Vervetronics_crane_monitoring_solutions

Crane Preventive and Predictive Maintenance, Safety Monitoring, and Operational Efficiency

Preventive and predictive maintenance, monitoring of safety alerts, operational efficiency, and crane movement tracking are essential for keeping heavy material handling equipment, such as cranes, in optimal operating condition. Proper maintenance helps achieve higher productivity, lower maintenance costs, and improved safety. Due to the complexity of cranes, they require continuous supervision and management by manufacturers or trained operators.

A remote crane monitoring system ensures continuous oversight through advanced data analytics, enabling real-time monitoring of operations, wear and tear, fault detection, and automated alerts.

Remote Crane Monitoring Solution

Our Remote Crane Monitoring Solution is a comprehensive IoT-based system that combines hardware sensors, cloud data analytics, and a mobile application. The sensors can be easily integrated into or retrofitted onto a wide range of indoor heavy material handling cranes—such as EOT cranes, double girder and single girder cranes, gantry cranes, bridge cranes, JIB cranes, and HOT cranes—as well as outdoor mobile cranes, including tower cranes, mobile cranes, telescopic cranes, and container cranes. This solution enables proactive maintenance, operational insights, and enhanced safety for all types of crane operations.

Benefits for crane manufacturers

  • Fully Indigenous and Customizable: The solution can be tailored to your specific requirements, including crane configuration, make, and model.

  • Standard Offering for Manufacturers: Crane monitoring and preventive maintenance is becoming a standard feature for many global crane manufacturers. Our system is easy to integrate or retrofit on various crane types, helping manufacturers offer competitive solutions and stay ahead in the market.

  • Predictive Maintenance & Lifecycle Management: Supports predictive maintenance and crane lifecycle management, improving the quality of support to end customers. Remote data analytics on defect anomalies help enhance product quality and reduce warranty costs.

  • Real-Time Crane Usage Monitoring: Provides operational and usage data to assess crane condition and safety remotely, right at your fingertips.

  • Optimized Maintenance Planning: Enables proactive planning of maintenance to reduce unplanned downtime, improve equipment safety, increase productivity, minimize spare part usage, and enhance overall crane lifecycle value.

  • Retrofit Capability: Easily integrated with existing cranes, the solution enhances preventive and proactive service support for aging equipment.

  • Critical Parameter Alerts: Monitors essential crane parameters such as operating info, remaining Safe Working Period (SWP), motor duty cycle, vibration, overloads, emergency stops, temperature, and remaining service life of key components (hoist, VFD/PLC, motor, brakes, ropes, etc.), with automated email alerts for timely action.

Benefits for crane users

  • Fully Indigenous and Integrated: Reports and alerts can be customized to your specific requirements, including crane configuration, make, and model.

  • Retrofit Capability: Easily integrated with existing cranes, the solution enhances proactive and preventive service support for aging equipment.

  • Real-Time Monitoring and Reporting: Provides crane usage data, operating information, overloads, and safety alerts. Daily and weekly reports allow remote assessment of crane condition and safety at your fingertips.

  • Optimized Maintenance Planning: Enables planned and optimized maintenance to reduce unplanned downtime, improve equipment safety, boost productivity, minimize spare part usage, and extend crane lifecycle value.

  • Critical Parameter Alerts: Monitors key crane parameters, including operating info, remaining Safe Working Period (SWP), motor duty cycle, vibration, overloads, emergency stops, temperature, and remaining service life of selected components (hoist, VFD/PLC, motor, brakes, ropes, etc.), with automated email alerts for timely action.

Monitoring and Preventive Maintenance for Different Types of Cranes

  • Crane monitoring solution can easily be integrated or retrofitted on material handling equipment’s such as indoor cranes of types for e.g EOT cranes, Single Girder Cranes, Double Girder Cranes, Gantry Cranes Single our Double Girder, JIB cranes, Hoisting Motors, Over head travelling cranes, HOT Cranes, Goliath Cranes etc
  • Crane monitoring solution can easily be integrated or retrofitted on material handling equipment’s such as outdoor cranes of types for e.g Mobile cranes, Telescopic Cranes, Tower cranes, Crawler Cranes, Truck Mounted Cranes, Loader Cranes Motors, Hydraulic Cranes etc

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Indoor Cranes remote monitoring and preventive maintenance parameters

