Although both crane types have a similar use, mobile and fixed cranes are actually very different. Crane is a mechanical lifting device equipped with wire ropes, hoist or chains and sheaves for lifting and lowering horizontally. All crane types are most commonly used in the construction industry, manufacturing heavy equipment and docks for lifting and transporting heavy items from one place to another. Cranes are usually consisted of a carrier frame, boom, outriggers, operators cabin, gear box, drive, engine and breaks.

Cranes are very useful because of their ability to lift and lower and to swing load around an axis of rotation. There are numerous types depending on the application such as mobile, fixed, telescopic, tower, truck mounted, loader cranes (hydras) and many others. However, they can all be grouped in two categories, mobile and fixed cranes.

Mobile Cranes – Mobile cranes are more practical than the fixed cranes. They are quick and easy to set up and dismantle and can perform almost any type of task, unlike fixed cranes. There are several mobile crane types, such as truck-mounted, side-lift, rough terrain, aerial, railroad, floating, crawler, pick and carry crane, etc. Basically, a mobile crane consists of a wire rope drum, chains, a control panel and a truss mounted on a mobile platform, whether on a road or water surface. Some of the advantages are:

• Easy entry to sites that are very difficult to access;

• They do not need a lot of space to operate;

• Tasks can be completed faster with mobile cranes as the set up is very quick;

• Mobile cranes are strong and able to lift just as much as tower cranes can. Nowadays, with advanced technology they can lift thousands of tons at incredible heights.

Fixed Cranes – A fixed crane is a standard fixture at any large construction site. As their name implies, they are fixed to the ground, promising strong bond to give the best combination of lifting and height capacity. The fixed cranes exchange the mobility for ability to lift bigger loads and reach greater heights due to their bigger stability. There are many crane fixed crane types such as tower (the most commonly used one), self-erecting, stacker, loader, gantry, level luffing, hammerhead crane and many others. Fixed cranes have several advantages over mobile cranes:

• Better stability due to the fixation to the ground;

• Fixed cranes can reach greater heights;

• Ability to lift relatively large weights.