FEM Hoist Duty Classifications
The European Materials Handling Federation, known as ‘FEM’, are a standards body for the material handling industry and are publishers of the FEM Hoist Duty Classifications.
Selecting the correct hoist for your operation is important, primarily for safety but also for operational efficiency and to represent value for money. The selection should be made only after considering the type of duty (load spectrum) and the average daily operated time, to ensure the hoist you choose is best suited to your operation.
Load Spectrum
The load spectrum is the magnitude of the load over the duration of the hoists operation and the calculated daily operating time. The basis for calculations is in accordance with FEM standards that a hoist has a 10-year serviceable lifetime.
Light Use
Light use would be defined as occasional full loads, usually light loads and small fixed loads (typically a light duty workshop crane with single shift operation).
Medium Use
Medium use would be defined as occasional full loads, usually light loads and average fixed loads (usually a medium duty workshop crane with single shift operation).
Heavy Use
Heavy use would be defined as repetitive full loads, usually average loads and heavy fixed loads (expected to be a heavy-duty crane with one or to shift options).
Very Heavy Use
Very Heavy use would be defined as usually almost full loads and very heavy fixed loads (this would be two to three shift operations with magnets below the hooks).
FEM Average Daily Operating Time
The average daily operating time of the hoist can be calculated from the running time of the hoisting machinery (hours/day). To calculate the remaining safe working period (SWP) of your hoist you can use our free SWP Calculator or it can be calculated using this formula.
Determining the FEM Hoist Duty Service Classification
When the load spectrum and the average daily operating time of the hoist are identified, the duty service classification of the hoist is obtained from this table.
