Crane

Crane is a general term used in industry for a material handling system capable of lifting
and transporting equipment within its designated lifting zone.

There are various type of cranes available across a number of industry for example (but
not limited to) gantry crane, bridge crane, jib crane, tower crane, pedestal crane, mobile
crane.

Gantry Crane

A gantry crane is a handling system made of three main component; the bridge,
supporting structures, gantry drive and hoisting system. The bridge of the gantry crane is
connected on top of two supporting structures (typically A-frames) at each end forming a
gantry structure. Commonly, the gantry crane is designated to run on two parallel rails at
ground level which for, the gantry drive. This allows the gantry drive along the rails.

Hoisting system for gantry crane is done via a trolley hoist, which drive along the bridge
in addition of providing lift. This, along with the movement along the rails, provides the
gantry crane with X-Y direction transfer in addition to lifting capability.

The term gantry crane shall not be confused with the much smaller but similarly built in
appearance Portable A-frame or Portable Gantry. Instead, Portable A-frame or portable
gantry is designed as a versatile but localized material lifting with limited transporting
capability.

Operation
Operation of the is commonly via electrical power. Electrical motors are fitted
accordingly for the gantry crane drive and hoisting mechanism. Operation of the
electrical powered gantry crane system is done via a control pendent. Control pendent can
be either wired or remote controlled. When required, operation of gantry crane can be
followed by beeping alarm warrant a keep clear signal to personnel nearby.

For harsh environment operation, the electrical system of the gantry crane shall be
protected accordingly to the prevailing specification set by client or regulations. For
example, an electric powered gantry crane system exposed to desert sand storm would
require dust proof protection of IP65 while gantry crane exposed to severe storm on ship
or offshore deck shall have minimum water jet protection of IP56 or better.

Where compressed air supply is available, gantry crane can be outfitted with air power
system in place of the more usual electrical power system. The air power solution is
particularly preferred for installation in hazardous or harsh environment. Similar to
electrical power system, air powered gantry crane is controlled via control pendent.

Manual operation of lesser gantry crane is also possible. Chain operated hoist travel and
lifting can be used instead of electrical or air power solution.

Application
The gantry crane is the preferred crane solution for outdoor workshop or fabrication site,
requiring wide material handling coverage. Erection of the gantry crane shall have the rail
(and crane) run along the perimeter of designated site, creating a total coverage of the
work site.

In the construction industry, gantry crane can be used for construction of low-rise
buildings. Compared to tower crane, gantry crane offers advantage in terms of operational
cost and ease of operation but giving away height and absolute coverage.

While it is has been used, gantry crane is less suitable to be used indoor due to potential
clash hazard of the moving A-frame with permanent fixture and/ or storage. The erection
of gantry in a warehouse for example effectively eliminate any possibility of wall build in
racks and other fixtures.

One other advantage of gantry crane include maintenance feasibility. Gantry crane can be
outfitted with ladder rung and service platform along the supporting structures. Also, the
bridge can be engineered with proper handrail and access to allow for safe maintenance
work.

Bridge Crane (Overhead Crane)

A bridge crane system consist of three main component; the bridge, runway beams
(commonly client furnished) and hoisting system. While similar to a gantry crane, instead
of having a separate connecting structures connecting the bridge to the rails at ground
level, bridge crane is connected to a pair of elevated runway beams directly. This allow
bridge travels along the runway at elevated level.

The bridge can be mounted on top of the runway beams (overhead crane) or mounted on
the underside of the runway beams (underhung bridge crane). However, in common term,
overhead crane is often interchangeable with bridge crane. The bridge crane can be
further divided to single girder or double girder design.

Hoisting system for bridge crane is done via a trolley hoist, which drive along the bridge
in addition to providing lift. This allows the bridge crane to have both X-Y direction
transfer in addition to lifting capability.

Depend on requirement, SWL of bridge crane can varies from a lesser 500kg for
warehouse to upwards of 300mt in shipyard fabrication shop.

Operation
Operation of the bridge crane is commonly via electrical power. Electrical motors are
fitted accordingly for the bridge crane drive and hoisting mechanism. Operation of the
electrical powered bridge crane system is done via a control pendent. Control pendent is
commonly hung from the hoist itself to allow operator to have clear during lifting and
lowering of material. Remote control is possible if required. When required, operation of
bridge crane can be followed by beeping alarm warrant a keep clear signal to personnel
nearby.

