Hanging more than 200 ft over a jobsite in downtown Kansas City, Mo., James Hague doesn�t seem to notice the tiny people and equipment below his feet. The senior technician is intently fiddling with a dial gauge that measures the amount of play in a crane turntable�the giant gear that rotates the jib. �A bearing could go bad,� says Hague, suspended from a full-body harness. �And that�s something we want to know before the top falls off.�
Although this vertigo-inducing procedure is not required by law for a routine inspection, it is standard practice at Kansas City, Mo.-based JE Dunn Logistics, which is stepping up its safety program in an effort to cut risks—especially around hoisting equipment. After Hague performs an inspection for one of the company’s cranes, he climbs down, slips off his gloves, sits in his pickup truck and enters his findings in a smart phone or laptop. In seconds, the electronic report shoots off to a file server in the home office.