PRIMARY METALS – CRANE 1 DELIVERS SAFETY, UPTIME, AND RELIABILITY

Mills involved in primary metals generally use heavy duty, high capacity cranes and hoists in punishing conditions. Safety and reliability of the crane and hoist equipment in these facilities is paramount. Uptime is a tightly controlled metric, as downtime often cost into the tens of thousands of dollars per hour.

In these environments, proper maintenance is a necessity for both reliability and longevity of the equipment, where replacing the crane wheels or a hoisting drum may cost into the six figures. The focus on these high use production cranes must be on proper preventive and planned maintenance to ensure that electrical components are working at 100% and that mechanical components are correctly aligned and lubricated.

CRANE 1 has significant experience in these types of operations with the ability to deliver high-value services:

Site Maintenance Agreements: CRANE 1 partners with our client and takes ownership of the crane and hoisting inspections, assessments and ongoing maintenance.

Lifter Refurbishments: CRANE 1 takes aged or damaged lifting devices from worn to new again. We perform a thorough inspection and assessment of the lifting device condition including complete disassembly, blast cleaning of all major structural components, NDT testing of stress points and review of controls and mechanical components.

We then completely repair or replace structural and mechanical deficiencies, install new bearings and control components with the end product having the function and appearance of a brand new lifter at a fraction of the cost of new.

Crane Reliability Assessment – Improving performance and reliability
A proper overhead crane and hoist reliability survey is based on assessment techniques not used in typical overhead crane and hoist inspections. In a reliability survey, we determine likely failure points, recommend future maintenance efforts and identify recommended spares by combining the results of the crane’s current assessed condition with information obtained from the available repair history and results from high tech diagnostic tools such as

Oil Analysis, Infrared Thermography, Vibration Analysis as well as Non-Destructive Testing. The reliability survey provides an understanding of what repairs are going to be needed in advance of expected failures so that maintenance activities can be scheduled to maximize productivity and increase uptime over the remaining lifetime of the equipment.

Control Upgrades and Modernization:
CRANE 1 has the workforce, experience and project management capability to engineer, coordinate and execute the installation of complete control retrofits including motors, brakes, controls, wiring and cross conductor festoon systems during the short turnaround of critical shutdown or outage. Our strong partnerships with critical suppliers such as Magnetek, Mondel Brake, Conductix and Isul-8 allows us to offer premium products with deep levels of support and baking.

Hoist and Crane Gearbox Rebuilds
CRANE 1 performs complete rebuilds of gearboxes using OEM components or reverse engineered components as necessary in emergency situations where the OEM part is not available. We can also provide analysis of existing hoist and crane gearboxes to engineered drop-in gearbox replacements. These drop-in gearboxes can be designed for superior longevity for replacement or spares.

Runway Evaluations and Strategies for Reducing Rail and Wheel Wear:
CRANE 1 performs complete runway evaluations including the determination of span, alignment, and elevation against CMAA requirements. We also check the condition of rail components including rail clips, spices, and end stops. We also check the condition of runway columns, runway girders, haunches, and tiebacks. CRANE 1 analyses rail and wheel wear to determine potential issues with runways, crane alignment and provides reliable solutions to reduce rail or wheel wear issues. CRANE 1 can install lubrication systems for wheel bearings and also wheel flanges that reduce friction and wear between crane wheels and rail.

When it comes to maintenance and services of Mill and Process Cranes – CRANE 1 is your partner in uptime and safety.