Free gantry crane inspection checklist
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Free gantry crane inspection checklist (PDF-ready). Covers legs, end trucks, wheels, rails, ropes, hooks and travel limits for AS 2550.5 compliance.
Commercial Director
Updated 24 May 2026
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- PDF format, ready to print or fill on screen
- Use as-is or customise to suit your operation
- Go digital in MapTrack for photos, alerts and audit trails
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What is a gantry crane inspection checklist?
A gantry crane inspection checklist is a structured record used by riggers, crane supervisors and maintenance teams to confirm that a gantry crane is safe to operate before, during and after each shift. Unlike an overhead bridge crane that runs on elevated runway beams, a gantry crane carries its load on legs that sit on the ground, travelling on floor-mounted rails (rail-mounted gantry, RMG) or on rubber tyres (rubber-tyred gantry, RTG). The checklist walks the inspector through the main wear and failure points: the legs and sill beams, end-truck wheels, rail or tyre condition, span and gauge, the bridge girder, the trolley and hoist, wire ropes, the hook block, the festoon or cable reel, brakes, limit switches, anti-collision sensors and the operator interface. It is the everyday tool that turns AS 2550.5 from a standard on a shelf into something a yard actually does each morning.
Under the WHS Regulations 2011 (Chapter 5, Part 5.1), a gantry crane is registrable plant and the PCBU has a duty to keep records of inspection, maintenance and any defect found. AS 2550.5 sets out the safe-use requirements for bridge, gantry and portal cranes, including the inspection regime, while AS 1418.3 covers design and AS 2759 governs the wire rope on the hoist and any pendant ropes. In container terminals and intermodal yards, RTG and RMG operations also need to consider signal continuity, twistlock interlocks and anti-collision between adjacent cranes. A printed checklist supports a daily pre-start; a digital record in MapTrack ties each tick to a crane asset, a defect log and the next scheduled service so the audit trail is intact when a regulator or insurer asks for it.
Learn more about compliance and inspections in MapTrack.
Benefits of using this gantry crane inspection checklist
- Operator accountability: Every pre-start, monthly and annual check is signed against the operator or competent person who completed it.
- AS 2550.5 alignment: The checklist mirrors the safe-use clauses for bridge, gantry and portal cranes so audits are straightforward.
- Defect visibility: Faults raised on a wheel, rope or brake are linked to the crane record rather than buried in a paper pile in the foreman office.
- Yard-wide consistency: Two RTGs, four RMGs and a precast gantry all get inspected against the same baseline rather than the operator memory of last shift.
- Insurance and incident readiness: A complete inspection history shortens the response time after a near-miss and supports the PCBU due-diligence position.
- Service planning: Daily defects flow into the maintenance plan so the 250, 500 and 1000-hour services target the right wear points.
- Lifecycle records: Wheel changes, rail welds, rope changes and structural repairs sit against the asset for the full life of the crane.
Benefits of digitising forms in MapTrack
When you digitise gantry crane checklists in MapTrack, you get:
- Field users can easily scan a QR code to complete a form on mobile. Unlimited users.
- Automatically get alerts when faults are identified.
- Link every form digitally as a PDF to the relevant asset, location or person.
- Receive a digital PDF copy with every submission to your email.
- Ability to share forms digitally.
- Build conditional logic (show or hide questions based on answers).
- Take pictures or attach photos. Not possible with a paper-based form.
- Electronic signatures.
- Edit forms later without reprinting.
- Restrict permissions (who can view, complete or approve).
- Build forms with AI (describe what you need and MapTrack suggests the form).
- Escalate critical hazards instantly to safety managers via push notification.
- Maintain an auditable safety register that satisfies WHS regulator requests.
- Correlate incident trends across sites with built-in safety analytics.
Book a demo to see how MapTrack handles gantry crane checklists.
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What to include in a gantry crane inspection checklist
This gantry crane inspection checklist covers 13 key areas:
- Crane identification: serial number, registration, capacity, span and gauge.
- Legs and sill beams: visual structural check for cracks, dents, paint loss and bolt tightness.
