ACCESS EQUIPMENT
Lifting for the future Customisable, smarter and greener. That is what lifting equipment operators are calling for as the trend towards digital integration and Industry 4.0 shows no sign of slowing down. Lifting Africa finds out more. Progressive industrial crane manufacturers know that ongoing equipment development is non-negotiable. Meeting the demands of modern fleets is no easy undertaking. What does the modern machine look like? What should it look like? Will it stand the test of time in a rapidly changing world? These are but a few of the questions that are grappled with daily. According to Alexandre Saubot, CEO of Haulotte, one of the world’s largest access equipment manufacturers, now more than ever before original equipment manufacturers need to listen to their clients very carefully. Long gone are the days where manufacturers deliver equipment without considering the customer. It is all about creating equipment that meets – and exceeds – the needs of the customer, he says. “It is critical to have a very clear understanding of what customers want, but also what they are expecting of that machine. Around the world we are seeing this trend develop.” This, he says, is often a delicate balancing act because what 14
Lifting Africa - Mar/Apr 2021
customers want and expect are not necessarily the same thing. A machine that meets the environmental regulations, for example, might very well be what the client wants, only to realise on delivery it was operationally no longer doing what they were expecting. Smart machines Saubot says the pressure is on manufacturers to deliver the smartest machines possible with the emphasis very much on enabling customers to collect more data from their machines to increase efficiency and provide safer working environments. Whilst the basic keys to unlocking productivity are much the same - speed, reliability and availabilitymaking lifting equipment smarter are now at the top of the agenda. According to Kai Schliephake, managing director, PartnerLift, it is all about the ability to gather data as this allows for better, faster decisions based on evidence. It improves the total cost of ownership, explains Saubot. “The better the information the more complete the overall picture is
and troubleshooting becomes easier. It reduces incidents where a technician is sent out to a machine only to find that the fuel tank is empty or the battery needs to be charged.” Telematics technology, says Schliephake, is of increasing importance. These systems produce valuable data that can affect many areas of crane ownership, including fleet management, remote diagnostics, GPS tracking and even safety. Whilst industry was slow at first to take advantage of what it offers it has been gaining momentum and is now considered a must. “At least 90% of machines manufactured in Germany have telematics technology installed from the get go,” he says. Lance Sullivan, general manager at GMG, has experienced the benefit of telematics firsthand. “We did a large telematics deployment on our fleet and the benefits were seen very quickly.” The company that runs quite a large rental operation found that one of the immediate benefits was not having to handle a piece of
