Pipe manufacturer keeps workers safe with Elebia automatic hooks

A variety of industrial lifting technologies can be used during production and transportation of pipe, including 48 automatic hooks with overhead cranes that enhance safety and productivity at three factories in Italy and Romania.

In Milan, 22 hooks are in operation in Arcore and six in Dalmine, while a further 20 units are used at a facility in Zalau, in the northwestern corner of Romania. The 5t hooks, equipped with a magnet that both attracts and positions slings and other rigging gear, are used with the cranes to lift loads up to 8t.

Massimo Mariano, warehouse and yards manager at Supply Chain-Tenaris, said: "Using the hooks has made our operations safer and more efficient. Most importantly, we have improved safety by removing personnel required to work at height to unhook loads. Bundling and moving pipes can trigger significant risks when personnel are accessing rigging equipment by hand."

Previously, standard hooks and slings were used to rig loads, which required Tenaris staff to climb trailers and racks to hook and unhook bundles of pipe, as they are loaded for storage or transportation.

The evo5 hooks are manufactured by Barcelona, Spain-based Elebia. Mariano explained that he has been introduced to the concept by a colleague in Argentina. In turn, Tenaris is looking to test the hooks at operations in Mexico and Canada in the near future.