35
NOVEMBER 2013
ACT
CRANE CAMERAS
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
Lindsey Anderson
reports
on the growing popularity
of crane cameras.
C
rane cameras allow an
operator’s experience to be
maximized and put to use
in critical lifts while providing visual
information, contextual awareness and aid
communication with the rigger.
Chris Catanzaro, chief operating officer
of Pacific Systems Solutions, the company
behind HookCam, likens operating
a crane without a camera to driving
blindfolded.
“Imagine driving a car blindfolded
while the passenger directs you where to
go, when to stop and how fast to move,”
Catanzaro says. “It would be a difficult,
dangerous and stressful task to complete.
Now imagine how much safer and efficient
the driver can maneuver without the
blindfold.”
Crane cameras “remove the blindfold
for operators and gives them a second
set of eyes, eliminating blind spots and
enhancing the communication with the
rigger,” Catanzaro says. “They now have a
contextual view of the load and can verify
the direction of the rigger, allowing them
to do their job much more safely and
efficiently.”
Pacific Systems Solutions’ HookCam
is a camera placed on the hook block of
cranes so crane operators can see the aerial
view from the hook’s perspective. With
the view from the hook, the operator can
see all the personnel in the area and can
verify critical rigging details. According to
Catanzaro, operators are also able to see
the pace and swing of the load, providing
them with the situational awareness
necessary to reduce potential accidents
and property damage.
“For years there was a void where the
operators were often unable to see the
load and the path,” Catanzaro says. “Crane
operators have been trained to work in
the blind, maneuvering their hook and
load around tall buildings and through
congested construction sites, often relying
entirely on the guidance of the rigger. The
rigger and operator have always been a
HookCam-equipped cranes. “Without
the HookCam, there’s the potential
for accidents to happen, but with the
HookCam, the crane operator can identify
these hazards and avoid them.”
The newest model of the HookCam
works to achieve the same goals and
maintains the rugged durability of its
predecessors, the company says. New
features include an adaptable mounting
system, sleeker design, more efficient
battery, solar charging and options for
black box recording.
“When we undertook the Generation
Five model it began as a facelift,” explains
Catanzaro. “After a decade of research
and development, we concluded with
much more. The new design is portable
and lighter weight, has a lower profile and
features an easy-to-read display. The new
mounting system allows for quick and easy
installation and is adaptable for a variety
of cranes.”
Manitowoc signed a five-year, strategic
agreement with Orlaco, a camera system
specialist, to provide and develop after-
market camera systems for Manitowoc
critical team, and that relationship is made
even better when you give the operator
vision.”
The detailed view provided by the
camera on the hook not only helps to
eliminate accidents, Catanzaro says,
but also decreases pick time by up to 38
percent.
Time savers
“We’re saving 30 seconds to a minute
on each load,” says a rigger who uses
HookCam. “We’re doing 90 loads a day.
That’s up to an hour and a half a day
we’re saving, and over the life of a project,
that’s hours. A lot of man hours that we’re
saving. It really speeds up the efficiency of
the project.”
Operators can also view the load for
themselves to confirm the balance and
load security, allowing them to verify
rigging and quickly respond to critical
situations.
“[Crane cameras] keep our crews safe
and allows the crane operator to see
employees during the lifting activities,”
says a project superintendent who uses
Bird’s-eye view
A worker installs a HookCam onto a crane.
