Overhead travelling cranes indoor

[Ipetu]

Long loads (such as a long I-girder) are transported in a fabrication shop using two overhead traveling cranes. The two cranes travel on the same runway system. Each of the cranes have different remote controls. One obvious safety requirement would be that the rate of speed of each crane be the same when transporting the same load. What are some other safety guidelines that are required in this application? Does anyone know where I can find a safe work procedure for this type of application?

Thanks.

 

[EngAddict]

I doubt there would be anything specific on this. Your company should write operational procedures to ensure safety in your workplace when using this types of operation. Some relative movement between cranes are ok but they must be constantly monitored. At a place where I worked they used the 10 tonne crane and the two 5 tonne cranes with a spreader in between when lifting the 19 tonne products onto trucks. I doubt any crane manufacturer would guideline this procedure and standards would be limited to single crane design but it definitely happens. Best search any safety acts or regulations (if available) and any other sample company specs that you may be able to borrow from for your procedure. Other than that common sense and standard crane operation requirements.

 

[MikeHalloran]

You might want to check the bridge travel speed independently on each crane, and see if you can trim them toward each other if they are a little different, or re-gear one if they are substantially different. It may or may not be possible to make such adjustments, and it may not be worth the effort if your operators are careful.







Mike Halloran
Pembroke Pines, FL, USA

 

[rowingengineer]

You will probably need a brake engagement device when the cranes gets within a nominal distance say 1 m or somehting like that.

A clear conscience is usually the sign of a bad memory

 

[paddingtongreen]

One small shop I visited, in the UK, a long long time ago; when they needed to use both, they would set one hook to the right of center and the other to the left, then they allowed one of the crabs to move freely, left or right. Any slight difference in speed and the loose crab would drift sideways to take up the slack until they corrected.

Michael.
Timing has a lot to do with the outcome of a rain dance.

 

[unclesyd]

I would talk to some of the remote control people about your problem to see if they can improve your control.

I've seen tandem box beam cranes that had a total lifting capacity of 175 tons controlled by one remote. The controls had some very good synchronization. I believe that the controller worked because of the degrees of freedom available on all axis, especially on the N/S speed control.

http://www.steellinks.com/pages/Electrical_Equipment/Radio_control_systems/index.html