A truck crane, like any special equipment, is designed to perform a number of works, different in purpose and complexity. In this case, it is important to ensure increased safety of work, which depends not only on the clarity of the operator's actions, his skills, experience and attention, but also on the presence of special devices and safety systems, which are equipped with machines in the process of production.
It does not matter whether you own a truck crane or use the service of renting a truck crane. Every manufacturer is obliged to think over the safety system of the cranes produced, and it must comply with the “Rules of the device and safe operation of lifting equipment.” Built-in safety devices, placed in the cab of the crane operator, control a number of operations, have the function of limiting the lifting capacity and recording all data on lifting.
In general, the safety system device is a control and indication panel, controller. However, modern models of truck cranes are additionally equipped with a number of sensors (boom tilt angle, boom length, hazardous tension sensor, force, etc.), which allow to improve the safety system. All signals from the sensors are converted into digital values and displayed on an electronic display. As mentioned above, one of the functions of the truck crane safety system is to limit the lifting capacity. Passport characteristics of each machine contain information about this function.
The safety system is quite simple. Based on sensor readings, the controllers calculate the main indicators of crane utilization: the weight of the lifted load, the crane capacity with regard to the working configuration, and the degree of machine utilization. All indicators are calculated according to the manufacturer's program. If the crane utilization exceeds 90%, the indicator on the working panel lights up and an acoustic signal is activated. At 100% load, the indicator lights up in a different color (usually red), and if the indicator increases further, a continuous audible signal is activated, which automatically triggers the safety device and all crane mechanisms stop. Next, the crane operator needs to do operations to reduce the load of the machine.
Also, changes in all crane parameters are recorded over time. A recorder equipped with a real time timer is designed for this purpose. The memory of the recorder consists of 4 segments: identification, operational, long-term and user. All information stored in the memory of the device can be read out using a laptop or other USB device. In order to decrypt and analyze the information, a laptop or PC must have special software with an interface that allows data to be read from the security device. Each safety device is provided by the manufacturer with a passport, operating instructions, installation, start-up, commissioning and more.
