Friday roundup: safety | recruitment | on site | green savings
11 October 2024
Topical issues covered this week in the Crane and Transport Briefing began with a report on how technology can improve safety in lifting operations.
Traditional methods of controlling a load, for example, using taglines, mean operating close to heavy loads which presents significant safety challenges. Advances in technology are changing how these operations are conducted, dramatically improving both safety and productivity, according to Casey Savlov, EVP at load control specialist Vita Industrial.
Speaking at the the Tower Cranes North America conference in June, Savlov said, “Managing loads is not easy, it’s very costly, it’s very risky. We have a standard of using taglines to manage these loads. And let me be very clear, I am not, nor is our company, suggesting that you don’t use taglines. We just believe with the advancement in technology there could be safer, faster, smarter ways than just only having a tagline.
Savlov provided an overview of how Vita technology can reshape crane operations. The unit suspended from the crane eliminates traditional taglines. By removing these, the risks of slips, trips and falls – common hazards on congested construction sites – are significantly reduced.
Read more about the benefits of load control technology on jobsites.
Another tool to help you in your business, this time for recruitment, was the subject of Tuesday’s Crane and Transport Briefing. New platform to tackle crane industry workforce shortage covers a new resource for the crane industry to help recruit crane operators, riggers and other related personnel. MyCraneCareer.org was launched by the National Commission for the Certification of Crane Operators (NCCCO) Foundation. First and foremost, the website was designed to help with the critical industry problem of workforce development.
Crane companies can use the website to hire new and experienced personnel. It’s also a portal to introduce the public at large to the crane industry and showcase all it has to offer and it features many resources, all in one place.
“The ‘greying of the workforce,’ and a lack of quality applicants for entry level positions is an issue faced by all skilled trades in the construction industry,” said TJ Cantwell, executive director at the NCCCO Foundation. “However, unlike other skilled trades, the crane industry did not have an online hub dedicated to discussing the varied and amazing careers available.”
Read our Q&A with Cantwell for more important information about this new resource and its benefits.
Wednesday’s CTB took time out to cover an interesting project involving cranes but where the main lifts were done using an alternative to cranes. Grappling with the dual problems of an ageing infrastructure and the additional damage caused by climate change, New York State Canal Corporation in the USA commissioned a specially designed gantry system to carry out repairs to its historic lock gates. Lucy Barnard found out how.
Maintaining and repairing the heavy lock gates is an expensive and difficult process. The corporation was looking for a cost effective, repeatable way to carry out lock gate repairs.
With each large gate weighing nearly 60 tonnes and with little space (or budget) to set up a large crane, another way to carry out the work had to be found. Clark Rigging and Rental has an annual contract for all crane and rigging services across the NYS Canal system.
Instead of using a large crane Clark designed and built a specialist gantry system specifically made for the job.
Read more about how Clark Rigging and Rental solved the lock gate lifting challenge.
If any more incentive should be needed to operate sustainably, take a look at yesterday’s CTB lead story, Why embracing green technologies can save you money. It is worth taking a moment to acknowledge that the crane and transport industry is doing well at playing its part in reducing its carbon footprint and its impact on the planet.
Whether it’s the use of HVO fuel or fully electric cranes, smart battery solutions and greener transport options, investing in repairing new cranes, setting new environmental, sustainability and governance (ESG) goals, or imposing environmental standards for sites, in many areas the industry is leading the way.
Crane manufacturers worldwide are continuing to look for ways to meet customer sustainability requirements while continuing to offer competitive pricing. One of these solutions is the remanufacture of cranes to extend their life. In a similar way, used cranes instead of new can be an option when adding to rental fleets or procuring equipment for certain applications.
As the industry is such a fundamental element of the energy transition to renewables, it makes sense that its operations, products and entire approach should also fit in.
There is so much going on it is difficult to single out any one thing here in this limeted space so I recommend having a look at Niamh Marriott’s comprehensive report on the subject.
Read more here about how embracing green technologies can save you money.