  • Motor Voltage and Current Monitoring:
    Tracks the health of hoist, cross-travel, and long-travel motors. Advanced AI-based analytics detect anomalies and deterioration, providing early alerts for preventive maintenance and helping avoid costly breakdowns.
  • Motor Temperature Monitoring:
    Monitors motor temperature to prevent burnout. The system sends timely alerts when temperatures exceed safe limits, protecting the motor from damage.
  • Hoist Motor Vibration Monitoring:
    Long-term monitoring tracks wear and tear over months or years. AI algorithms notify users when preventive maintenance is needed. Elevated vibration levels may indicate imminent failure.
  • Crane Operation Usage Monitoring:
    Captures operational data from all movement controls and limit switches (up, down, left, right, hoisting, cross, and long travel). This information is consolidated to measure operational efficiency and estimate remaining service life of the crane.
  • Motor Cyclic Duration Factor (CDF):
    Calculated using operational parameters and current. Alerts are triggered if the CDF exceeds safe limits, helping prevent overuse-related failures.
  • Motor Overload and Load Monitoring:
    Monitors actual load and motor overload using a combination of current and load sensors. Ensures crane operation stays within safe load limits.
  • Motor Brake Fault Monitoring:
    Brake air gap is monitored using sensors. Alerts are triggered if the air gap exceeds safety limits, reducing the risk of load drops due to brake failure.
  • SCADA, VFD, and PLC Monitoring:
    Interfaces with automation systems using custom protocols to monitor control parameters, faults, and operational status, enabling detailed analysis of crane performance and fault conditions.
  • Safe Working Period (SWP) Monitoring:
    Calculates long-term safe design working period using operational history, CDF, and load data. Provides insights into remaining design life and service life of the crane.
  • Crane Rope Fault Monitoring:
    Detects slack rope faults in real time and sends instant alerts, preventing rope failures, load drops, and associated safety hazards.

Outdoor Cranes remote monitoring and preventive maintenance parameters

The system collects the following information using various sensors:

  • Crane GPS Location Tracking: GPS sensors track the real-time location of heavy material handling equipment, such as mobile cranes.

  • Vehicle Speed Tracking: Sensors monitor the speed of mobile cranes. Alerts are sent if the equipment exceeds safe speed limits.

  • Operational Information: Crane operating hours and meter readings are calculated using advanced algorithms and sensor data. This provides utilization insights and helps predict maintenance activities.

  • Safe Load Indicator: Detects the load angle, weight, and crane ground radius. Alerts are triggered if the lift exceeds safe operating limits.

  • Crane Angle and Tilt Monitoring: Monitors crane angle and tilt for safety. Alerts are sent if operational limits are crossed.

  • Crane Accident and Vibration Monitoring: Sensors monitor crane vibrations and potential accidents, sending real-time alert notifications.

  • Hydraulic Motor Pressure Monitoring: Tracks the health of hoist, cross-travel, and long-travel motors. AI-based analytics detect anomalies and deterioration, providing early warnings for preventive maintenance to avoid costly breakdowns.

Crane Monitoring data analytics, reports and alerts

Crane Monitoring Cloud Data Analytics System – Key Functionalities

The system provides two primary functionalities:

  1. Dashboard and Reports:

    • Displays daily production and operational information.

    • Standard daily and weekly reports are sent automatically via email to management.

    • Reports can also be generated on demand through the web interface.

  2. Alerts and Alarms:

    • Alerts are sent via email, SMS, or similar mechanisms to ensure timely corrective action.

    • AI-based algorithms establish a baseline for the behavior of electrical motors and brake effectiveness.

    • Any statistically significant deviation from this baseline triggers an alert, enabling preventive maintenance and timely repairs to avoid costly breakdowns.

General information of the Crane Monitoring Preventive Maintenance system

The system consists of edge sensors, an edge hardware device with wireless communication, a cloud application, and an optional Android smartphone application. Sensors are placed on various parts of the crane, such as electric motors, 3-phase power lines, the crane electric panel, ropes, and other critical components. These sensors collect data from the crane and transmit it to the edge hardware device.

The monitoring device is typically installed in the crane’s electrical panel, with all sensor wires connected to it. Data collected by the device is sent periodically to the cloud server via wireless communication. Each crane requires one such monitoring device.

The cloud server aggregates data from multiple hardware devices, analyzes it for long-term patterns, stores it for future use, and displays it through a web browser interface.

Data can be accessed on demand via a PC browser or the Android app, enabling remote monitoring from any location with the necessary login credentials.

Other features of the Crane Monitoring Preventive Maintenance system

The system includes several advanced features designed for convenience, security, and customization:

  • Remote Firmware Upgrade: Firmware updates, including new features or bug fixes, can be applied remotely without the need for a site visit, saving time and effort.

  • Tamper Detection: A small built-in battery monitors tampering, such as power removal or opening of the device enclosure. Alerts are sent to the server within minutes, deterring malicious interference.

  • Integration with External Devices: Devices such as VFDs, PLCs, and data loggers can be connected. Known communication protocols are implemented to ensure seamless coordination with existing electronic equipment.

  • Offline Data Storage: In case of GSM signal loss, the system stores data locally and automatically uploads it to the server once connectivity is restored, ensuring no data is lost.

  • Customizable and Indigenous Platform: Since both hardware and software are designed and developed by VerveTronics, the system can be customized. Users can add features, modify software screens, or integrate additional sensors, providing a unique advantage of a fully tailored solution built on a proven indigenous platform.