SPOTLIGHT
At a time when skilled labour is in short supply, AI can help to plug staffing gaps and to make top operators even more efficient.
inspections, which means people are less likely to be required to work in dangerous environments. This is increasingly important at a time when
skilled labour is in short supply. AI is the basis for smart tools that can help inspectors work faster and more effectively by easing their workload and making them more cost-effective. AI is not going to replace inspectors but will enable them to cover more ground and achieve better results, ensuring more efficient paths to regulatory compliance and fewer bottlenecks in the inspection process.
All the way to autonomy Rouse refers to autonomous load handling as one of the big three advantages of AI, but are we ready to hand over that much decision-making power to an automated system? Where does accountability come into play? After all, the responsibility has to fall on someone’s shoulders if anything were to go wrong. Autonomous crane operation is certainly within the realms of possibility. It is technologically possible for an AI-enabled crane to programme its own movement, navigate obstacles safely and precisely adjust to hazardous or variable conditions while in
48 Fall 2025 |
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operation. For instance, some overhead and gantry cranes in industrial settings use semi- automation for portions of the lifting cycle to allow operators to focus on critical manual steps. Reduced human intervention is the key advantage, as it keeps people out of dangerous environments, which makes workplaces safer, and also reduces the potential for human error. Human oversight nevertheless remains crucial. Autonomy, however, relies on a system being able to make its own decisions without human input, responding on its own to its operating environment and deciding for itself how a particular task is best performed. Full autonomy would require no human programming at all. While that capability is on the horizon, it has not fully arrived, and there are many questions to answer before such systems can be safely integrated as part of the day-to-day workflow.
Safety and accountability are the key factors
to address, and there are no ways to fully ensure that an autonomous crane would not compromise the safety of personnel, or who would be held accountable if it did. “We’ll see more semi-autonomous cranes where the operator acts more like a supervisor,”
says Rouse. “AI will become standard, not an add-on, much like variable frequency drives did a generation ago. At Wemco, we see AI not as a replacement for skilled people, but as a powerful tool to help them work safer, faster and smarter. The companies that embrace it early will set the pace for the industry.” AI is already here, and further steps towards
full autonomy are coming, so the industry has to brace for the changes that will ensue. “The challenge is in the transition,” Rouse
believes. “Training people, upgrading older systems and managing costs takes time. AI has the potential to make skilled, capable people even more efficient. Still, if it’s relied on blindly, we risk creating a future workforce that is highly process- driven yet less equipped to problem-solve without technological assistance. We have to strike a balance between leveraging AI’s strengths and preserving critical human expertise.” The key to unlocking AI’s potential lies in understanding how to manage the technology’s unstoppable rise to maximise its benefits, minimise the risks and represent a clear pathway of responsibility. After all, the buck has to stop somewhere as we move towards a more autonomous future.
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