- End trucks and wheels: flange wear, tread profile, bearing noise and equaliser play.
- Rails or tyres: rail head wear, joint gaps, fastener condition; tyre pressure, tread and cuts for RTG.
- Bridge girder and tie beams: deflection, weld integrity, lateral bracing and inspection-walkway handrails.
- Trolley and hoist: cross-travel wheels, gearbox oil, drum condition and trolley rail wear.
- Wire ropes and reeving: broken wires per lay, diameter, lubrication and termination per AS 2759.
- Hook block, sheaves and safety latch: throat wear, latch function, sheave groove profile and bearing freeplay.
- Brakes: hoist, long-travel and cross-travel brake function, pad wear and stopping distance.
- Limit switches and overload: upper, lower, end-of-travel and load-moment or overload device function.
- Anti-collision and proximity: end-stops, buffers and adjacent-crane proximity sensors where fitted.
- Electrical and festoon: festoon cable, drag chain or cable reel, earth continuity and emergency stops.
- Cab, controls and load test: control labelling, visibility, audible warning, dynamic test lift to rated capacity where required.
How to use this gantry crane inspection checklist
- Confirm the inspection scope and isolate where needed.: Identify whether this is a daily pre-start, monthly, quarterly or annual inspection. For anything beyond a pre-start, lock and tag the crane out, isolate power and put barriers around the legs to keep yard traffic clear.
- Walk the structure and travel path.: Start at one leg, work around the sill beams, end trucks and travel rails or tyres. Look for fresh paint loss, cracking near welds, bent ladders, damaged handrails and rail joints that have spread or lifted.
- Inspect the hoist, ropes and hook.: Climb the access platform with a second person on the ground. Measure rope diameter, count broken wires per lay length to AS 2759, check the drum spooling, sheaves, hook throat, safety latch and any swivel.
- Test the controls, brakes and safety devices.: With the area clear, run no-load travel and hoist motions, prove the upper, lower and end-of-travel limits, test the overload device, anti-two-block if fitted, e-stops and audible warning. Confirm brake stopping distance against the manufacturer spec.
- Conduct a load function check where required.: For annual and post-repair inspections, perform a test lift at SWL per AS 2550.5. Watch for unusual noise from the gearbox, slewing ring or end trucks, and confirm the load-holding brake holds the rated load without drift.
- Record defects and sign off.: Capture every defect with a photo, severity rating and a corrective action. Sign the inspection record, log the next inspection due date and update the crane record. In MapTrack the inspection links to the crane asset, generates the defect work order and schedules the next service tier automatically.
In MapTrack, you can digitise safety inspections and compliance forms. Each submission is stored as a timestamped PDF against the asset record.
Get the free templateEnter your email above to download the full gantry crane inspection checklist as a PDF.Back to download formHow often should you complete this checklist?
AS 2550.5 sets a tiered inspection regime that yards should formalise in their crane management plan. A pre-start visual and functional check is done by the operator at the start of every shift. A more detailed monthly inspection covers ropes, brakes and limit switches. A quarterly inspection adds structural and electrical checks, and an annual inspection by a competent person covers the full asset including a load function test. A 10-yearly or major periodic inspection (often called the design-life inspection) reviews fatigue life and structural integrity, particularly on RTG and RMG cranes that cycle many times a day. Any incident, overload event, wind event above the rated in-service speed, or repair to a load-bearing component triggers an out-of-cycle inspection before the crane returns to service. In MapTrack each tier is scheduled per crane and reminds the right person when it is due.
Frequently asked questions
Applicable regulatory standards
This template aligns with the following regulations and standards:
- AS 2550.5 - Cranes, hoists and winches (Bridge, gantry and portal cranes - Safe use)
- AS 1418.3 - Cranes, hoists and winches (Bridge, gantry, portal cranes and jib cranes - Design)
- AS 2759 - Steel wire rope - Use, inspection and discard criteria
- WHS Regulations 2011 - Chapter 5, Part 5.1 (Registration and inspection of plant)
- OSHA 1910.179 - Overhead and gantry cranes
Need to digitise safety inspections and compliance forms?
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