become a common occurrence, creating more operational disruptions in the future. Whereas the upfront cost and time to integrate a new crane into your fleet may seem significant, but it could offer more reliability and efficiency in the long run.

Current Condition

Assessing the current condition of the crane plays a key part of making an overall decision. This requires inspecting the crane for any visible damage, checking for performance issues, and confirming all safety features are in working order. It could be valuable to recruit a professional crane inspector to carry out this task as they can provide a detailed and objective report.

Repair Costs

The cost of repairs versus replacement is another crucial factor to consider. Sometimes you can find that the cost of repairing a crane can be more than investing in a new. Therefore, if this is the case, then it could be more beneficial financially to purchase a used but newer crane. Another positive in doing this is that a more modern machine may come with greater efficiency features like high quality engines and user-friendly controls. Another aspect of repairing equipment is the downtime. Having your crane in the repair shop for extended periods of time can be detrimental to project completion dates. So filter this into your decision making process.

Here at MechLink we have a wide selection of quality used cranes for sale, ready to be put to work on your upcoming projects. We offer mobile cranes, crawler cranes and off-shore cranesfrom a selection of leading manufacturers such as Liebherr, Grove, Tadano Faun, Terex Demag and moreand more. We will ensure that the specification of the machine matches up to the project it is required for. Before shipment, we always ensure that our cranes are up-to-date and fully tested. Should you require something more specialist, please contact us and our expert team will aim to source the machine required for your project.