AUTOMATION
Getting the job done In any plant or facility there will be many processes and systems that are needed to get the job done. They do not all have to be automated. Those most suited can be chosen; those that most need human intervention can be left alone. Rick Emmer is business development manager for Columbus McKinnon. “Deciding which processes to automate can be tricky,” he says. “The first two questions you should ask yourself are, ‘What are the most important processes to our business?’ and ‘What are our most high- value processes?’ “Automating the most critical processes in your facility is a good place to start. By automating key processes, you can ensure that they stay up and running efficiently. This increases uptime and, ultimately, improves the productivity of that process. And, by automating key processes, you are in a better position to scale operations to grow the business. “The other important thing to keep in mind is that
automation doesn’t have to be complicated,” he adds. “Integrating a few automated solutions into your system can go a long way to create a safer, more streamlined process. Start small and, once you experience the benefits automation can provide, you can build on that automation framework to further improve operations.” James Salter is project manager at Sheffield crane manufacturers Street Cranexpress. “There are of course many possible degrees of automation,” he says. “They can range from operator-controlled start and destination- points movement with automated sway control en route, via preprogrammed pic-up and set-down points, to fully integrated Industry 4.0 systems in which crane operation is a seamless part of the process.” It is quite possible that you have automation in your
plant already and have not realised it. We tend to think of automation as a machine that makes the operator redundant; many levels of it, though, simply render his or her task easier. Sway control, vertical pick-up, precision preset positioning for pick-up, set-down and no-fly zones have for some years been part of so-called ‘smart features’ for hoists. They certainly count as automation, even if the operator still hooks and unhooks the load himself and handles the overall movement controls, while the fine tuning of them – to give sway control, smooth accelerations and decelerations and so on – are handled by the automation. You could call it hidden automation and it contributes, as do greater degrees of automation, to smoother, safer and more efficient handling of materials. Thus, Konecranes have their SMARTON – they call it the crane with a brain. It is a heavy-duty overhead crane of up to 250t capacity with one lifting trolley and 500t with two. It has smart features built in. Among them are sway control, hook centring, snag prevention – which stops all movement if the load catches on something. There is shock load prevention, prevented areas (no-fly zones), slack rope prevention and target positioning as well. Columbus McKinnon have, under their Magnetek brand, their Intelli-Guide family of automated crane systems. It includes Intelli-Protect, which does no-fly zones; the Intelli-lift auto-correction system, which detects a load misalignment or snag condition and alerts operators with a visible and audible warning before a dangerous situation occurs; and Intelli-Guide itself allows automated,
pre-programmed or remote-controlled movement of loads to specific, designated locations in a facility.
Quick and easy The benefits of automation in lifting are many. “Think speed; optimisation of material flow; accuracy of positioning; efficiency, both in energy use and time; reduction of the need for skilled crane operators, who are in increasingly short supply; safety; the ability to monitor data for predictive maintenance, and so on,” says Salter. “Regardless of the sector in which your company
operates, the level of competition is likely to be high, and labour costs will increase,” say Crosby Airpes. “Having an automatic crane will make it possible to handle heavy loads efficiently, reduce operating costs by requiring fewer personnel and streamlining operations, increase productivity by increasing the efficiency and effectiveness of the work performed and improve safety at work by incorporating systems that automate your cranes, especially when working in hazardous areas or with dangerous materials.” They add reduction of damage to loads caused by handling and the ability to optimise inventory management. There are probably others in the list that we have not thought of. So, we can consider automation as being a good thing.
The next question is whether to go for full automation or a semi-automated system. Full automation is almost self-defining – the machine does everything. It moves to where the load is, picking it up and attaching the load to the hook or lifting device without
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Street Cranexpress overhead cranes can be fully automated.
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