B E S A F E :
FA R E W E L L T O O L D
WAY S O F H E A V Y L I F T I N G
Not so long ago, heavy lifting was a much
more uncertain science than it is today.
Even multi-cylinder hydraulic lifts (and
hydraulics are usually the most powerful
and precise way to raise and lower the very
heavy weights involved) involved a degree of
imprecision not tolerated now.
A lifting crew might spread out around the
object being lifted, with a team leader passing
on instructions (verbally or by RT) to each
individual responsible for their cylinder or part
of the lift. The level and even lifting of the tank,
mill, hopper, conveyor component or reclaimer
would depend absolutely on the collective
skills and understanding of an extended chain
of command, which obviously was only as
strong as its weakest link on a given day.
Fortunately, things have changed for
the better, with remote monitoring and
synchronous PLC control of heavy lifts
now delivering a degree of precision down
to millimetres, providing accuracy down
to fractions of margins of what was once
commonplace.
Whole families of sophisticated lifting
technology now make the job safer, easier
and more cost efficient – with full traceability
of system components to satisfy increasing
rigorous regulatory regimes.
Enerpac, for example, described as the
world’s leading supplier of compact but
powerful high-pressure (700 bar, 10,000 psi)
hydraulics, has introduced broad families of
PLC-controlled lifting technology dedicated to
different tasks. These range from strand jacks;
gantry lifters; crane-borne SynchHoist systems
and new generation EVO synchronous
lifting systems that replace manual control
of hydraulic heavy lifting with PLC control of
multiple cylinder lifts.
These Enerpac EVO systems – to which I
focus my comments – are the evolutionary
result of 25 years of experience in specialised
hydraulic engineering and lifting technology.
They are among the most versatile systems
for loads ranging from a single object (motor,
transformer, drive, etc) through to entire
gargantuan objects, such as draglines or
ports materials handling facilities. They deliver
accuracies down to 1.0 mm between leading
and lagging cylinders, while enabling a single
operator to control an entire lifting operation
from a single device, without the need for
manual monitoring. And they can automatically
record every step of the process, for future
traceability and safety purposes.
SPECIAL FEATURE:
SAFETY
B Y WA R R E N B A LT I N E S H T E R
22 April 2018