Outrigger and Crane Pad

Safe Use and Handling

Guidelines
  Think Safety. Slow Down and Use Common Sense.  
 No set of safety guidelines can cover all possible scenarios. When in doubt, slow down and stop the
process. Think it through.
 Look for impediments, depressions, voids, trenches, excavations, slopes or signs of poor ground
conditions that can lead to an unsafe situation. If found, correct the situation to a compacted and level
surface or do not set up.
 Be aware of potential vehicle traffic that may conflict with your area of operation. Redirect traffic or
adjust your outrigger pad set up as needed.
 By itself, no outrigger pad can provide a complete guarantee of safety. Common sense always needs
to be used.
  Always Follow the Original Equipment Manufacturer’s Guidelines
 Operators must use all of the original equipment manufacturer’s guidelines for their outrigger-
enabled equipment when using outrigger pads.
 Failure to comply with all manufactures fitting and training guidelines can result in serious injuries
or fatalities in addition to significant property and equipment damage.
  Always Use Outrigger Pads or Crane Pads
Every time the outriggers are deployed, your outrigger pads or crane mats must be under them.
  Assess Your Ground Conditions
 Ultimately the ground is supporting everything. It must be taken into consideration in every application.
 Outrigger pads should always be set-up on sufficiently compacted, drained and level surfaces.
 All uneven ground should be leveled prior to the placement of any outrigger pad or crane pad.
  Managing Deflection 
If excessive deflection is occurring due to ground displacement, the ground is not suitable to provide the
load bearing capacity that is needed to support the load. Excessive deflection limits proper load distribution,
and can cause damage to outrigger pads or crane mats over time. The below methods can be used to
improve both the set-up and ground conditions to reduce deflection.
 Add additional supporting materials that are more rigid and create a larger area.
  Add additional supporting materials that are stiffer to ensure rigidity, stability and safety. If
additional supporting materials are needed, see “Stacked Outrigger Pad Setups” for how to properly
place them.
 Compact the soil using appropriate soil compaction equipment such as a roller, plate soil compactor,
rammer or similar equipment.
 Add rock, gravel or cement like materials to the soil to increase the ground bearing capacity.
 Blade the soil to remove insufficiently compacted surface layers and expose sufficiently compacted
ground.
 Allow wet soils time to dry, drain needed areas and/or add rock, gravel or cement like materials as
noted above.
 Verify the outrigger pads you are using have enough surface area to spread the outrigger load over
the area required to be equal to or lesser than the ground bearing capacity.
  Inspection 
How to inspect your outrigger pads and crane mats.
 Outrigger pad/floats must be smooth and free from debris in order to evenly spread the load and
achieve solid contact with the outrigger pad or crane mat.
 Always inspect your outrigger pads and crane mats for material integrity prior to use. If they are
compromised for any reason or you are unsure, do not use and call 866.497.2943.
 If using additional cribbing, dunnage or other supporting materials in conjunction with DICA
outrigger pads or crane pads, always inspect them for cracking, warping, rotting or other signs of
possible failure. If the additional materials show signs of compromised integrity, do not use.
  Proper Placement of Outrigger Pad/Float
 Proper pad/float placement is critical to effective load support and distribution.
 The crane outrigger float should be placed squarely in the center of an outrigger pad or crane
mat. FiberMax crane pads have standard “foot placement targets” to assist with proper pad/float
placement.
 Outrigger pads/floats placed outside target area (center of the pad/mat) will result in non-uniform
ground bearing pressures.
  Stacked Outrigger Pad Setups
 Failure to comply with the below guidance may result in “point loading”.  Point loading concentrates the
load and increases pressure, rather than spreads the load and decreases pressure. Point loading increases the
possibility of a tip-over and with it, serious injuries or fatalities in addition to significant property and
equipment damage.
 When stacking outrigger pads, always stack a smaller outrigger pad on top of a larger underlying
pad.
  Never stack a larger outrigger pad on top of smaller outrigger pads, cribbing, dunnage or other
supporting materials.
 Always use materials of a known strength that are designed as support for heavy equipment.
  Do Not Span Voids or Depressions
Do not under any circumstances use DICA outrigger pads or crane pads to set up over depressions or voids
of any type. Supporting materials of any kind should always be set-up on compacted, drained and level
surfaces. Monitor your outrigger pad setup, ground conditions, personnel and surroundings at all times for
potential safety problems.
  Equipment Grounding
Safety Tech outrigger pads and FiberMax crane pads are an insulator that prevents the transmission of
electrical current from the equipment to the ground. If electrical grounding is needed, see your original
equipment manufacturer’s guidelines for proper grounding procedures and follow the listed instructions.
 Due to atmospheric conditions, static electricity can build up on equipment. However, static
electricity is not created, nor does it build up within Safety Tech outrigger pads when they are in use.
 Electrical material properties of the engineered thermoplastic material used in Safety Tech outrigger
pads includes the following: Surface resistivity of 10 to the 15th ohms/square (ASTM EOS/ESD S11.11)
Dielectric strength short term of 2,300 volts/mil (ASTM D149).
  Temperature Range
 The following are acceptable operating temperature ranges.
 Safety Tech Outrigger Pads: -40 to 180 Fahrenheit / -40 to 82.22 Celsius
 FiberMax Outrigger Pads: -60°F to 180°F / -51 to 82.22 Celsius
 FiberMax Mega Duty: -40°F to 160°F / -40 to 71 Celsius
  Proper Maintenance and Stowing
 Maintain DICA outrigger pads and crane mats using the below methods.
 Use low to medium pressure water to remove soil, mud, road chemicals, hydraulic fluid or other
debris. 
 Alternate the use of SafetyTech outrigger pad sides to distribute any potential surface wear and
maximize shape recovery. Side alternation does not apply to FiberMax products. 
 Secure all outrigger pads and crane pads prior to vehicle transit in a way that prevents their motion
or loss. 
  Safe Lifting and Handling
Use the following guidelines when handling DICA outrigger pads
 When lifting DICA outrigger pads users should use their legs as the primary source of lifting power.
 To safely roll round Safety Tech outrigger pads, begin by standing the pad on edge. Position yourself
to the back or side of the pad. Carefully roll the pad to the intended location and follow the outrigger pad
lowering instructions below.
 To safely place pads that are standing on edge into position, two methods may be used.
 Dropping: Verify all personnel not involved in lowering the outrigger pad are a safe distance
away from where the pad will be placed. Have the personnel involved in the lowering stand on
the side away from where it will be located. Once the area where the pad will be positioned is
clear, allow the pad to fall away and drop into place.
 Lowering: Verify all personnel not involved in lowering the outrigger pad are a safe distance
away from where the pad will be placed. In unison, slowly lower the pad by bending at the knees
while maintaining a flat back until the pad lies flat.