The paper is intended to serve as a guide to engineers who desire to install electrically operated lifting equipment over an area of factory, warehouse, stockyard or power plant. Emphasis is laid on performance rather than design, and mention of many of the smaller items of crane equipment has purposely been omitted. The paper discusses the information required from the purchaser by the manufacturer, and indicates the results that the purchaser may expect to get at the crane hook. A brief survey of regulations affecting the installation of cranes is given, together with some remarks on maintenance and running costs.