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UK Case Studies – A Tale of Two Overhead Crane Applications
The UK case studies couldn’t be more different. The first is a commercial vehicle trailer factory with simple but highly efficient cranes that do the job. The second is a steel distribution depot with cranes of a more elaborate but just as reliable design. However, both applications have factors in common.
Tiger Trailers
Drive around the UK motorway network and a common name that you may see is Cartwright on the back of commercial vehicle trailers. A name you are increasingly likely to see is Tiger Trailers which was started by John and Steven Cartwright when they broke away from the family firm and set up a new company in April 2014.
Business is booming for the vehicle body builder who selected overhead cranes from Street Crane Company as an integral element in the production system at their new factory. One five tonne and two three tonne overhead cranes were installed in the spring to ensure efficient materials handling. An additional five tonne crane has now been installed to increase handling and lifting capacity.
The company operate two separate production lines and the cranes play a crucial role ensuring efficient material flow during vehicle assembly. Having two cranes in each assembly bay will ensure crane availability at all times, avoiding downtime and boosting productivity.
John Cartwright explained, “We have previous experience of Street’s equipment and have found that this gives the reliable performance that we need to keep production moving. Having two cranes in each bay gives us greater manufacturing flexibility and ensures that our fitters are not standing around waiting for material or for a fabrications to be moved on to the next production stage.”
The cranes installed are all single girder, box beam, units fitted with ZX series low headroom hoists. Cranes in each bay work independently from a common gantry and so have anti-collision systems installed. Compact loads can be lifted by a standard hook arrangement or may also be handled with a hook mounted lifting beam for longer or more cumbersome loads.
Tata Steel
In addition to owning Jaguar Land Rover, the Indian industrial conglomerate TATA is also the UK’s largest steel producer and distributor. We have long standing relationships with both businesses.
TATA’s steel distribution centre at Redcar is one of 49 throughout the UK providing steel products for local engineering businesses. More than just warehouses, these depots also add value by undertaking primary manufacturing, cutting plate and sections to size, shot blasting and in some cases priming before assembling the orders, so that their customers can more easily get on with the next phase of manufacture.
Several cranes are already in use on the site, but the application in the new despatch area was a little unusual. This is a long bay with an internal roadway to one side so that full size trucks can drive the full length of the bay for loading and unloading. Steel products of differing types are held in zones along the bay enabling mixed orders to be made up as the vehicle is driven through. This means that the vast majority of product movements are lateral rather than linear.
Chris Lindley-Smith, explains, “Four cranes have been provided of double bridge design, where two linked beams span the 20 metre bays and on these is fitted a 27 metre crane bridge, bearing twin six tonne hoists. This permits zoned east west material flow in a bay that is orientated north/south.”
The twin six tonne hoists on each crane can be operated singly, but are more likely to be used in tandem for longer loads giving additional stability. All hoists have magnet lifting from Walker Magnetics. Anti-collision systems permit safe crane movement on a common gantry with audible alarms and amber flashing lights to warn of the other crane approach. Twin floodlights on each crane are operated from the remote controller.
Minimising maintenance downtime is vital for maximum productivity. Hours of service metering on all crane motions will assist in planning proactive maintenance to sustain the plants uptime and efficiency.
Crane control will be by push button infra-red link to comply with Tata requirements. Other key safety features include taut-wire safety lines to crane bridge platforms and ten safety harness anchor points at key locations such as panels, crabs and end carriages.
The Tiger and TATA cranes couldn’t be more different but each system was designed from first principles to give customers a bespoke handling system to meet their needs. It is also reassuring that both customers are established users of Street products who were happy to return to us.