Where compressed air supply is available, bridge crane can be outfitted with air power
system in place of the more usual electrical power system. The air power solution is
particularly preferred for installation in hazardous area. Similar to electrical powered
system, air powered bridge crane is controlled via control pendent.

Manual operation of lesser bridge crane with intermittent operation is a viable option for
client cost saving. For the bridge drive, a set of geared wheels is connected at the rails.
The drive pinions are interconnected via rod to a chain drive mechanism. The location of
chain drop along the bridge shall be predetermined by client. The hoisting system can
have either manual or geared travel with the usual manual chain hoisting.

Application
Bridge crane is widely preferred as a complete indoor material handling solution. The
bridge will provide a total coverage area between the runway beams. Bridge crane design
shall be in accordance to requirement and the runway beams which are usually furnished
by client.

One other clear advantage of having bridge crane in indoor area is the ability to utilize
existing structures for the erection of runway beams. In the case where the runway beams
is supported from the roof top, the underhung bridge crane would the feasible solution. If
runway beams are supported from bulkhead or columns, an overhead crane would be the
more suitable design.

Having an elevated runway beams would also means the walled area below the runway
beams is clear for installation of fittings and wall storage.

Less commonly, an overhead crane can be pivoted on one end while the other end runs on
a circular runway beams. Such setup is commonly called the rotary overhead crane and is
similar to a jib crane but with added advantage. While there is inherent load reduction
against the distance from boom center for jib crane, the rotary overhead crane maintain
load capacity across the reach.

While it is possible for outdoor installation of bridge crane, additional columns at certain
intervals are required for the installation of runner beams. This can be seen as additional
cost or weight depending on priority. However with no ground moving object, the bridge
crane can be seen as a better option where safety is prioritized.

Another limitation of bridge crane is the structure limitation of large capacity bridge
crane. The capacity of bridge crane installation will always be balance between
requirement and available structure strength. In situation where increasing structure
strength is not feasible for the runway beams installation, other types of solution should
be considered instead.

Maintenance platform shall be furnished by client for the maintenance of the bridge
crane.

Jib Crane

Jib crane is a simple yet versatile crane setup for material transfer over a designated area.
Jib crane consist of three main component; the boom, supporting structure and hoisting
system.

The boom is the slewing section of the jib crane, it is connected at only one end to the
supporting structure via a slewing mechanism, leaving the boom cantilevered at the other
end. The supporting structure can be either mounted on ground, under hung from the roof
in indoor installation, or mounted on existing column.

Jib crane with a monorail design boom can be fitted with trolley hoist as the hoisting
system. This provides a total coverage from the minimum to maximum radius. However,
it shall be noted load reduction does applies as hoisting radius increases.

A simpler jib crane design with a single hooking point at the boom tip is typical lesser
capacity jib crane.

The cantilever effect which causes load reduction can be reduced by reinforcement via
bracket and/or tension cable.

Operation
Large capacity jib cranes are commonly electrical powered. Where air supply is available,
jib crane can be fitted with air power system.

For lesser capacity jib crane, manual operation is possible via hand winch and/ or chain
drive. Being one of the most versatile material handling equipment, a manual jib crane
can be specified with several option.

In condition where hazard of unintentional slew due to external factor (such as wind)
exist, the slewing system could be specified with worn drive system. The worm drive
system only allows the slewing to occur when a chain drive is used to slew jib crane. Any
external force exerted on the boom will not cause a reverse action.

Also, lesser jib crane can be specified to be of collapsible type, retractable type or even
removable type. For simple jib crane with a single hooking point, operator can easily
change from electric power, to air power or even manual chain hoist accordingly as
operational requirement dictates.

Application
Jib crane of greater capacity is commonly supported from the ground. However where
headroom permits, jib crane can be supported from the roof. The jib crane can also be
supported from existing column with sufficient strength. The flexibility of jib crane
mounting makes it one of the most versatile material handling solution in plants where
area is limited.

Jib crane is often preferred where a designated lifting zone is established. Example of
such includes transfer of materials over a sizable elevation change. Jib crane erection at
the edge of the top elevation could allow for transfer of equipment from the lower
elevation to the top elevation and vice versa.

Another example of application were jib crane is the ideal solution is at facilities with
both outdoor and indoor storage/ fabrication site. A handshake area is often not feasible
between an outdoor gantry and indoor bridge crane. Jib crane installed at the vicinity of
indoor facility door edge would establish a handshake area and provide a seamless
material transfer, especially for heavy items. Such arrangement of jib crane is also ideal
for loading of materials from indoor straight to a truck.

