Konecranes Rope Analysis goes to the heart of crane safety

Wire ropes and rope reeving systems form the heart of many cranes and lifting technologies, and their safe operation is of critical importance.

As the world leader in crane service, with more than 600,000 pieces of individual lifting equipment of all brands under service worldwide, Konecranes is introducing to Australia, New Zealand and SE Asia, its latest advanced Rope Analysis to look beyond what is visible to the naked eye.

Konecranes Rope Analysis targets individual concerns such as rope selection, rope life, component failures, unexpected rope behavior, accident investigation or improvement opportunities, including recommendations on extending rope and component life.

“Using proprietary 3D modelling and calculation tools, we provide an engineering assessment, calculation and inspection of a company’s ropes and reeving components, based on the EN 13001-3-2:2014 standard,” says Mark Beckwith, Australian service operations manager, Konecranes and Demag Pty Ltd (a member of the Konecranes Group).

“Konecranes Rope Analysis can improve the total lifecycle costs of equipment by optimizing wire rope change intervals in high duty applications and critical equipment,” he says.

“Throughout the working life of a wire rope, the strands and core are subjected to tension, bending, and abrasion, which can compromise strength and safety. Routine maintenance often relies on pre-determined replacement intervals regardless of the actual condition of the wire ropes, meaning that safe and operable ropes might be replaced too often or too soon, resulting in unnecessary downtime and increased costs.”

Rope Analysis Benefits

Konecranes expert consultations can provide a calculated estimate of rope life, recommendations for rope selection or rope reeving geometry improvement to target a variety of issues. Benefits include:

• 3D simulation of the rope reeving provides a clear view of issues or concerns
• Can offer recommendations for extending rope life in current or future use
• Can give information that can be used to improve rope behavior
• Can provide rope failure insights with a failure investigation report

“It’s easy to see when a rope has broken or failed, but by that stage, the crane is already out of action, and there can be significant downtime as it is repaired. Rope Analysis can determine the exact state of a crane’s wire rope and reeving systems, including remaining design life, to provide an accurate recommendation of when it should be changed, to avoid any failures,” says Beckwith.

Konecranes Rope Analysis is part of a suite of consultation services available to optimize crane performance and efficiency. Other services include crane hook analysis, crane rail analysis and geometry survey, crane reliability study, compliance consultation and operator training.