Routine bridge inspections are often anything but “routine.”
For most people, engineers included, there is nothing routine about being suspended 175 feet above a green, valley floor. And this in a metal basket attached to the end of a thin, steel boom that’s been lowered from the relative safety of a bridge deck!
When you’re dangling in a bucket off the side of a structure like the Wilson Creek Bridge, having bridge inspection equipment you can trust is vital. In fact, your life may depend on it.
Safe Bridge Inspections Rely on Trustworthy Equipment
Safety is given when it comes to most occupations and this is especially true for work such as bridge inspection, maintenance, and repair.
Whether it is the height above the ground or water below, or the proximity of bridge structures above or underneath the bridge deck, or simply the operation and moving of the bridge inspection equipment – safety is a priority. There are other team members, other workers, drivers and even pedestrians who must be safeguarded.
As one legal firm noted on their website,
“One of the major concerns of bridge inspections is the safety of the inspection crews, construction workers, pedestrians, and commuters. Unfortunately, as most contractors know, accidents can happen at any time and in the event of a bridge inspection accident, the results are often deadly.”
Perhaps the bane of any bridge inspector or worker is equipment that has not been properly maintained and regularly inspected. And this is particularly critical for under bridge access equipment. Any failure of any part of aerial work platform is far more dangerous than the failure of a hand tool, for example.
To be fair, bridge inspection equipment itself is not a common cause of accidents. In fact, the most common causes of bridge inspection accidents include:
- Ignoring safety standards
- Human error
- Using equipment too heavy for the bridge
- Lack of fall prevention equipment
- Tipped equipment
And, sometimes, defective under bridge inspection units.
Efficient Bridge Inspections Rely on Trustworthy Equipment
Perhaps, in many bridge inspection situations, a frustration for inspectors and contractors is having equipment that doesn’t work well consistently or is not sufficient for the job at hand.
Bridges and bridge decks come in a wide variety of heights, widths, and types. Some structures, like the Wilson Creek Bridge we mentioned earlier or the Manchester Bridge in Richmond, Virginia, have almost unobstructed access underneath the bridge deck.
Others, such as the Robert O. Norris Bridge in Weems, Virginia, and the George P. Coleman Memorial Bridge over the York River, have complex below deck structures. These make for particularly difficult and challenging bridge inspections. And having the right under bridge access equipment is crucial.
One of the key aspects of reliable and trustworthy bridge inspection equipment is sufficient access.
Whether that’s over, down, and under a bridge deck, or above the deck into the superstructure, such as posts, steel truss systems, bridge girders, and cable-stayed systems or cable suspended systems.
Because most agencies and contractors will rent the bridge inspection equipment required for their projects such as routine bridge inspections, they depend a great deal on the knowledge and expert advice of the equipment rental company staff.
In addition to being able to recommend the best equipment for the particular bridge dimensions and nature of work being done, a professional rental company will be able to offer reliable and trustworthy equipment.
McClain and Company: Bridge Inspection Equipment You Can Trust
Every bridge inspection technician needs trust that the equipment they are depending on will allow them to access the bridge safely and reliably. Regardless of whether that’s the superstructure of a railway bridge to reach trusses, caps, and beams, or underneath a massive highway bridge deck, you need equipment you can trust.
And as any experienced contractor knows, highway and railway bridges come in a wide variety of sizes and types. While there are those that are less than 20 feet above the ground or water, others are hundreds of feet above waterways or rugged terrain. Bridges can traverse water, wooded valleys, and busy highway systems.
The challenge for bridge inspection contractors is acquiring bridge access equipment that they can trust to provide reliable access for each bridge they work on. And this entails the need for a trustworthy source for bridge inspection equipment rentals.
At McClain and Company, we are that trustworthy source.
McClain has been providing a variety of support services to engineering companies, government agencies, and bridge maintenance contractors for the inspection and maintenance of bridges since 1998.
And we have helped build our reputation on our wide selection of under bridge access equipment.
You Can Rely on McClain for Bridge Inspection Equipment Rental
At McClain and Company, we believe in providing the absolute best in bridge access equipment. And we also do all we can to provide our customers with the absolute best in customer service.
“Your success is our success.” is more than a nice slogan for owner Daniel McClain and the team at McClain & Co., Inc. It is our mission to do everything we can to help you succeed with your projects. And this includes helping you select the right under bridge access equipment rental for your next bridge inspection project.
And if you already know what type of equipment you’d like to rent, you can request a quote today and schedule your rental with us.
In addition to our reliable and high-quality bridge inspection equipment rentals, the professionals at McClain provide Hi-Rail, aerial work platforms, and other access equipment. At McClain and Company, we also offer construction services and equipment rental in several states, along with Traffic Control Service and Device rentals, as well as
If you have questions about our bridge inspection equipment and other rental equipment, or want to learn more about our other services, you can contact McClain & Co., Inc., by calling us at 1.888.889.1284 or emailing us at [email protected].