Portable jib crane can also be the ideal solution for equipment maintenance in plants or
ships and offshore vessels where equipment lifting is expected to be non frequent.
Mounting point for the portable jib shall be designated accordingly for the installation of
portable jib when lifting is required. This eliminates the needs for costly, weighty and
obstructive permanent material handling installations.

Trolley Hoist
Trolley hoist is a versatile lifting equipment combining trolley and hoist in a single
assembly. The trolley hoist is widely used as the hoisting system gantry crane, bridge
crane, jib crane and even simple monorail system.

Depend on headroom and operational requirement, trolley hoist is available in several

build; the low headroom (LH) the ultra low headroom (ULH) and the basic trolley hoist.

Depend on the drop down requirement and capacity, trolley hoist can be offered in either
chain or wire rope type. The offered type and range shall be referred to in the catalog.

Operation and Application

Manual Trolley Hoist

Manual trolley hoist can be subdivided into push or geared trolley. Push trolley is a
simpler setup where operator would drive the trolley by simply pushing the lifted load
along the path of the trolley. For geared trolley, a chain pull geared wheel mechanism is
used to allow the trolley drive via chain pull. Push trolley is only recommended for SWL
2mt or less. Application with SWL greater than 2mt, or is inclination of track is involve,
geared trolley shall be used.

Manual trolley hoist is recommended for intermittent operation of small to moderate load
over short lifting height and travel distance. For short drive and lifting of less 5m, the
maximum capacity recommended is 10mt. For application where longer drive is required,
it is recommended that maximum SWL is not more than 5mt.

Manual trolley hoist can also be configured with protective load cell. The load cell is used
as a overload protection device. This is a recommended configuration for variable load
application such as warehouse, workshops or fabrication sites. Trolley hoist without load
cell is only recommended for designated lifting operation where the maximum load is
predetermined.

Other option for manual hoist includes chain operated parking brake and ex-rated for
operation in hazardous area.
Electric trolley hoist

Electrical powered trolley hoist is recommended for heavy load and frequent lifting
operation. Both the drive and lifting mechanism is powered by electrical motor controlled
by a control pendent connected from below the hoist.

For harsh environment operation, the electrical system of the trolley hoist shall be
protected accordingly to the prevailing specification set by client or regulations. For
example, an electric trolley hoist exposed to desert sand storm would require dust proof
protection of IP65 while electric trolley hoist exposed to severe storm on ship or offshore
deck shall have minimum water jet protection of IP56 or better.

Other feature and option of electric trolley hoist includes; automatic brake, overload
protection, safety limit switch, emergency switch, Ex-rated (option), remote control
(option).

Air trolley hoist

Air trolley hoist is a good alternative to electrical trolley hoist where compressed air
supply is available for example workshops, ship and offshore vessels. It is recommended
for heavy load and frequent lifting operation. The air trolley hoist is operated via control
pendent connected from below the hoist.

Other feature and option of electric trolley hoist includes; automatic brake, overload
protection, emergency switch, Ex-rated (option).
Winch

Winch is a mechanical equipment design as a wire rope (or less frequently chain) winding
machine. While on it is not a material handling equipment on its own, winch is a basic
part of wide range of material handling system such as (but not limited to) crane, hoist,
elevator, powered rail, ship anchor and tugger system, specialized lifting arrangement etc.

Winch design governed by relevant regulation base on the required application. For
example, design requirement for winch used in lifting devices is govern by regulation
which governs crane.

All winch is design and built with several basic components; the drum, the chassis, drive
and control system and wire rope. The winch is built on a chassis which shall house the
drum. The drum is the rotating body of the winch. Depend on direction of rotation and
rope termination, the rotating drum will wind or unwind the wire rope.

The termination of the wire rope at the drum end shall be compliant to governing
regulations. Also depend of regulation requirement, the wire rope length might be
specified for several of dead wound which is designed never to unwind.

The free end of the wire rope shall be terminated in accordance to client specification.
There are several termination available; thimble eye and clips, spelter socket, wedge
socket etc. The WLL reduction affect the SWL required for clients application.

Winch WLL and line speed can be significantly affected by the number of layer in the
drum. A cross check is required with client application SWL and line speed requirement
is needed to properly sized a winch.

