Overhead Cranes in Tomorrow’s World
Lifsor Maşini de Ridicat SRL has always focused on new technologies, developing partnerships with highly specialized companies in design, engineering, and new production processes. This has been a successful formula, leading over time to the creation of the highest quality overhead crane components. One such partnership is with the American company CMAK Crane Systems, a company with a tradition of innovation in the lifting and material handling sector, which has invested in one of the most modern production facilities in this sector, thus managing to offer components and systems made to the highest technological standards. Founded in 1977, CMAK USA has always produced top-tier products, as they have been based on technological research, the development of new processes and innovations – and last but not least – intelligent design. Intelligent design has led to modular, more adaptable, and more compact solutions, and the adoption of these technologies has allowed new generations of overhead cranes to be more robust, easier to maintain, and operate.
Lately, we are seeing an increasing demand and search for innovation and smart solutions in our sector as well. End-users and operators are looking for lifting systems that can be easily configured to meet a wider variety of needs. By applying this flexible mindset, our sector must offer a new type of overhead crane technology that allows for the modernization and improvement of the characteristics of current systems. The new reality is one where users can change or add new features over time, depending on business needs. Desired additional functions could include remote diagnostics, maintenance monitoring, pre-lift safety optimization, danger lockout systems, or even automatic positioning. This type of technology can expand with the business, allowing companies to be more agile and achieve a higher return on investment. Lifsor MR can offer such systems, like HoistSense, which is an advanced electronic system based on American technology, and which constantly keeps track of usage, load, and critical incidents. This independent application is modular and can be integrated into any of your overhead cranes or hoists.
Thus, new or older overhead cranes can be equipped with such smart service panels that allow operators to diagnose and correct malfunctions faster. The overhead crane automatically detects its status and communicates it to the operator via the service panel. It also recommends preventive measures and inspections, so businesses can make smarter maintenance decisions, thus extending the product’s life cycle. Such a module also helps prevent undesirable downtime, which can be extremely costly if it blocks the entire production chain. By adopting such a system, we can enable overhead cranes to acquire remote monitoring capabilities, to collect data on usage and operating conditions. In addition to remote monitoring, these new systems can also detect load weight and positioning, helping operators make smarter decisions relative to available space.
New technologies in the field of overhead cranes and hoists will allow for the gradual optimization and modernization of current systems. With all these innovations, companies can increase uptime, save on maintenance and energy costs, scale products with the business, and last but not least, extend the lifespan of their investments. Systems like HoistSense were born as a direct result of the desire to make our operators’ workplaces safer, a trend that has become increasingly prominent in all industrial sectors in recent years, but also to improve our clients’ productivity and safety. Safety and productivity go hand in hand, and when we can provide equipment operators with more information about their working environment and the condition of the load, we see an increase in their productivity and attention to workplace safety regulations.
With such smart information systems, overhead cranes can be configured to suit different workplace needs, which become more efficiently organized in terms of both working time and the economic resources required for equipment maintenance. Today, technology offers versatility, increased lifting power, and operational profitability, a factor that has become extremely important.
