NEW PRODUCTS ABB Ability Safety Plus for personnel and equipment safety ABB is launching ABB Ability Safety Plus for hoists, a suite of mine hoist safety products that brings the highest level of personnel and equipment safety available to the mining industry.
ABB SIL 3 Safety Plus Brake System (SPBS), which is the mining industry’s first fully independently certified Safety Integrity Level 3 (SIL 3) mine hoist brake system.
The products include Safety Plus Hoist Monitor (SPHM), Safety Plus Hoist Protector (SPHP) and Safety Plus Brake System (SPBS) including Safety Brake Hydraulics (SBH).
SPBS will increase the safety of personnel riding mine hoists as well as the safety of the equipment, hoist and shaft infrastructure. The new SPHP provides enhanced protection for the mine hoist and mine shaft infrastructure equipment.
Designed in accordance with the international ‘safety of machinery’ standard (IEC62061), the products have been independently certified by research institute RISE (Research Institute of Sweden) which works with companies, academia and the public sector in industrialization, quality assurance and certification. ABB Ability Safety Plus for hoists includes the new
ABB SIL 3 SPBS handles the application of the safety brakes during emergency stops and the prevention of brake lift. ABB SIL 3 SPHP monitors the speed and position of the hoists. It also monitors the instrumentation used by personnel accessing or using the hoist from different levels, for example, at gates and maintenance platforms, emergency stop
buttons and remote lockout points. The ABB SIL 3 SPHP interfaces with the safety brake system to bring or keep the hoist to a safe state. It also interfaces with the drive and hoist control system.
Advances in preventative maintenance help avoid crane repairs By Thomas Schnittger, Engineering Manager, Konecranes Australia and New Zealand
Gone are the days where a fault would present itself, and then you’d call in a technician to fix it. The crane would be isolated and taken offline until the issue was identified and then repaired, creating costly downtime for busy facilities involved in manufacturing, materials handling, food and beverage, power generation, mining and a huge range of other industries that just cannot afford unnecessary downtime. Konecranes has always had a corporate culture of putting safety first and advocated for an intelligent preventative maintenance programme over a “fix it once something breaks” approach. Preventative maintenance isn’t just an investment in crane performance, it’s an investment in safety too. All companies want every employee and visitor to return home safely at the end of the day, and preventative maintenance is an ideal way to keep crane machinery operating at optimal levels of safety.
Major Assessments Major Assessments are a vital part of an ongoing preventative maintenance programme and a requirement of AS2550.1 2011 Section 9, which is equivalent to the NZ Approved Code of Practice, where Konecranes has also been performing major assessments for years. They aim to identify maintenance needs and can identify items that require repair before they fail. As per their classification, crane machinery is generally designed for ten years of operation, and crane structures for 25 years. For companies looking to extend or change their crane’s usage, calculate remaining design life and maintain top levels of safety and Standards compliance, Konecranes can perform a Major Assessment. A Major Assessment is particularly useful if production needs are changing, and the crane’s usage is likely to change as a result. It can provide a detailed overview and show whether the crane can match the updated operational needs. The assessment looks at structures, mechanical components and electrical systems, and highlights possible maintenance, modernisation or upgrade needs. Steps involved in the process include: 1. A team of Konecranes specialists observes the production and operating environment of the crane 2. The overall condition of the crane structures and components is evaluated in detail with a focus on safety, productivity, reliability, usability and remaining design life 3. Operators and maintenance personnel are interviewed, and all pertinent documentation is reviewed 4. The team provides a detailed report and further consultation with advice on maintenance, modernisations and future investments
Preventative maintenance is key to optimising crane safety and performance, says Konecranes Engineering Manager, Thomas Schnittger, pictured.
Crane optimisation technologies
A Konecranes engineer performing a Major Assessment
now has a raft of advanced technology available to remotely monitor cranes and identify the early warning signs before they turn into performance issues. Technologies like Konecranes’ TRUCONNECT Remote Monitoring and Reporting can look more deeply into a crane in real-time to identify areas that need to be serviced, or find efficiency gains that were previously unseen from the outside. As the world’s largest crane service organisation, with more than 600,000 pieces of lifting equipment under service contract worldwide, Konecranes has extensive experience ensuring cranes are operating at peak efficiency and productivity. Konecranes Consultation Services include Gear Case Inspections, RopeQ™ Magnetic Wire Rope Inspections, CraneQ™ Geometric Surveys, RailQ™ Runway Surveys and Operator Training.
Covid updates Crane safety and compliance to Standards are two things that cannot be overlooked, even as Covid-19 changes the way businesses work across the globe. Konecranes will still be performing Major Assessments and other important preventative maintenance work, to keep cranes operating efficiently, safely and comply with Standards. Our teams have been trained in heightened hygiene practices, and will comply with all site procedures such as temperature checks, sanitising and wearing appropriate protective clothing.
In addition to Major Assessments, Konecranes
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