Load Moment Indicator – Knowing How Much is Too Much

Load Moment Indicator – Knowing How Much is Too Much

Last month, 2 individuals at the Itaquero Stadium in Sao Paulo because of alleged overloading of the crane. In another case that occurred recently at the Fairview Cove Container Terminal, Halifax, Nova Scotia, canisters fell off from a shipping container that was being carried away and the concerned terminal came to a grinding halt for an entire day.

Why is a safe load indicator system important?

Many a times, when a crane is being used at a construction site or a warehouse, the operator is unable to decide what the crane’s actual loading capacity is.

A safe load indicator system senses the equipment’s capability and moment of overturning and helps the operator to prevent overloading the crane. Load moment indicators have been in existence for more than 5 decades now and are used extensively worldwide to prevent overloading to a large extent. To put it simply, the Load Moment Indicator stops the crane from overloading by sensing the overturning moment, either directly or indirectly, by measuring the lifting condition to the equipment’s rated capacity. In many Load Moment Indicators, there exist buzzes or lights that warn when an overload condition exists.

If an overload occurs by mistake, it stops all by itself, indicating that the crane has been overloaded and the load needs to be reduced. The equipment’s actual capacity is compared to the lifting conditions by this indicator so that the operator knows what the capacity of the equipment is and how much load it can take. The indicator makes use of buzzers, bells or beeping lights to warn the operator that an overload is about to take place.

Related aspects to overloading

The consequences of overloading can be many. While the load breaking off always presents a risk to anybody standing underneath, it can take a fair amount of time to get things in place afterwards.

Back in 27 November 2013, a lattice boom crawler crane collapsed leading to fatalities. While the company said that the ground gave in leading to overloading and the incident. Normally, Load Moment Indicator lights placed above the inside of the front window of the operator cabin lights up. The easily readable, clear text display of many LMI’s help crane operators know the amount of extra load to be taken off. Often, the crane operator can know various statistics including working load limit, actual load and wind speed; among others. LMI’s can come in handy for different types of cranes, from telescopic and lattice boom cranes to offshore and container handling cranes.

How to make the right purchase

If you are planning to purchase a safe load indicator for your business, it is always advisable to opt for such a design which can work with both proportional and non-proportional hydraulic cranes. Nowadays, many indicators are wirelessly equipped to the display unit making the operator’s job much easier and simpler than before. He gets a fair idea as to how much more load can be pulled and how far he is from reaching his maximum capacity.

Get the right Load Indicator System!

LSI wireless offers a wide range of load indicator systems which let the operator be mentally relaxed while working with huge loads. Our clients can call our customer support number or visit our online site for more details of our products. After all, prevention is always better than cure.

http://thechronicleherald.ca/metro/1193310-no-evidence-of-radiation-leak-on-container-ship-official?from=most_read&most_read=1193310

http://www.khl.com/magazines/international-cranes-and-specialized-transport/detail/item92568/Liebherr-comments-on-Brazil-stadium-crane-incident

Mike bode, the founder of lsiwireless.com, a global dealer of lsi-robway™ products.