Crane Care is an Australian crane and hoist maintenance company that specialises in servicing, supplying and annual certification of entertainment hoists and stage equipment. They were recently engaged by the Tamworth Country Music Festival, one of Australia’s largest live music events, to assist with their annual servicing.
They worked across three venues in Tamworth, including the Tamworth Town Hall, The Capitol Theatre and The Tamworth Regional Entertainment & Conference Centre (TRECC).
“We carried out servicing on close to 60 x electric Entertainment chain hoists/stage motors,” commented Bryn Jones, Director of Crane Care. “We also inspected the SRS motor control units at the venues.”
According to Bryn, for entertainment applications, chain hoists should generally be:
- Visually inspected before each use or event
- Function tested regularly during operation periods
- Formally serviced and inspected at least every 12 months
In high-use environments or touring/festival applications, more frequent inspections are often more appropriate. Servicing frequency should always reflect duty cycle, operating environment, and manufacturer recommendations.
“We are also recommending that venues switch to D8+ model hoists, especially where the unit is above people or the audience,” added Bryn. “We serviced a range of chain hoists for this festival, including GIS, LiftChamp, LIFTKET and ProLyft. We also carried out repairs to SRS motor control units at the venues to prevent unexpected stoppages.”
A typical entertainment hoist service includes:
- Visual inspection of the hoist body, suspension points, and load hook
- Inspection and measurement of load chain wear and condition
- Brake inspection and functional testing as well as inspection of the clutch
- Electrical checks (pendant, control cable, connectors, limit functions)
- Load testing where required
- Verification of identification, labelling, and documentation
- Lubrication, adjustments, and minor fault rectification
All findings are documented, and any safety-critical issues are reported immediately.
“We took a team of three technicians to Tamworth to complete this work, overall, a great few days,” said Bryn. “I would definitely recommend checking out The Tamworth Country Music Festival. The whole town was buzzing!!”
The photo shows, on the left, Tom Hayes and on the right, Bryn Jones.
