Eight on-site stages, the runway tolerances that decide whether the crane runs true, 2026 cost ranges, and the load test rules you have to satisfy before the crane is released for production. Written for plant engineers, project managers and maintenance leads who own the installation contract.
A standard single girder overhead crane goes up in 2 to 3 working days once the runway is ready, and most of that work is straightforward. The runway decides everything else. Hold span tolerance to plus or minus 5 mm up to 16 m, cap the height difference between opposite rails at 10 mm, and pass the ASME B30.2 load test between 100% and 125% of rated capacity, and installation stays short and uneventful.
Miss the tolerances and you will be re-shimming rails for weeks, because a runway built to a house-building standard will not carry a crane that runs true. This guide walks the eight on-site stages, the timing you should expect, the ISO 12488-1 acceptance values, 2026 cost ranges and the load test rules that decide when the crane can go into production.
The word "installation" gets used for three different things, and mixing them up causes arguments over scope. Installation is the whole physical setup on site. Assembly is the mechanical joining of bridge, end trucks, trolley and hoist. Commissioning is the testing and calibration that turns a bolted-together machine into a certified lifting appliance. A supplier quoting "installation" may mean only the middle one.
On site, the work runs through eight stages. Some belong to the crane supplier, some to your civil or steel contractor. Getting that split wrong is how projects stall.
| Stage | Typical duration | Usually done by |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Site survey and structural check | 1-3 days | Owner plus crane engineer |
| 2. Design approval and shop drawings | 5-15 days | Crane manufacturer |
| 3. Runway beams, rails and end stops | 3-10 days | Civil or steel contractor |
| 4. Delivery, lifting and staging | 1-2 days | Logistics plus rigging crew |
| 5. Bridge and end truck assembly | 1-2 days | Installation crew |
| 6. Hoist, trolley and electrical installation | 1-3 days | Electrical crew |
| 7. Alignment and calibration | 1 day | Installation crew |
| 8. Load test and commissioning | 1-2 days | Commissioning engineer plus inspector |
Stage 3 is the one that slips. Everything else in the sequence depends on it, and it is the stage the crane manufacturer usually does not own. If you are buying a single girder crane for a building where the runway has to be built from scratch, treat the runway as its own project with its own schedule.
Two to three working days is the honest answer for a standard unit in a facility that is ready for it. The variables that stretch that number are crane size, whether a runway is included and whether the building needs structural work. On-site time is also only part of the story. Design, fabrication and pre-delivery inspection happen weeks earlier, so total project duration from enquiry to handover is much longer than the erection window.
| System | Typical on-site duration |
|---|---|
| Small workstation or jib crane | 1-3 days |
| Standard single girder, existing runway | 2-3 days |
| Standard single girder, new runway included | 1-2 weeks |
| Large double girder bridge crane | 3-6 weeks |
| Project needing new structural support | 6+ weeks |
| Total project, enquiry to handover, custom crane | 6-12 weeks |
The gap between 3 days on site and 12 weeks end to end surprises first-time buyers. It should not. A 10-ton bridge crane with a VFD travel drive is engineered to order, inspected before it leaves the factory and shipped by sea. None of that happens in a week.
The runway is the most unforgiving part of a crane system, and it is the part most often built to a house-building standard instead of a crane standard. ISO 12488-1:2012, which is identical to GB/T 10183.1-2018, gives the acceptance values. Grade 1 applies where the total travel distance over service life is very high or the system is tolerance-sensitive, for example a long-span crane with a short end carriage wheelbase.
| Check | Grade 2 | Grade 1 |
|---|---|---|
| Span tolerance, span up to 16 m | ±5 mm | ±3 mm |
| Span tolerance, span over 16 m | ±[5 + 0.25 × (S − 16)] mm, max ±15 mm | max ±10 mm |
| Rail straightness, horizontal plane, full length | ±10 mm | ±10 mm |
| Height difference between opposite rails (E) | ±1.0 × S mm, max ±10 mm | ±0.5 × S mm, max ±5 mm |
| End stop and buffer parallelism (F) | ±1.0 × S mm, max ±10 mm | ±1.0 × S mm, max ±10 mm |
Run the formulas against your own span and the numbers get real fast. A 28 m span crane at Grade 2 gives a span tolerance of ±[5 + 0.25 × (28 − 16)] = ±8 mm. A 20 m span gives an opposite-rail height difference of ±1.0 × 20 = ±20 mm, which the cap pulls back to ±10 mm. If your crane will run on a 20 m span, put ±10 mm in the runway contract, not "as level as possible."