Every manufacturer will provide specification for the maximum fleet angle required for
proper spooling of the wire rope. The maximum fleet angle shall not be exceeded in any
application. The fleet angle available information from client is required to ensure proper
operation by client. When client arrangement fails to adhere to manufacturer specification,
a spooling device shall be specified into the quotation to allow proper spooling. Where
the spooling device is required, information regarding the vertical exist angle is also
required from client. This is to ensure the spooling device is properly placed at angle to
avoid clash. In event clash occurs during site test, one remedy which can be proposed to
client is to have a curve rub pipe to divert the wire rope. However this is not
recommended and should only be a last resort.

A drum protection might be specified by governing regulations and/or client due to safety
concern. In such event, the exit vertical angle from client shall be required to avoid the
clash during spooling. Similar to last resort remedy with spooling device clash, rub pipe
can be proposed to client as last resort.

Client may at times opted for winch with wire rope wound of no more than 3 layers. This
could be requirement from client which has had bad experience from improper winding
of the wire rope or to potentially save some cost. Client specification can be adhere to if
proved to be commercially viable for the specified rope length. However, if the specified
rope length is way out of range of a reasonable drum size, a Lebus type of drum can be
specified. The Lebus type of drum is built in with groove which allow for a neat and
proper winding for greater number of layer. It shall be noted to be careful to use the term
Lebus as Lebus is a copyrighted name of a registered winch producing company,
although design patent has expired. The term parallel grooved drum would be an
alternative term for official documentation. Oral communication using the term Lebus
drum should make for better understanding. Drum with capacity with spare layer an also
be proposed to instill more confidence. With proper reference, client would usually accept
such deviation.

Most regulations (especially for cranes) would call for a dual braking design for bigger
capacity winch; dynamic brake and static brake. Dynamic brake is often design as a
feature of the winch motor itself, giving it the ability to fully stop a winding operation
under full load when braking operation is applied (i.e. via pressure control). The
described ability is categorized as a dynamic brake. The mechanical static brake would
under normal circumstances only be activated when the load comes at a full halt,
providing another layer of safety. However, winches could be design to operate the
static brake under emergency stop situation. In event when the dynamic brake fails to
bring the load to a full halt (due to loss of pressure or other failure), emergency braking
will be applied and static brake will be applied to bring the moving load to a halt, causing
wear to the brake pads/shoes. Client shall be advised the drive system and brake
pads/shoes shall be checked for each occurrence of such emergency brake, otherwise if
advised differently by manufacturer.

A common requirement from client is to have emergency stop button installed. The
function of the emergency stop button shall be discussed in detailed with client. For
winch with both dynamic and static brake, the emergency stop requirement shall be cross
check with client and regulation. Common arrangement would have the emergency stop
button to cut off power supply at upstream to shut winch immediately from a live state. If
such stopping significant wear on brake pads/shoes, it is recommended for the emergency
stop button to be protected from unintentional activation.

Industrial winches are mostly driven by electric power. However where compressed air or
hydraulic power is available, air winch and hydraulic winch can be good alternative.

Electric Hoist
Control station on the winch
Option for pendent control
Option for remote control pendent
Note: Proper operation area,control station and maintenance area shall be indicated in
technical drawing for clients perusal. Client shall be advised to take up pendent control
if there are limited space available at control station.
For harsh environment operation, the electrical system of the winch shall be
protected accordingly to the prevailing specification set by client or regulations.
For example, a winch exposed to desert sand storm would require dust proof
protection of IP65 or better while electric trolley hoist exposed to severe storm
on ship or offshore deck shall have minimum water jet protection of IP56 or
better.
Option for Ex-rated system for hazardous
IECEx certification
ATEX certification
Safety option for limit switches

Pneumatic Winch
Suitable where compressed air supply is available
Control station on the winch
Option for pendent control
Note:
- Proper operation area,control station and maintenance area shall be indicated in
technical drawing for clients perusal. Client shall be advised to take up pendent control
if there are limited space available at control station.
- Client may opt for remote control and might really mean a pendent control to be
operated away from the winch. Do not apply for deviation prior to proposing a pendent
control option.
Option for ATEX compliance for mechanical equipment operation in hazardous
zone
Note: There has been cases where client question the sufficiency of the power of the air
motor. This is due to clients bad experienced with certain lesser known manufacturer air
winch performance. However, when supplied well known brand proposal, client shall be
briefed in detail that the selection of motor is well engineered and sufficient for
application.

Hydraulic Winch
Suitable for plants with hydraulic power circuit
Control station on the winch
Note: Proper operation area,control station and maintenance area shall be indicated in
technical drawing for clients perusal.
Option for ATEX compliance for mechanical equipment operation in hazardous
zone