The need for greater safety in operation of tower cranes has been highlighted by major incidents over the past few months. The greater use of advanced cranes such as luffing jibs has also brought in additional safety concerns, especially on multi-crane sites. To assist the operator in safer operation, SMIE, Noisy-le-Grand, France, has introduced the advanced DLZ342 operator display unit which is designed for a single, isolated tower crane.
Designed primarily to keep the operator constantly informed of critical crane conditions, the DLZ342 also allows for setting of specific zoning and records crane operations. The cabin-mounted operator's display unit shows the operator, at a glance, critical parameters including load weight, moment, slewing angle, trolley radius, hook height, rail traveling, wind speed, date and time, and reeving.
Where appropriate, color coding and sound alarm helps warn the operator when approaching a critical condition. The display unit is designed for easy reading regardless of lighting conditions.
Within the compact unit, a memory chip records total number of working hours; total accumulated load lifted; analysis of lifting cycles; details of the last 10 lifting cycles and the last 2,000 recorded events.
Transferring data from the display unit to computer is via a simple USB flash key. The stored data can then be analyzed on a normal computer in the form of spreadsheets and graphics, using MS-Excel compatible file format. This information ensures that the crane operations can be monitored and, in the event of any incident, the working history can be analyses.
A critical consideration for tower crane operators has always been over-flying restrictions or awareness of potential collision risks. The DLZ342 features an integrated work zone limitation management system, enabling the operator to store working area parameters. Once stored, the operator is able to concentrate on load handling, as the DLZ342 will not allow crane maneuvers outside of the declared zones.
For over 25 years, SMIE has been committed to providing anti-collision systems and associated products for crane operations. With a global network of subsidiaries and dealers, SMIE is able to provide safe, regulatory compliant solutions for job sites regardless of the complexity or number of cranes involved.
For more information, visit www.smie.com.
Lift & Access is part of the Catalyst Communications Network publication family.
