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These 10 free MCI questions are organized by exam domain, so you can see how each part of the Mobile Crane Inspector (MCI) blueprint is tested. Reveal the answer and explanation under each question.
An inspector checks a mobile crane's radius indicator against a direct measurement while a test load hangs vertically. For load-chart purposes, the operating radius is the:
Correct answer: D - Horizontal distance from the crane's axis of rotation to the vertical hoist line under load.
A construction crane manufacturer requires a safety-related boom wear-pad inspection every 250 operating hours. The crane routinely operates 400 hours per month, and the fleet schedules OSHA monthly and annual inspections. Its maintenance manager proposes deleting the hour-based task because those calendar inspections are in place. Which schedule complies with OSHA's treatment of manufacturer inspection procedures?
Correct answer: C - Retain the manufacturer's 250-hour check alongside the required OSHA inspections.
A 2020 truck-mounted articulating crane places structural steel into a building. Loads attach directly to a hook on the boom; the crane has no load hoist or hoist rope. The inspector finds no anti-two-blocking device. Under OSHA's articulating-crane anti-two-blocking provision, this absence:
Correct answer: B - Does not violate that provision because the crane has no load hoist.
A carry-deck crane is returning to construction work after four months in storage. Its annual/comprehensive inspection was completed five months ago. No damage, repairs, or modifications occurred in storage, and the manufacturer specifies no additional storage-related inspection. What does the idle period itself trigger before reuse?
Correct answer: C - A qualified-person inspection meeting the monthly inspection requirements.
A boom truck's annual inspection report, issued two months ago, records a cracked sheave and an out-of-service finding. A qualified person has since verified its replacement and satisfactory functional testing. The owner asks that the original defect entry be deleted before the file is sent to a client. How should the inspector handle the record?
Correct answer: B - Retain the finding and add a dated, signed repair-verification record.
Seven randomly distributed broken wires are found within one rope lay of a construction crane's conventional running hoist rope. No strand contains more than two of the breaks, and the rope diameter has not decreased. The rope is not rotation-resistant. How does OSHA classify the broken-wire finding?
Correct answer: B - The random-break count meets the Category II deficiency criterion.
A boom-lift cylinder from an articulating crane is tested separately from the crane's control and load-holding valves. In the manufacturer's test fixture, the piston is held stationary while the cap end is pressurized. Sustained flow above the permitted leakage rate exits the open rod-end port; the cylinder exterior remains dry. The demonstrated leakage path is:
Correct answer: D - Bypass within the cylinder, across the piston sealing assembly.
A crane weighs 120,000 lb and will lift a 20,000-lb load on four outriggers. For the planned configuration, the manufacturer's maximum reaction at one outrigger is 84,000 lb. The ground assessment allows 2,800 lb/ft². Mat strength has been verified, and the engineered setup permits uniform pressure over each mat's full contact area. Which is the smallest listed square mat that meets the bearing-pressure requirement?
Correct answer: A - 6 ft by 6 ft
Following a suspected overload, a cleaned lower-chord weld on a lattice boom receives a correctly performed liquid-penetrant examination. No indications appear. The owner wants the report to state that the weld has no internal cracks. What can this examination actually establish?
Correct answer: A - No surface-opening discontinuities were detected; internal soundness is not established.
A level, 8,000-lb skid is supported by two identical sling legs at 60 degrees above horizontal. The hook is directly above the center of gravity, and the legs share the load equally. Each leg has a 6,000-lb allowable straight-line tension; all other rigging checks are satisfactory. Ignoring sling self-weight and dynamic effects, which assessment of leg tension is correct?
Correct answer: A - About 4,620 lb per leg; the arrangement meets the leg-tension limit.
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