A 5 mm span error across a 20 m runway looks like nothing on a tape measure. It produces a cyclic side load on the end carriages on every single pass, and no amount of wheel flange lubrication fixes it. Flange wear, rail head spalling and premature bearing failure all trace back to that number. We have re-measured runways on dozens of retrofits, and span error is the correction that pays for itself fastest.
Installation is a separate line from the crane price, and comparing supplier quotes without it is how projects go over budget. The ranges below reflect what industrial buyers are paying in 2026 for standard single girder systems in prepared buildings. Structural work is excluded because it varies too widely to quote as a range.
| Cost component | Typical range (USD) |
|---|---|
| Crane unit, single girder 1-20 t | 4,200 – 48,000 |
| Pre-engineered runway package | 5,000 – 20,000 |
| Installation labour and commissioning | 5,000 – 30,000 |
| Electrical and control scope | 5,000 – 20,000 |
| Freight and delivery | 500 – 3,000 |
| Structural reinforcement, if required | Project-specific, can exceed crane cost |
For a moderate-complexity job, USD 15,000 to 25,000 for installation is a realistic midpoint. Across the whole project, plan 20% to 40% on top of the bare crane price to cover runway, installation and electrical work. That is the number most often missing from a first quote comparison.
The structurally awkward case is a building that was never designed for crane loads. General warehousing steel is usually specified for roof loads only. Adding a crane runway means new columns, new footings or local reinforcement, and that line item can pass the price of the crane itself. It is worth knowing before you sign, not after the crane lands. Our single girder crane cost and TCO guide covers the ten-year picture including maintenance and energy.
Commissioning is where the crane stops being equipment and becomes a certified lifting appliance. The sequence matters: no-load operation first, then static load, then dynamic load, with safety device verification running alongside all three.
| Test | Load applied | What it verifies |
|---|---|---|
| No-load operational test | 0% | Full-stroke travel, trolley and hoist motion, limit switches, emergency stop, brake release |
| Static load test | 100-125% of rated capacity | Structural integrity, bridge residual deformation after the load is set down |
| Dynamic load test | 110% of rated capacity | Brake performance, transmission, stability through repeated cycles |
| Safety device verification | n/a | Limit protection, overload limiter, emergency stop, horn and warning light |
ASME B30.2-2.3.2 sets the rules for the load test itself. The test load must be at least 100% of rated capacity and must not exceed 125% unless the manufacturer or a qualified person recommends otherwise. The operations performed in the test are defined: hoist the load to confirm the brakes hold it, run the trolley the full length of the bridge, travel the bridge the full length of the runway in both directions with the trolley positioned near each end, then lower, stop and hold the load to check the brakes again. A written load test report documenting the load sustained and the operations performed is required, and it should be kept on file.
Load testing is triggered by new, reinstalled, altered, repaired or modified cranes. Replacing wire rope or load chain is specifically excluded, though an operational hoist test is still needed before the crane goes back into service. Plenty of maintenance managers get caught by that distinction.
Do not accept a verbal "all good" on handover day. These ten items are the ones that cause trouble later if they are waved through.
| # | Item to verify and record |
|---|---|
| 1 | Span and diagonal measurements within the specified ISO 12488-1 grade |
| 2 | Runway level, rail joint gaps and end stop alignment |
| 3 | Wheel and rail contact over the full travel, no flange climbing |
| 4 | Festoon system or conductor rail tracking freely through full stroke |
| 5 | Hook height and upper lift limit matching the approved drawing |
| 6 | Overload limiter set to the crane rating and calibrated, not left at factory default |
| 7 | Brake torque and stopping distance measured and recorded |
| 8 | Emergency stop and every limit switch tripped under live test |
| 9 | Electrical insulation and earthing resistance readings on file |
| 10 | Load test report, certification documents and O&M manual handed over |
Item 6 is the quiet one. An overload limiter that ships set to a default value and never re-calibrated will either nuisance-trip on legitimate loads or fail to protect the structure. Ask for the calibration record, not just a tick on a form.
