Key Themes For 2024          

Today’s manufacturing industry faces a wide range of unique challenges, many of which have evolved and become more complex in recent years. Workforce shortages, slow investment in automation, and supply chain disruptions with increasing e-commerce demand are among the pain points the space is contending with. For original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), these challenges have dictated a reassessment of what to look for when investing in specific equipment to keep manufacturing facilities running, including overhead cranes.

Overhead crane equipment is integral to the efficiency and throughput of a facility, but the equipment must keep up with evolving needs. While the industry is highly nuanced, a few common themes have emerged as OEMs and operators consider overhead crane control investment priorities in 2024.

DIGITAL AUTOMATION

Although the manufacturing space has long been slower to adopt newer technologies and automation, now more than ever, facility managers and OEMs understand the impact of innovation on operations. Within the overhead crane market, it’s essential to understand the use cases for digital automation and the different applications across highcapacity vs. less-frequent use cranes.

Overall, the industry is seeing a greater adoption of automated features such as collision avoidance, overload conditions, and radio remote controls. These features promote worker and equipment safety while also increasing throughput and efficiency.

For the higher-capacity cranes, facility managers are focusing more on fully automated solutions; for example, operator-less actions for moving and stacking coils in a yard. The reason for this is that these types of cranes are manufactured to complete the same lift over and over again, so it’s easier to automate equipment for consistent processes.

Facility managers are still looking to add digital automation into operations completed by more varied usage/ less-frequent use cranes, but it’s more challenging to automate equipment that performs different types of crane lifts while also training your personnel to operate cranes for these different lifts. The type of automation they’re looking at usually consists of adding sensors to existing equipment, allowing operators to be more confident in their lifts.

WORKFORCE SHORTAGES

The labour shortage is a considerable factor plaguing the manufacturing and overhead crane operations space. In fact, the recent 2023 Career Advancement in Manufacturing Report found that 82% of manufacturing companies reported experiencing a labour shortage. Within the overhead crane market, operators are asked to complete repetitive, arduous tasks during lifts, contributing to the industry’s high turnover rate. Additionally, operators have been asked to complete their tasks using outdated, incohesive equipment, making it harder to onboard at facilities and slowing down the training process.

In light of these challenges, OEMs and facility managers are prioritising worker safety and satisfaction to cut down on turnover. Facility managers can ensure worker safety and establish trust by implementing safety features throughout the lift process, such as sensorbased systems, emergency stops and predictive maintenance plans. In terms of employee satisfaction, it’s important to provide operators with ergonomic equipment that cuts down on over-use injuries. OEMs are starting to consider radio remote controls that are lighter and more compact, offering shorter finger reach for everyday usage.

EQUIPMENT

Because overhead cranes are such a significant investment for a manufacturing facility, it’s imperative that the equipment and add-on components function correctly for maximum use. It’s an added benefit when the equipment can do multiple tasks at once. OEMs and facility managers are looking for products that can do more with less to free up their operators while also increasing efficiency, such as radio remotes and tandem crane controls.

Radio remotes provide operators with greater freedom of movement, enabling them to control cranes from a safe distance. This improves visibility and accuracy, reducing the risk of collisions or accidents during complex lifting operations. Some modern solutions also have tandem crane control, which makes it possible to control two cranes from one device.

Tandem controls are beneficial for moving large loads and finished goods. The most inopportune time for something to go wrong with a lift is when a fully assembled good is being transferred through a facility. Utilising radio remotes with tandem crane controls, which clearly indicate which crane is in use on both the transmitter and receivers, is important for ensuring lifts are completed correctly and without injury.

HIGHER CERTIFICATIONS

Third-party verification of equipment is crucial within manufacturing facilities to boost the credibility of operations while also saving money in the long run. If auditors or inspectors find equipment that is out of compliance within a facility, it is a lot more expensive to fix this mistake than to invest in the right solution from the beginning.

Facilities must shut down operations until they can prove their equipment complies with industry regulations, but downtime is expensive, and something managers try to avoid as much as possible. One study shows the average manufacturer runs into 800 hours of equipment downtime per year – more than 15 hours per week. Another report estimates this problem costs industrial manufacturers an estimated $50bn annually. A lot of crane components, including conductor bars, radio remotes, reels, etc., must comply with industry regulations to avoid shutting down operations.

OEMs and facility managers [in Northern America] are increasingly looking for equipment that comes as UL [the US’s Underwriter Laboratories] and CSA [Canadian Standards Association] Listed upon purchase to keep their facilities compliant and running smoothly.

PULSE OF INNOVATION

Overall, the manufacturing space is taking notice of outdated processes that must change to keep up with the evolving times. When it comes to the overhead crane space, facility managers are looking to digital automation to enhance their day-to-day processes and maintain their workforce with easyto- use functionalities. It’s important for manufacturers to listen to OEMs and managers within these facilities to understand what equipment and services are driving performance and ultimately promoting safety, efficiency and throughput to keep businesses moving forward.