Learn New Things and Change Your View: Heavy Construction Equipment

Should you invest in crane control software?

by Nisanur Kronenberg

When you hire or purchase cranes for your construction project, operational efficiency will likely be one of your top priorities. Using a crane effectively can help you save on costs while building higher quality structures. However, making a crane more efficient doesn't simply involve good operation and maintenance -- you can also increase efficiency by using software control systems. These systems automate various crane functions to help you make the work site safer while reducing project timelines.

How does crane control software work? These platforms integrate with your machine to collect data, monitor performance and adjust settings from outside the crane's cabin.

Here are reasons why such software is worth the investment:

1. Higher levels of safety on the work site

Perhaps the biggest benefit of crane control software is that it makes your workplace safer. As useful as cranes are, they can cause accidents in many different ways. From the load falling off to workers being run over, increasing crane safety levels is a top concern.

Luckily, crane control software can be used to balance loads and improve stability control. By using the software control features, you can determine how accurately a load has been fixed to the crane. If any instability or oscillation is detected, machine operators will receive an instant notification through the software; such precautions reduce the risk of your load falling off.

2. Increase crane efficiency 

Crane control software also increases the efficiency of your cranes at the work site. The software can be used to plan the exact movement of a crane within tight spaces, or to map out the movement of a load from the time it is lifted from the ground.

Such features reduce the duration it would take to move large items where they need to go. Crane control software also allows you to control the head height limit, radius of swing, load angles and edges. In this way, you can limit the wear and tear on your cranes, and thus reduce maintenance costs.

3. Ability to plan work schedules in advance

Imagine if you could virtually simulate the operation of a crane even before it physically lifts a load. This feature has been made possible by crane control software. Using a control platform embedded within the software, you can plan work schedules by entering load capacities and determining how long a specific task will take. You can also simulate the movement of your cranes (with or without the load attached) so as to plan for upcoming tasks more effectively. By the time operators of your cranes are in the cabin they will know exactly what is required of them, rather than figuring things out on the fly.

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