Extending the lifespan of your crane systems is easy to do if your equipment is engineered and maintained properly. However, over time, your crane will become outdated and unreliable for your growing business needs, not to mention unsafe. This can slow down productivity and cost you money that would be better spent on crane modernization.
As your material handling requirements change your equipment should follow. Installing entirely new equipment just doesn’t make sense when you already have perfectly good cranes to do the job — all they need is the right upgrades.
In this article, we will talk about when it’s time to modernize your crane and why crane modernization may be the best option for your business.
Why You Should Modernize Your Crane
New, more efficient technology is being innovated every day. As the years pass, the components of your crane systems will become outdated and even detrimental to the productivity of your business. While the structure of your crane has a long lifespan, repairing or replacing the mechanisms is a must to keep operations running smoothly.
Rising demands on production may require faster speeds, better controls, or more capacity that your current system can’t handle. Unreliable equipment leads to unscheduled shutdowns and increased production costs while outdated parts are more difficult to get ahold of in order to replace.
But how do you know for sure that it’s time for crane modernization?
How to Know It’s Time to Modernize Your Crane
Sometimes you just know that it’s time to upgrade your equipment but it’s not always so cut and dry. Figuring out when to move forward with crane modernization is a sum of many different things. The way your equipment looks and performs will give you plenty of hints that you need to modernize. If you’re noticing multiple signs that your crane system is no longer performing as it should, that’s when you know it’s time to upgrade.
Here are some signs that it’s time to modernize your crane:
- You can see excessive wear on components
- Service and repairs are happening more frequently
- Issues come up during crane inspection
- You need greater efficiency
- There’s been an increase in downtime
- You want to ensure the safety of workers
- Replacement parts are becoming difficult to find
- You’re considering getting a brand-new crane system
Before you jump straight to replacing your entire system with something brand new, first take a look at the many benefits that come along with crane modernization.
7 Benefits of Crane Modernization
1. Extend the Life of Your Equipment
Make the most out of the initial investment in your equipment by bringing it up to snuff. Crane modernization will not only bring your crane up to industry standards but it will also ensure you’re meeting the standards set by your business. By keeping with the times and installing modern technology, you don’t have to worry about falling behind. In turn, you save money and improve the functionality of your equipment as it continues to serve you.
2. Upgrade Precision Controls
One of the most important components of a crane is its control system. Precision handling of materials is key for operations to run as efficiently as possible. When your control system is outdated, it requires much more upkeep with very little payoff. Even finding parts to repair older controls can be a major headache. Modernizing your crane control system will lead to greater precision and efficiency overall.
3. Protect Employees, Loads, and Other Equipment
Safety is paramount around an operating crane. You want to keep workers safe and ensure the protection of materials and other equipment around your crane. With crane modernization, you can upgrade any worn-out safety measures, change how the crane is controlled in order to move operators to the floor, and add greater precision to keep loads safe and sound.
4. Increase Productivity
When your crane system was originally designed, it was designed with the productivity needs of the time in mind. There’s a good chance that those needs have changed more than once since installation. Even if your crane has served your business well up to this point, you might now need faster speeds, more loads, or longer operation times. Crane modernization will upgrade your crane in the ways most important to your business to ensure you continue to meet your goals.
5. Get Replacement Parts Faster
The longer you rely on the same old parts to operate your crane, the more likely those parts are to become outdated and obsolete. Necessary repairs will take longer to carry out because those parts will become more and more difficult to find as they go out of production. Upgrade these discontinued parts with crane modernization so you no longer have to worry about waiting around for something you might urgently need.
6. Fewer Unscheduled Shutdowns
Unscheduled downtime is a problem when you’re trying to reach your production goals. As your crane system ages, it becomes increasingly more likely that it will need to be shut down, checked, and repaired while operating. Crane modernization is a great way to reduce these occurrences with new, upgraded equipment that holds up to demand.
7. Save Money
Cranes are a major investment, which makes extending their lifespan incredibly important. Crane modernization is cost-effective in more ways than one. Not only will it save you the cost of buying an entirely new crane system but it will also keep production costs from going up due to unreliable, poorly performing equipment and technology. Bringing your crane up to date is a great way to increase efficiency, productivity, and safety all around.
Modernize Your Crane With Shannahan Crane & Hoist
Rebuilding or modernizing your crane is a great way to upgrade your current system with modern parts. On average, you can save 30 to 40% of the cost of new equipment by updating your existing crane system. Shannahan Crane & Hoist can help with modernizations that include new controls, capacity updates, new brake systems, and much more. Contact us today to get started with solutions for all of your material handling needs!