Konecranes replaced 11 single girder cranes at B&D Doors and Openers’ manufacturing facility in Revesby, Sydney with more efficient, low maintenance and high safety models.

As part of the complete materials handling package delivered to B&D Doors, Konecranes carried out Crane Reliability Survey (CRS) reports on the old cranes, and determined in partnership with B&D that it would be more economically viable to supply 11 new cranes than to pay for maintenance and upkeep of the ageing cranes.

B&D Maintenance Supervisor, Mr Brian Allen explains that while price was a major factor in the decision to upgrade, it was the professionalism, expertise and efficiency of the Konecranes staff that made them feel confident of their decision.

B&D manufactures high quality commercial and residential garage doors at the Revesby facility, priding itself on engineering ingenuity and innovation, and also placing a high emphasis on efficiency, safety and standards compliance. Towards this, Konecranes performed additional upgrades including modifying one existing crane from 2 to 3.2t to meet B&D’s requirements and upgrading four power supply systems to the Koneductor down shop power supply system, as the previous ones did not comply with the latest standards.

Koneductor is Konecranes’ conductor bar system for crane power supply and is a method of conducting electricity from the power grid to the crane. The absence of plug connectors provides an extremely smooth connection that minimises brush wear on the connector trolley. The system’s structure is very sustainable and safe, avoiding problems associated with added resistance at joints and increased voltage drop characteristics when joints loosen or corrode.

Having more than 420,000 cranes of all makes under service contract worldwide, the Konecranes Group utilises RailQ and RopeQ surveys on crane componentry vital to reliability and safety. The technologies utilise laser alignment verification of the rails or runways on which overhead cranes must run smoothly and safely, and real time monitoring of the wire ropes vital to the safety and reliability of all lifting equipment.

For B&D, Konecranes recommended a RailQ inspection on five crane runways, which varied from being hook bolted to welded rail types. Konecranes followed this up with the repairs and modifications required to have the rails comply with the latest standards.

All of the upgrades, and the installation of the 11 new cranes, were undertaken according to an agreed program that ensured minimum downtime and disruption for B&D. Konecranes has also obtained the maintenance agreement for ongoing service of the cranes.

Sydney Sales Manager Glenn Cresswell says that obtaining the maintenance contract has helped build a strong relationship with B&D Doors, with a focus on safety and compliance. All the programmed work was finalised and the new cranes were commissioned over the Christmas period in 2013 to minimise any interruptions to the facility. The old cranes were also removed and disposed of by Konecranes.