Frequently Asked Questions

The 3-3-3 rule is a quick safety habit some operators use: take three seconds to start a movement smoothly, hold steady for three seconds, and take three seconds to stop — keeping loads from swinging through sudden acceleration or braking. It's a rule of thumb, not a regulation, and it never replaces a proper lift plan, load chart and the operator's judgment. On any Kranes lift, certified operators follow the manufacturer's load chart and CSA B167 practice, with the rigging and ground conditions verified before the load leaves the ground.

"Crane services" covers everything around getting a load lifted safely beyond just the machine: supplying the crane (sale or rental), providing certified operators, planning and engineering the lift, rigging, and the ongoing maintenance, inspection, certification and parts that keep a crane compliant. As the nationwide supplier, Kranes covers all of it — sales, rental, service and parts — from one request. You describe the job; we provide the crane and the certified support to complete it, then keep it running afterward.

Both run a hoist along a bridge, but the support is different. An overhead (bridge) crane carries its bridge on runway beams fixed to the building structure, so it clears the floor entirely and reaches the highest hook positions. A gantry crane carries the same bridge on freestanding legs that run on floor rails or castors, so it needs no building steel and can work outdoors, in yards or anywhere a runway can't be mounted overhead. Overhead cranes suit permanent in-bay production; gantries suit flexible, portable or outdoor lifting. Kranes supplies, installs and services both.

The 10-foot rule is a power-line safety standard: keep cranes, loads and rigging at least 10 feet (about 3 metres) away from overhead power lines, with greater clearance required as voltage rises. It's one of the most serious hazards in crane work, and many jurisdictions enforce it directly. Every Kranes lift includes a check for overhead lines and other obstructions during planning, and certified operators maintain the required clearance throughout — de-energizing or relocating the lift when safe clearance can't be met.

The 5 P's are a planning maxim — Proper Planning Prevents Poor Performance — and in lifting they stand for the discipline of working out the load weight, the crane and rigging, the ground and access, the people and their certification, and the hazards before anything is hoisted. A good lift is decided on paper first. Kranes applies the same principle to every quote: we confirm the load, the radius, the site conditions and the certified crew up front, so the crane that arrives is the right one and the lift goes as planned.

Daily boom-truck rates depend on the crane's capacity and reach, whether a certified operator is included, the rigging, and how far the truck travels to your site. A boom truck is usually the most economical option for medium lifts spread across a route — setting HVAC units, signs or roofing material — because it drives itself to the job and loads from its own deck. Tell Kranes the load, the lift height and the access, and we quote the right deck and crane rating for the day or the project.

It depends entirely on the model and, crucially, the radius — a boom truck lifts far more close to the truck than at full extension. Capacity is read from the crane's load chart, which accounts for boom length, angle and outrigger setup, not a single headline number. Common boom trucks range from a few tonnes up to higher-capacity articulating and stiff-boom units. Kranes matches the boom truck to your heaviest pick at its working radius, so the machine that arrives can actually make the lift safely.

For a crane lift, the safe answer is usually more than one: a certified operator runs the machine while a qualified signaller or rigger directs the load, especially when the operator can't see the landing zone. Solo operation is only appropriate for simple, fully-visible picks within the operator's qualification. Kranes supplies certified operators and, where the lift calls for it, the signalling and rigging support to do it safely — the crew is sized to the job, not the other way around.

A gantry crane is a lifting bridge carried on two freestanding legs that straddle the work area and run on floor rails or castors — essentially an overhead crane that brings its own supports instead of relying on the building. The name comes from "gantry," an old word for a raised frame or platform that spans a space. They're also called portal cranes, and smaller adjustable versions are known as portable or A-frame gantries. Kranes supplies adjustable, portable and full-span gantry cranes for yards, workshops and any bay without overhead steel.

All of it. Kranes is the nationwide crane supplier across four lines from a single request: sales (buy a crane outright), rental (operated or bare, by the day, week or project), service (maintenance, repair, inspection and certification for any make), and parts (wear and electrical components, including for obsolete units). You don't get routed to a third party — you tell us the job, we send the quote and we fulfill it directly. That single point of contact is the whole idea: one supplier behind every lift, coast to coast.

Kranes serves all of Canada — 48 cities across every province and territory, from Toronto, Montréal, Calgary and Vancouver to remote northern sites in Yukon, the Northwest Territories and Nunavut. Because we're a nationwide supplier rather than a single local yard, one request covers wherever your job is, with bilingual support in English and French. If you're searching for crane service near me or comparing crane companies in your city, Kranes is the direct option that quotes and fulfills the work itself rather than passing you to a third party. For remote or northern locations, mobilization and scheduling are built into the quote so the right crane reaches the site on time.

Yes. Crane rentals can be supplied operated — with a certified operator — or bare, where you provide your own qualified operator. For operated work, our crews hold the certification required for the crane class and province, and the work is documented to CSA B167 and ASME B30 so your records stand up to an audit. When you request a quote, tell us whether you need an operator and any site-specific safety requirements, and we include the right certified crew.

Most quotes go back within 24 hours. Send the essentials — the equipment or service you need, the load, the location and the timing — by form, email or phone, and our team prices the right crane, rigging and certified operation and returns a clear quote. Urgent or emergency lifts are flagged and handled faster. The more detail you give up front (capacity, lift height, radius, site access), the more precise and final the quote, with fewer surprises on the day of the lift.