Major Crane Inspections
Independent, engineering-led assessments — from preliminary review through to full overhaul coordination. The engineering milestone at the heart of Complete Crane Compliance.
How it works
Initial conversation
Tell us about your crane — make, model, age, duty cycle, and what's triggered the inspection. We'll give you an honest assessment of what's likely needed.
Preliminary assessment
We review the crane's documentation, maintenance history, and operational records. If possible, we conduct an initial visual inspection on site.
Engineering report
You receive a detailed report covering findings, compliance status, and our recommendation — whether that's continued operation, targeted work, or a full overhaul scope.
Ongoing support
If further work is required, we can define the scope, coordinate with your workshop or OEM, and provide engineering oversight through to completion.
When is a major inspection required?
In practice, 10 years. Most sites and principal contractors won't accept a crane past that point without a completed major inspection, and for most owners that's the deadline that actually bites.
What the inspection involves is a different question. AS 2550 ties the major inspection to the crane's design working period — the service life it was designed for, measured against how it has actually been used. The scope isn't set by the calendar: two cranes reaching 10 years on the same day can need very different work.
That's where our process starts. We assess the crane's design working period against its real duty history, and that determines the form the inspection takes — rather than defaulting to the most expensive assumption.
These obligations are enforced in every Australian jurisdiction — by WorkSafe Victoria, SafeWork NSW, Workplace Health and Safety Queensland, WorkSafe WA, SafeWork SA, WorkSafe Tasmania, NT WorkSafe and WorkSafe ACT, and by Comcare for Commonwealth workplaces. If your crane is approaching or past the trigger point, you need an engineering assessment to determine whether it's fit for continued service — wherever it's working.
This isn't optional. It's a legal compliance requirement — and the inspection needs to be conducted by a competent person with the right engineering qualifications. Not just someone with a spanner.
The trigger point shouldn't be a surprise, either. For fleets on the Complete Crane Compliance program, we've been tracking the crane against its design life through every annual inspection — so the major arrives planned, budgeted, and scheduled around your work.
Start with the engineering assessment.
Before defining the overhaul scope, we review the crane's duty history, condition and maintenance records. The assessment determines what needs work now, what can be monitored, and whether a full overhaul is required.
For larger crawler cranes, a full overhaul can consume a significant proportion of the crane's capital value — and the machine is off the road for weeks.
The question most owners don't ask: does the crane actually need all of that work right now?
A smarter way to manage the inspection.
IDC takes a staged approach. Instead of jumping straight to a full overhaul, we start with an engineering assessment of the crane's actual condition — its duty history, operational environment, maintenance records, and observable wear patterns.
Based on that assessment, we recommend one of three pathways:
Preliminary Assessment Only
The crane is in good condition. Full overhaul can be deferred.
We document the crane's current state, confirm it meets compliance requirements, and provide a formal engineering report that supports continued operation. No unnecessary teardown. No unnecessary cost.
Targeted Inspection with Scheduled Overhaul
Some systems need attention now. Others can wait.
We identify which components require immediate inspection or replacement and which can be safely deferred with a defined monitoring or maintenance plan. You address the priorities now and schedule the rest around your operational calendar — not around a blanket overhaul scope.
Full Overhaul & Inspection
The crane needs a comprehensive overhaul. We define the scope and verify the outcome.
When a full overhaul is genuinely required, IDC defines the engineering scope — what needs to be done, to what standard, and why. We can advise on suitable contractors or OEM service providers to carry out the work, and where required, independently manage the process on your behalf.
Once the overhaul is complete, IDC verifies that the work has been carried out to the specified scope and updates the inspection report to reflect the crane's post-overhaul condition and compliance status.
The mechanical work is done by your workshop or OEM. The scope, the oversight, and the engineering sign-off come from IDC — independently.
Independent scope. Independent advice.
IDC doesn't sell cranes, maintain cranes, or run a workshop. We define the engineering scope from the evidence and explain what needs attention and why.
The workshop or OEM carries out the mechanical work. IDC provides the engineering assessment, scope and oversight.
Every report we issue is peer-reviewed by a second IDC engineer and referenced to the applicable Australian Standards. Our reports are written to stand up to scrutiny from regulators, insurers, and your own engineering team.
A team behind every inspection.
A team of crane engineers supports peer review and inspection planning around your operations.
Our team includes engineers registered in Queensland (RPEQ) and Victoria (RPEV), and engineers listed on the National Engineering Register (NER). Our engineers' professional registrations cover every Australian state that requires them. Every report is peer-reviewed by a second IDC engineer.
Built for cranes of every size.
IDC has completed more than 600 major inspections across Australia — from a Franna AT 12 through to a Liebherr LG 1750.
We work with mobile cranes, vehicle loading cranes, overhead cranes, side boom pipe layers, EWPs and telehandlers. Whether it's a routine assessment on a city hire fleet or a complex inspection on a heavy-lift crawler at a wind farm, the process is the same: thorough, standards-referenced, and independent.
The major is one milestone. We manage the whole clock.
A major inspection isn't a standalone event — it's the biggest milestone on a compliance clock that runs for the life of the crane. Annual inspections every year, the major at the design-life trigger, and engineering assessment whenever something changes.
Through CraneSafe annual inspections organised across our inspector network, IDC tracks your fleet's compliance picture year-round. With your fleet records in place, that history helps us identify upcoming majors and plan the assessment with you.
IDC's major inspection program is overseen by a CICA Endorsed Engineer. Our team also includes CraneSafe-endorsed engineers.
Your crane due for a major inspection?
Our preliminary assessment reviews your crane's actual duty history and condition to determine the work required. Tell us about the crane, its records and your operational deadline.
Start with a conversation.
Talk to our engineers →