Working Limits

Overhead crane limits for safety and productivityOverhead crane manufacturing

It is typical to have some standard limits on overhead cranes, such as a rail stop or limit switch, to prevent motion that would be dangerous to surrounding people or equipment. But what if you need to take extra measures to account for people’s safety in a walkway or truck loading area or equipment, such as a protruding rail? These obstacles can cause nearly constant headaches for overhead crane operators as they attempt to maneuver the crane in a safe manner. These considerations require time, focus and energy to account for—and are subject to human error.

Konecranes offers the solution with adjustable Working Limits, which work as temporary “virtual walls” to stop the crane automatically at predefined locations. Long-term working limits can be set up and saved in order to stop the crane from moving into a walkway, workstation area or loading dock.

This feature can protect goods, machinery, vehicles, etc. that are temporarily in the crane’s working area. Limits can be set to temporarily restrict movement in either the bridge, trolley or hoist motion. Set up multiple working limits to account for each need in your facility—and adjust them as necessary as your business grows and changes for safer, more productive lifting.

Easy control for crane operators

crane advisor

A working limit can easily be defined and removed by the overhead crane operator. The invisible limit is set by driving the crane to the desired borderline, turning the dial on the Working Limits switch to the Set position and indicating which direction(s) the limit should point. In the manner of a few seconds, a limit can be set to restrict the crane’s movement during that working period. If the crane is moved towards a working limit, a symbol will appear on the controller that the hoist is approaching the limit, and the crane will stop motion. Operators can turn the dial to Bypass in order to move past a predefined limitation, if needed.

When the Sway Control Smart Feature is not on, be sure to adjust for load sway. Take extra care to take into account the shape of the load when setting working limits. Operators should take care to always have visual contact with both the crane and the load.