Moving or transporting heavy material loads through the floor in a facility or a warehouse poses many problems like safety, space utilization, and disruption of work. Overhead cranes are widely in use across many industries for this exact reason. Overhead cranes overcome these problems and there are many performance and safety benefits to overhead cranes. Let us understand these benefits of overhead cranes.
Multiple uses
First and foremost, let’s talk about the various uses of overhead cranes. Overhead cranes are used in manufacturing facilities and warehouses to enable easy processing and handling of heavy or oversized objects that is difficult to do with other material handling equipment. A fundamental benefit of overhead cranes is that they can be put to multiple different uses like:
- Assembly/Manufacturing – moving unfinished products through their production processes.
- Warehouses – transporting heavy, large objects to and from the dock areas.
- Transportation – loading/unloading manufactured goods onto carts or trailers.
- Storage – transporting finished goods or heavy loads to and from storage areas.
Better space utilization
Overhead cranes operate not on the floor, but can be fixed high up on the wall or the ceiling of the building. This enables you to install the device anywhere you wish, irrespective of the floor plan. This also leaves the floor clear of the machine and heavy lifting, so you have more space to carry out the other tasks in the facility. Since overhead cranes don’t take up your valuable floorspace, you can utilize your space in a better and more efficient way.
Improved safety
When you’re using overhead cranes like jib cranes, hoists, or bridge cranes, you are significantly reducing the risk of accidents due to heavy loads on the floor. Like stated earlier, overhead cranes operate in the overhead space of the facility so that there are no obstacles in the device’s way of carrying heavy loads. On the other hand, other heavy load lifting devices like forklifts always pose the risk of dropping goods as well as accidents due to crashing and injuries to workers. Moreover, overhead cranes are controlled with remote controls which keep the operator at a safe distance from the device; so they can safely maneuver the loads.
Precise load handling
Overhead cranes are generally equipped with precision controls that can position objects precisely and without any trouble, allowing the operator to place the load precisely where they want it to be, while minimizing human error at the same time. This enhances performance by facilitating accurate and timely load handling.
Enhanced ergonomics
When there are overhead cranes in a facility, the operators don’t have to do the heavy lifting. This reduces the risk of injury and fatigue. Nevertheless, overhead cranes are more efficient in lifting and transporting heavier loads. This frees the workers to do other tasks more suited for them while there is also lesser chance of human error.
Due to the aforementioned performance and safety benefits of overhead cranes, they have become extremely popular in manufacturing and warehousing operations.