ROUNDTABLE | DATA CAPTURE SYSTEMS
and the processes in which they are involved. It also leads to proactive maintenance and upkeep of overhead cranes, as opposed to reactive maintenance after something fails. This prevents costly unplanned downtime within the manufacturing or process facility.
What role do paperless data-capture systems play in supporting safety, compliance and operational efficiency? GN: Paperless data-capture systems play a key role in closing the gap between documented safety procedures and actual site conditions by enabling real-time visibility and faster intervention during lifting operations. Unlike paper logs, they support consistent enforcement of lifting protocols while reducing administrative effort for supervisors and safety teams. From a compliance perspective, digital records
provide clear, auditable traceability across shifts and contractors, which is critical on complex sites. This approach has proven effective in environments such as Hong Kong’s container ports, where our AI-based hoisting monitoring with viHOI has been used to log unauthorised entry into suspended-load danger zones. By capturing time-stamped events without manual reporting, sites were able to improve immediate risk control while building reliable compliance
records. Similar paperless monitoring approaches, including viHOI, have since been applied on high-rise projects in Singapore and large-scale developments like NEOM, where operational complexity makes traditional paper-based reporting insufficient.
JG: I think it’s really just about the communication that it opens up. Like once you have all of your data in one place, whether it’s safety data, compliance data, inspections or operations information, once there’s a single source of truth for all that data, it just streamlines the whole business. So, it keeps everybody on the same page. It allows for easy accountability, and it gives everyone on the team a way to know how they’re supposed to do their job and enables them to focus on what they’re really good at instead of a bunch of manual processes that are involved in their day-to-day work. The biggest impact is communication and alignment. When all safety, compliance, inspection and operational data lives in one system, everyone works from the same source of truth. That creates better accountability, fewer misunderstandings and less manual work. Teams know exactly how work should be done and can focus on doing their jobs well instead of spending the majority of their time on manual processes.
DB: Modern digital systems capture real-time data to ensure safe and productive operation of overhead cranes. For example, if a crane is overloaded, immediate feedback can alert the operator to safely lower the load and avoid unsafe operation. Additionally, automatic tracking and trending of runtime data will show when a crane is being fully utilised, maximising the production capacity of the facility, or highlight underutilisation, leading to process improvements. In a similar manner, digital monitoring of real- time information may indicate when a component on a crane is nearing end of life and allow proactive maintenance to be performed prior to the crane unexpectedly being out of service. This can be optimised to a ‘just-in-time’ approach such that the crane isn’t commissioned unnecessarily or too soon, but not too late after a failure.
Can you talk us through how digital inspection, monitoring and reporting systems are being developed and adopted? What are the key benefits and limitations? GN: Modern digital systems are increasingly designed around continuous monitoring rather than periodic inspection. Instead of relying solely on scheduled checks, they observe lifting activities as they happen and flag deviations in real-time. The benefits are clear: improved situational
awareness, earlier detection of unsafe conditions, and more consistent data across sites. However, adoption depends heavily on site readiness, including connectivity, training and integration with existing workflows. Our experience across projects in Singapore and the Middle East suggests that systems tailored specifically to hoisting operations – rather than generic safety tools – are more readily adopted, as they align closely with how lifting risks actually occur on site.
JG: Digital inspection systems first replaced paper with apps and PDFs. While helpful, this mostly just recreated old processes in a new format. Now, companies want connected systems where inspections link to jobs, assets, schedules and costs. The biggest benefits include real-time visibility and all-in-one systems that hold all of the companies’ essential data. Leaders have constant access to everything going on, at any time, and have accurate, updated information to make informed decisions.
I’d say the main limitation is one-off tools –
systems that are specific for one aspect of the work, like inspections, payroll or asset tracking. They store data but don’t connect it to operations, forcing teams back into manual work to connect all the pieces. The future is connected platforms where data drives decisions, prevents downtime and protects margins.
Jarrod Glasgow is CEO of crewOS. 50 Spring 2026 |
ochmagazine.com
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