The Hoover Dam Power Plant, one of the US’s
largest hydroelectric installations, generates approximately four billion kilowatt-hours of hydroelectric power on average each year, enough to serve 1.3 million people in Arizona, Nevada, and California. Magnetek controls were retrofitted on each of the four 300-ton cranes over a seven-month period. The new crane control systems utilise Magnetek’s technologically advanced drives and radio controls, providing crane operators at the Hoover Dam Power Plant with improved productivity, safety, and reliability.
OCH: Tell us about your failures and how you overcame any challenges? DB: I’m proud to say we’ve had a lot more successes than failures and even when some of the jobs we take on are more difficult, we can turn them into a success over time. When projects become extra challenging, we
have to work our hardest to fix them and figure out what happened. My one word of advice is, always be accountable. If it doesn't work, admit it, identify the problem quickly and figure out a solution going forward. There's no sense in trying to point fingers at whose fault it might be or where the problem lies. We've got a job to do, and we've got to take care of it.
It's always good to be accountable and work
together to resolve challenging situations, because at the end of the day you can still win that customer over. I won't name a specific example, but I will say when we have encountered a problem and the customer knows we stuck
with it until it was resolved, we often get another opportunity with them in the future. That is the win right there.
OCH: What do you like about this business?
DB: I learn something new every day. There are exciting times ahead in the crane industry as the advancement of technology continues at a very rapid pace. Once upon a time it was difficult to sell new technology into this business but now it's almost expected to continue to evolve and move forward. The biggest change I see is acceptance of the
different technologies that are out there. The crane business sometimes seemed to lag behind when it came to technology. But nowadays people are using their phones to access information from home and to see what's going on with their crane. That capability continues to advance today.
OCH: And what do you dislike? DB: I've been involved in this industry for over 25 years. It's continually changing but the one thing I disliked early on was how ‘old school’ it felt, slow to accept and adapt to new technologies and new ways of thinking. But over the past 10 years, we've seen a rapid change. And the competition that's out there, and the technology that's out there, everybody is coming out and really thinking about new ways of doing things and that's what's exciting.
OCH: What makes your company unique?
DB: With Columbus McKinnon, we build hoist products. Then the Magnetek control products
we build are applied to the hoist products. Columbus McKinnon has recently started getting involved in other forms of material handling in conveyor systems. What is unique about us as a company is that we’re taking a harder focus on technology and how to expand technology throughout the material handling world, both within our own products and what we sell to others. We understand that automation is the future. We are looking at how we can apply the technologies we're developing for cranes and conveyors into other areas for the benefit of the overall material handling industry and beyond. That puts us in a unique position. We are fortunate enough to have a research and design team that works hand-in-hand with all of our departments. They work to meet the needs of all customers whether it's to do with a radio or motor control system for cranes and hoists, or a project for our elevator or conveyor team, we work in collaboration, sharing data.
OCH: What is your view on the future of the overhead cranes business? DB: The future is exciting and bright in terms of evolving technology, acceptance of technology in learning different ways of doing things, and providing safer operations for overhead cranes, hoists and monorail systems. With more diagnostic and analytic tools, than ever before, clients can better understand how their crane works and thanks to predictive analytics, when to fix or change something before it breaks down. Resolving an issue before it becomes a reality is key. ^
f The Impulse G+ Series 4 drives from Magnetek are designed for material handling applications.
44 | Fall 2023 |
www.ochmagazine.com
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