Sick Monitoring Box for better machine performance of cranes & hoists

With the Sick Monitoring Box, operations such as ports and terminals using cranes and hoist systems can begin to digitalise their processes on the road to Industry 4.0. Enabled by pre-configured Apps on Sick LiDAR sensors for collision avoidance, for example, the Monitoring Box provides transparent data monitoring through an intuitive, browser-based dashboard for desktop or mobile devices.

Device data is processed via IoT gateways to enable local data storage on customer premises or via secure connection to the SICK cloud.

“Bolt on the Sick Monitoring Box and transparent information about the health of your machinery is just a few short steps away. Depending on your requirements, information such as operating hours, wear, temperature, energy usage or level of contamination, turns into a valuable resource,” said Neil Sandhu, product manager for measurement and systems, Sick UK.

“As a result, your systems become more available and efficient. Unplanned maintenance time is reduced and operating staff can be deployed more efficiently to respond to any issues that occur. You will extend operating life through a better understanding of historical trends and patterns.”

To get started, a SICK service employee installs and activates the gateway, your devices are connected and data transmission begins. If preferred, customers can then choose to hand over their entire device monitoring to SICK service, not only of SICK sensors, but also of third-party devices where appropriate.

Customers can then log in and view all their devices at a glance with the AssetBrowser, search by device status using the AssetFilter, view incidents and graphical representations to identify historical patterns and trends.

They can also use the Data Explorer and Event Log to review a record of alarms and notifications. Email alerts can be set up, e.g. to notify operators when values go under or over pre-determined limits, enabling a more speedy response to maintenance and servicing needs.

Thanks to the pre-defined monitoring SensorApps, additional sensors can be integrated into the Sick Monitoring Box without any programming knowledge. Once installed, greater transparency enables sensors and machines to be monitored remotely. Operating and process parameters can be easily visualised.