5 Signs It's Time for Crane Modernization and Upgrades

5 Signs It’s Time for Crane Modernization and Upgrades

Safe use of a crane is an absolute necessity for many businesses and industrial concerns. Without the lifting power and transport capabilities of a crane, your operations can grind to a halt.

Unfortunately, many businesses wait too long to act on crane modernization. They see the expense as too costly to justify.

But the truth is if you don’t update your important equipment and machinery the costs are impossible to recover. Beyond tragic safety issues, you will be risking the loss of your competitive edge.

If crane use is important to your business it’s important to know when to update or upgrade your equipment.

Let’s find out when it’s time. Here we go:

1. Daily Inspections Reveal Deficiencies

Because OSHA requires your crane to have a daily visual inspection prior to operations, any deficiency can take it offline.

And, until the deficiency is remedied and deemed safe by a designee, your company will be losing productivity.

If daily inspections are frequently taking your crane offline it is time to consider an investment.

2. Performance Is Lagging

There have been many upgrades to crane technology over the years. If your crane is older, it may not have the benefit of the newest technology.

Modernizing your crane doesn’t always mean replacing the asset. An upgrade effort could include installing new software, drives, or controls.

3. You Need More Capacity

If your crane is not handling the loads you would like, it can cost man hours and significant energy costs making extra loads. A modernization effort can help increase capacity.

Your crane will be operating more efficiently.

4. Your Control is Suffering

With an upgrade, you can install radio and infrared controls in your crane. Enhancing control means more efficient performance.

And more efficiency means cost savings through investment.

5. Crane Modernization and Cost Benefit Analysis

In a thorough preventative or predictive maintenance program, crane modernization should never be a surprise capital expense. The asset is necessary to your business, and its efficient operation requires maintenance.

A thorough cost-benefit analysis (CBA) will reveal when it’s time to modernize your equipment. Don’t wait for costly downtime and unnecessary repairs.

Updating your equipment should be part of a well-thought-out process. Using a template for a CBA will help you analyze when it’s time to upgrade or update.

Rather than risk expensive and ineffective repairs, unsafe operation, and significant downtime, updating your crane should show a payoff timeline.

Integrating your crane update into your tax planning and capital improvement plan will help every facet of your business as well.

An Integrated Operations Plan

Just like your cranes are essential for operations, so is all of your industrial equipment. A great integrated strategy means considering the value of all of your machinery and assets to your customers, owners, and employees.

The right equipment means you are invaluable to industry. At Kor-Pak we help our customers boost value and deliver more money to their bottom line.

Kor-Pak serves numerous industries, including steel, rail, energy (wind), mining, and oil. At Kor-Pak, we keep industries productive.

Our customers are important to us. Don’t wait to see how we can help with every aspect of your operations plan.