Runway readiness is the single most common cause of a delayed erection date in the installations our commissioning team attends. It is almost never a technical failure. It is a scheduling failure, because the runway belongs to a different contractor working to a different standard.
The second most common problem is that nobody measured the span before the crane shipped. A bridge girder is built to the span on the approved drawing. If the as-built runway differs by more than the tolerance, the crane arrives and does not fit. Re-measure the span after the runway is complete and send the figures to the manufacturer before shipping is authorised. It costs an hour and prevents weeks.
Third, buildings get assumed to be crane-rated when they are not. Retrofitting a runway onto general warehousing steel is a structural project. Have a structural engineer review the wheel loads, including the dynamic factor, before you commit to crane capacity.
Fourth, the electrical scope is left vague. Who runs the power feed to the crane, and to what point? Who supplies the isolator? Ambiguity here means a crane sitting idle while an electrician is booked.
And fifth, documentation is left until the last day. The load test report, calibration records and certification documents are part of the deliverable. If your contract does not name them, chasing them afterwards takes far longer than collecting them on handover day. Buyers who get this right are the ones who read the standards comparison before they order, not after.
A standard single girder crane goes up in 2 to 3 working days on site when the runway and building structure are already in place. If the runway has to be built as part of the contract, budget 1 to 2 weeks. The full project timeline from first enquiry to handover runs 6 to 12 weeks for a custom crane, because design, fabrication and inspection happen before anything arrives at your facility.
ISO 12488-1:2012, identical to GB/T 10183.1-2018, sets the acceptance values. For spans up to 16 m, span tolerance is ±5 mm at Grade 2 and ±3 mm at Grade 1. Above 16 m the Grade 2 span tolerance becomes ±[5 + 0.25 × (S − 16)] mm, capped at 15 mm. The height difference between opposite rails is capped at 10 mm at Grade 2 and 5 mm at Grade 1. Rail straightness in the horizontal plane is 10 mm over the full length. A 5 mm span error across a 20 m runway is enough to load the end carriages cyclically on every pass.
Installation labour and commissioning typically runs USD 5,000 to 30,000, with USD 15,000 to 25,000 a common midpoint for a moderate-complexity job. A pre-engineered runway package adds USD 5,000 to 20,000. Electrical and control scope adds USD 5,000 to 20,000 and freight USD 500 to 3,000. Plan for 20% to 40% on top of the bare crane price to cover runway, installation and electrical work. If the building needs new support columns or reinforcement, that line item can exceed the price of the crane itself.
ASME B30.2-2.3.2 requires the test load to be at least 100% of rated capacity and not more than 125% unless the manufacturer or a qualified person recommends otherwise. The test involves hoisting the load to confirm the brakes hold it, running the trolley the full length of the bridge, travelling the bridge the full length of the runway in both directions with the trolley near each end, and lowering, stopping and holding the load to verify brake function. A written load test report documenting the load and the operations performed is required. Load testing applies to new, reinstalled, altered, repaired or modified cranes. Replacing wire rope or load chain is excluded, but an operational hoist test is still required.
The crane manufacturer supplies the crane. The runway beams, their supports and the building structure that carries them are normally the owner's scope, or the civil and steel contractor's. This split is where most installation disputes start, because the crane supplier cannot control the tolerance of a beam built by someone else. Put the ISO 12488-1 tolerance values directly into the runway contract and record the measured span and level before the crane ships.
Sometimes, but it depends on whether the roof steel was designed for crane loads. A structural engineer needs to check the existing columns and roof beams against the wheel loads of the crane you are buying, including the dynamic factor. Many buildings used for general warehousing were never designed for a suspended or top-running crane. Retrofitting a runway onto them often costs more than the crane. Have the wheel load figures from SIEC before you ask a structural engineer for an opinion.
Send us your building dimensions, existing structure details and lifting requirement. Our engineering team will confirm the crane that fits, the wheel loads your structural engineer needs, the runway tolerance your contractor must hold, and a full installation and commissioning scope so nothing falls between contracts.
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