TRENDS REPORT
can identify trends. For example, perhaps a truck is always late, or the truck driver did not have the correct safety equipment so there was a delay.” Increasingly, movement data is not enough. Terminal operators want more specific information on what the crane was doing. Kuenz provides this in a movement matrix, showing if the action was a paid activity such as from stack to truck or train; or unpaid stack-to-stack movements. “There are two types of stack-to-stack movements,” says Eberharter, “housekeeping and digging. Most are housekeeping movements – preparing a stack so that containers are accessible before the truck or train arrives to collect them. Some are digging movements where multiple containers must be moved to access the one you need, and this is not so good.” Another growing area of interest is
expenditure per crane movement – both in terms of energy and money. “The terminal can use this to see if it has good truck logistics,” says Eberharter. “The truck should move to the right spot, so the crane doesn’t have to move as far. That is good for energy consumption and for the crane’s life cycle. It is a big indicator of efficiency.” The manufacturer can also harness this data. “It is huge for us,” says Eberharter. “If we know even more about how the crane is operating, we can design components more optimally. Sometimes that means using less materials or creating a better design. This can improve crane performance but also save money – we can build and sell our products more competitively.” As the Internet of Things (IoT) has become
more sophisticated, it has created new avenues for digital support. For example, KIS includes modules such as trailer assist and flipper cameras on the spreader.
Terminal operators can benefit from Big Data giving them specific operational data. “The data from crane operations helps me
to focus on the right areas,” says Eberharter. “I can use it to develop new products to help solve safety or productivity challenges for our customers.”
Crane brain
In several cases, crane OEMs have developed their own in-house systems to ensure that they are aligned with clients’ needs. Austrian manufacturer Kuenz launched its KIS platform in 2016. The ‘brain’ of a crane is its programmable logic controller, or PLC. “You could already get a lot of data from the PLC, but it was just raw data,” says Eberharter. The key was to move that data to the cloud and then transform it into KPIs for the customer. In this way, the customer can improve crane performance by optimising their processes. “It is important to make it as easy as possible to understand, as quickly as possible,” says Eberharter.
Alongside KIS is Kuenz’s crane management system (CMS), a real-time data platform designed to assist the operator and help with preventative maintenance. Kuenz is currently working on the sixth generation, which it says will be available soon. “This will deliver an even better user experience. It has some further enhancements that make it more proactive and easier for the operator to digest the information,” says Eberharter. As part of this process, Kuenz has designed a new security software platform. “In the future, this will be the basis for all software on our cranes,” adds Eberharter. Instead of each crane exchanging data with the TOS, it will communicate to this new secure platform, which in turn will disseminate the data to trusted parties. “In the past, operators were using multiple systems to extract data,” says Eberharter. “But from a cybersecurity point of view, this is not good. It is much easier to defend just one gate than many gates.” It also has practical benefits. “You’ve now got the ability to act on a fleet level,” says Eberharter. “For example, if you need to grease some bearings, you can schedule that across the fleet rather than crane by crane.”
Kalmar’s geofencing can restrict speeds of machinery operating within specific areas. xviii | July/August 2026 |
www.hoistmagazine.com
Branching out OEMs continue to broaden their digital offerings. Liebherr recently added Parts Assistant, which harnesses AI to help the user find the correct parts. It also integrates with Liebherr’s online parts shop. This type of integration is increasingly common. “Individual technologies such as sensors, connectivity, data analytics or AI each provide value on their own,” says Gallacher. “However, the real impact comes from how they are combined into solutions that support complete use cases.”
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