The overhauls and upgrades, undertaken by local staff of the global Konecranes group, include remote controls progressively being fitted to eight overhead cranes at Bradken Ipswich, where rail wagons are manufactured.
"Safety is the main focus of the refit," says John Langridge, site engineer at Bradken Ipswich. "We manoeuvre large objects, such as completed rail wagons or parts for wagons being assembled. The lifts can involve weights of around 15 tonnes and it’s safer if the operator can stand at a distance from the load, controlling the crane by radio remote control," he said.
"We’re very happy with the cranes we’ve already fitted with remote controls, which is why we are converting more of them." Bradken Ipswich will purchase a further two 15 tonne Konecranes overhead cranes already fitted with remote controls.
Konecranes also recently completed a modernisation of a 25 tonne hoist, focussing mainly on upgrading the electronics. In addition to refurbishing the hoist, a long travel control panel was fitted for guiding the crane’s travel movements.
The Bradken site, located at Karrabin in Brisbane’s west, has been serviced by Konecranes for more than a decade. It’s part of Bradken Resources, a global iron and steel works business headquartered in Newcastle, New South Wales, employing about 5000 worldwide.
Another Bradken site in Queensland, at Runcorn in Brisbane’s south, is also serviced by Konecranes. The company services and supplies both overhead cranes and smaller hoist cranes.
The local and global expertise of the Konecranes group is employed in essential projects, such as re-certifying some of the older cranes. Normally this is required about every ten years for maintenance work, or 25 years for structural testing of the cranes. It’s a safety measure, to comply with Australian Standards.
"We try to work through each development in Konecranes’ service to us, with good success. We have a really good relationship now. There’s no reason for us to look for another supplier," Langridge said. "We would definitely recommend Konecranes to other companies like ours. In fact, we’ve already advocated them to other Bradken sites around Australia."
Konecranes’ remote control systems are state-of-the-art products of the Konecranes group, which employs nearly 9,600 people in 43 countries and has more than 373,000 cranes of all brands under service contracts. Konecranes industrial cranes and hoists are used by many industries including automotive production, energy and resources, manufacturing, metal and mineral processing, primary product and paper processing and ports and infrastructure projects globally.
Konecranes’ remote control systems available throughout Australasia - including REMOX Radio Control Systems - have been designed for a variety of demanding industrial crane applications to increase productivity and reduce the risk of accidents. Totally sealed and electrically shielded, REMOX Radio Control Systems are resistant to the most demanding industrial environments and are also suited for outdoor use. In addition to standard models, the REMOX product range offers a possibility to build totally customized radio control systems.
"As world leader in crane design, manufacturing and servicing, Konecranes has over the years established a track record that includes a number of industry firsts and outstanding safety features, such as our remote control systems," said Konecranes National Sales and Marketing Manager Warren Ashton.
"When involved in an ongoing basis in assisting with safety training and preventative maintenance, Konecranes uses the customer knowledge and expertise of its teams throughout Australasia to deliver locally the global resources of the Konecranes group," says Ashton.
Konecranes has launched an audit service in Australasia drawing on its global CRS programme to help industries to determine whether their overhead lifting equipment achieves optimum reliability, performance and mandatory safety standards.
Sales inquiries 1300 937637 (Australia wide) or visit our website www.konecranes.com
For more information, please contact Konecranes Sales and Marketing Manager, Warren Ashton, 26 Williamson Rd, Ingleburn NSW 2565, ph 61-2-8796 7666, fax 61-2-9605 4336, email [email protected]
