After a failure of the primary boom of a ship unloading port crane, MachineLife installed COMS (Continuous Online Monitoring System) hardware to monitor ship unloading activities, alarm when detecting harmful loading conditions, and prevent future damage.
The customer determined a simple feedback system was needed, as within this industry, the unloading crew travels with the ship, and rarely has knowledge of the port unloading infrastructure. MachineLife installed strain gauge units (SGU’s) on the boom to measure stresses and alert operators to damaging actions.
MachineLife implemented unique operator feedback to alert the crew both visually and audibly during the unloading process. Additionally, measurement and alarm signals were integrated into the site’s PLC control screen and data historian so data for each ship and crew could be reviewed by the corporate capital asset team. Automated weekly reports were sent to site personnel to show structural exceedances, availability and utilization of the port crane per ship.
