Safe Lifting

Many cranes mean many issues across the Gulf.
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“Now this is fine when you have the spare capacity, but obviously when the crane is working, operations take precedent.”

“One of the alternatives is to find something that is close to the real environment and a simulator is as close as you will ever get.”

As with cranes, the two types simulator broadly fit in to two types of category: fixed plant and mobile.

When we visited the firm this time last year it had just completed the installation of both types, with the fixed unit being housed in a specially constructed arena, where a realistic gantry crane cabin sat atop of robotic struts, and was surrounded on all sides by screens.

Another ‘mobile’ version was being used at the same location with most of the features except the hydraulic struts. The unit was referred to as being portable, as it was built into a shipping container, where it could be carted off wherever the company needed it. Windley speculated that it could be shipped to areas from where operators were recruited, so they might be tested before the an offer of employment is made.

There are more benefits to this kind of training than simply logistics and downtime. For a start, modern simulators feel very, very real, with reports that some trainees discover a fear of heights due to the realistic movements and screen projections. You can’t be physically hurt on a simulator, and operators can be trained in high winds, thunderstorms, night time and just about any other environmental hazard that a trainee is unlikely to see until he is in a job.

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Another key benefit of this type of training is that the computer that logs the operator’s movements and never looks the other way; in other words, if a mistake is made, it is logged.

Electronics

However, once up in the air, there are other things that can be done to make cranes safer. One of these is to use remote control.

There have been several fatal accidents in which operators have overridden the safety controls in order to carry loads that are too high for the distance they are reaching. However, new crane control software will make such accidents a thing of the past, at least according to one company that supplies such equipment.

"The reason for these accidents is down to a lack of preparation,” said Albert Fitoussi, general manager of Metho Cad. Studying the site layout would reveal potential problems, but Fitoussi suggests that only about a quarter of sites actually do it.

Such software is expensive of course, and would usually be specified when brand-new cranes are first ordered.  However, when combined with the other developments, we should have safer sites, and fewer collapses. Happy lifting. 

One country has already taken steps to limit the maximum working life of mobile cranes. Singapore has restricted heavy cranes (deemed to be above 100,000kg)  to a maximum life of 30 years – regardless of whether the top structure has been replaced or not.

Lighter cranes have life spans of 20-25 years depending on weight. Such a blanket ban might not answer the real points regarding stress fractures and metal fatigue though. Additionally, older cranes can still be used if they pass frequent third party inspections.

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