BS EN 13000: Mobile cranes

BS EN 13000 is the European product standard that mobile cranes are designed and built to. This guide covers what it applies to, its limiter and stability requirements and how it fits with UK law.

Overview

What BS EN 13000 is

BS EN 13000 is the UK edition of the European product standard for mobile cranes. It sets the safety requirements a manufacturer designs and builds mobile cranes to.

In short

How a crane is planned and used on site comes from LOLER, with BS 7121-3 as guidance.
The current edition is the 2010 text with Amendment 1 of 2014.
In Great Britain it is a designated standard under the machinery supply regulations.
It sets the limiters and warnings the operator relies on in the cab.

Full title	Cranes — Mobile cranes
Reference	BS EN 13000:2010+A1:2014
Current edition	The 2010 edition with Amendment 1, published by BSI in 2014. The 2010 edition replaced BS EN 13000:2004.
Publisher	BSI (BSI Standards Limited)
Status	Current, under review
Legal status	Designated in Great Britain under the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008. It has no legal force of its own.
Intended for	Manufacturers of mobile cranes, and anyone checking how a crane was designed

Scope

Cranes and work it covers

The standard covers how mobile cranes are designed and built, from their safety devices to the information supplied with them. It assumes few stress cycles and smooth motions, so a crane working with a grab or magnet needs extra design checks. Lifting people is left to national rules, and the 2010 text does not apply to cranes built before CEN, the European standards body, published it.

Amendment 1 closed gaps and overlaps with other European standards. BSI lists four types outside it: loader cranes, offshore cranes, floating cranes and variable reach trucks such as telehandlers.

The telescopic boom of a mobile crane with its hook block hanging high above a factory roof under a cloudy sky — A mobile crane’s boom and hook block above a factory roof.

Requirements

Limiters, indicators and displays

These figures come from the 2010 text. Amendment 1 added outrigger monitoring to this part of the standard, and BSI’s summary mentions no change to the limits.

Rated capacity limiter	Required on cranes rated at 1 t or more, or with a load moment of 40 kNm or more. Once the load reaches a set point between 100% and 110% of rated capacity, it only allows movements that reduce the load on the crane.
Rated capacity indicator	A continuous warning, seen and heard, that starts between 90% and 97.5% of capacity, with a different signal at overload. People in the danger zone are warned as well as the operator.
Set-up and override	A set-up switch can override the limiter for rigging. In special cases such as a deadlocked limiter, it caps the load at 110% and cuts the speeds sharply. An emergency override is kept outside the cab under lock and key, and a data recorder logs any overload while either is in use.
Configuration	The operator can always see which configuration the limiter is set for and check it against the load chart. The setting cannot be changed while the crane holds a load.
Displays	The share of capacity in use, typically as a colour band. Cranes above 5 t also show rated capacity against actual load, and radius and jib angle can be called up.
Other limiters	A hoist limit to stop the hook block reaching the jib, and a lowering limit that keeps at least three turns of rope on the drum.

Stability and wind

Stability and wind limits

Stability is calculated to ISO 4305 for firm ground sloping no more than 1%, and steeper ground needs separate load charts. Every load-holding cylinder, outrigger rams included, has a valve that locks it if a hose bursts. Outriggers are marked at full extension and at any part extension the charts allow.

The maximum in-service wind speed appears on the load charts and in the manual. Unless the manufacturer states another figure, it assumes a load with a wind area of 1.2 m² for each tonne it weighs, and a load with more area needs a separate check. Amendment 1 added more guidance on wind.

What the manual must contain

The manual gives a load chart for every permitted configuration and the outrigger forces the ground has to carry, with a second copy for lift planning. It tells the user to check the ground, to check the lift against ISO 12480-1, and never to drag loads.

The law

How BS EN 13000 relates to LOLER and PUWER

BS EN 13000 applies when a crane is made and put on the market. Under regulation 7(4) of the Supply of Machinery (Safety) Regulations 2008, a machine built to a designated standard is presumed to meet the essential health and safety requirements the standard covers, and the government’s list of designated machinery standards includes EN 13000:2010+A1:2014. HSE’s work equipment questions explain this presumption of conformity.

For the employer, regulation 10 of PUWER requires equipment first provided after 1992 to keep meeting the product safety requirements that applied when it was first supplied. Planning and supervising each lift come under regulation 8 of LOLER, with BSI’s code of practice BS 7121-3 as guidance. Thorough examination comes under regulation 9.

LOLER and PUWER apply in Great Britain. Northern Ireland has equivalent regulations from 1999, such as the Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations (Northern Ireland) 1999, and follows EU rules for placing machinery on the market.

Editions

Editions and related standards

EN 13000 was first published in 2004 and revised in 2010. Amendment 1 added monitoring against wrong outrigger settings, and brought the operator noise limit into line with legal requirements. A revised draft has been out for public comment on BSI’s standards development site. The inspection and thorough examination of mobile cranes in service is covered by BS 7121-2-3.

Sources and further reading

Questions

Common questions

What standard covers loader cranes?

BS EN 12999. Loader cranes, including the knuckle-boom cranes fitted to lorries, are outside BS EN 13000.

Who checks that a mobile crane meets BS EN 13000?

The manufacturer, through its own tests and examination before the crane is supplied. The employer then checks it is suitable for the job and keeps it maintained and examined under PUWER and LOLER in Great Britain, or the 1999 Northern Ireland versions there.

What happens to a crane built to an older edition?

The 2010 text does not apply to cranes built before CEN published it. In Great Britain those cranes still have to meet PUWER and LOLER, and Northern Ireland’s 1999 regulations apply there.