How to Measure for an Overhead Crane’s Span and Runway Length

• Ideally, you will have access to get closer to the runway beams of overhead crane using a lift or nearby mezzanine (if available). If not, you can gather a lot of these measurements using your tape measure or your laser pointer.

• Getting measurements of the actual runway beam is as simple as running your tape measure from the bottom of the beam up to the top if you have easy access to the beam.

• If you can’t get to the beam, you can stand underneath it and use your laser pointer to get a measurement to the top flange, and then get a measurement to the bottom of the beam and subtract the difference. This will give you your beam height.

• If you’re able to get up close to the beam, you can measure the flange width, as well as the flange thickness.

• If the runway beam has a cap channel added for extra reinforcement, getting measurements for the width of the flange, toe, and thickness of the cap will also help the engineering team understand the crane’s design requirements.