Smart Crane Control — Improving

Productivity, Safety and Traceability

Abstract S teel manufacturing redefines

the use of cranes in a manu-
facturing environment. Where
Identification Tagging
Challenges
The smart crane solution is In some strip mills, the coils of
most industrial cranes are used steel are marked with a radio-
a combination of automation for maintenance or machine frequency identification (RFID)
hardware, specialty crane setup, cranes in a strip mill are tag or bar code after each pro-
algorithms, integration with used as the primary material cessing stage. This method is
wireless positioning technologies handling system. This makes the less than ideal for several rea-
and warehouse management cranes a critical part of the man- sons. First, the tags can fall
systems. This solution delivers ufacturing process. Any down- off. Second, the codes must be
complete material traceability and time could greatly impact mate- replaced whenever the coil goes
inventory visibility, precise and rial output. It also allows the through the next stage because
faster crane operation, and better cranes to report on manufactur- they can become damaged or
work conditions. ing performance data. are burned off. Affixing tags
The process of transferring is a cumbersome and manually
the slabs of steel from the con- time-intensive task in a danger-
veyance on which they arrive, ous environment. The shop floor
to sorting and warehousing the is not an ideal place for workers
Author slabs in the yard, to transport- to spend much time. In addition,
ing them to the actual hot strip since the bar code and RFID
John Rowe
conveyance line — all while readers are continually exposed
national account manager —
mining, metals and minerals, tracking them throughout the to a harsh environment, they
Schneider Electric, process — is laborious. In addi- don’t last long and require fre-
Knightdale, N.C., USA tion, after each slab of steel is quent maintenance or replace-
john.rowe@schneider-electric.
com heated and rolled to its desired ment. Third, the steel coils must
thickness, it is coiled and under- sit and cool, unmarked, before
goes additional treatment pro- anything can be affixed to them,
cesses, including a pickling line increasing the chances of lost or
for automotive applications and misplaced product.
a galvanizing line for outdoor
uses. Between each step, the coil Material Tracking by
of steel is stored in the yard while Location
it cools, adding more stops to its The solution to these physical
journey. tagging problems is to eliminate
It is critical to track each the tags. The key to warehouse
individual coil of steel through- management is knowing where
out each phase in the process. the material is stored. The mill
Especially because each coil rep- already stores and tracks the
resents a unique recipe — no two manufacturing data associated
are exactly the same. They’re all with each coil. By adding posi-
made up of slightly different ele- tion, we now have a record that
ments depending on their use, indicates the material location
making it essential to track the as it moves through the manu-
materials that make up each coil. facturing process.

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52 ✦ Iron & Steel Technology A Publication of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology
 Figure 1

General crane Cartesian coordinate system.

To make the material tracking system work, an closed-loop flux vector system. The hoist VFD also
automation system is used to automatically update uses the encoder signal to generate a hoist position.
the stored position of each slab and coil as they are The hoist position also must be offset based on the
moved through the manufacturing process. Overhead tooling used on the hook. Magnets and coil grabs
and gantry cranes are used to move most, if not all, have varying heights and must be compensated for in
material in a strip mill. An automated crane control the positioning system. The accuracy of the vertical
system can report the absolute position of its loads in axis must allow for identification of multiple slabs
three dimensions. stacked directly on top of each other. The bridge and
The core of the solution is a smart combination of trolley accuracies are not as critical, but are widely
automation hardware, software and integration. The available in ± 1 inch capability.
programmable automation controller (PAC) operates The next step in the process is to interface the
and communicates for the crane on several levels. At position data from the PAC to the mill’s warehouse
the base level, the PAC interprets the operator’s con- management database. Since the crane is already
trols (either cab-based or remote) and commands the using Ethernet for PAC to VFD communications, it is
variable frequency drives (VFDs) to move the crane a simple step to add a secure wireless link from the
axes. At the next level, the PAC interprets a variety crane to the plant information systems. In a low-level
of position feedback devices. Depending on the dis- solution, the crane will tell the plant information sys-
tances and environment, there are choices ranging tem anytime it moves a coil or slab. This would keep
from optical encoders to lasers to radar-based feed- the database accurate but would require manual work
back systems. The PAC reads the position transducer orders to be created for the crane operators. The ideal
and converts the absolute position data to applicable solution would have the plant warehouse system issue
engineering units. orders for material movement electronically (using
External absolute feedback devices are used to the secure wireless Ethernet network) directly to the
determine the bridge and trolley positions from a crane operators. This information is passed to the
known reference point. Absolute devices are used operator using a human machine interface (HMI)
to avoid having to “home” the crane after any power terminal in the cab of the crane. Whether or not
failures. The hoist position is generated by the hoist the operator follows the instructions, the crane still
VFD. The hoist axis uses an encoder as part of its reports the actual pickup and drop-off positions.

AIST.org  June 2012 ✦ 53

 Figure 2

Crane control network configuration (simplified).

When the warehouse management software com- to monitor bearing and gearbox performance. The
mands the crane operator to pick up a specific piece PAC can monitor this data for out-of-tolerance perfor-
of steel and place it somewhere, the operator receives mance and indicate alarms to alert maintenance of
this command visually through the HMI software sys- potential future failures. The HMI can display trends
tem. Meanwhile, the PAC tracks and collects all of this of this data for maintenance to periodically review.
information and communicates with the warehouse Pending problems may be delayed by adding preven-
management software, telling it where each piece of tive maintenance to failing performance attributes.
steel is located and that items have been successfully As an added benefit, the HMI gives operations
moved. While the warehouse management software personnel the ability to remotely monitor the operat-
tells the operator what it wants it to do, the PACs ing performance of the cranes. In this situation, the
track and report what the operator actually did. Using cranes are used all day, every day, and aren’t typically
this system, each piece of steel is graphically tracked inspected for maintenance issues unless something
throughout its entire stay at the strip mill. goes wrong. Using the HMI’s embedded Web server
The HMIs also allow the operators to switch and the secure wireless network, maintenance can
between viewing the warehouse data, maintenance monitor the cranes’ status and performance with-
information and operating performance of the crane. out interrupting the operator or crane operations.
In addition, they use the HMI to complete a required Messaging services can also be used to alert plant
Occupational Safety and Health Administration personnel of a potential problem via email or instant
(OSHA) safety checklist before they are able to oper- messaging. The system will proactively alert opera-
ate the crane. tions personnel if and when there’s a problem with
the crane.
Maintenance Monitoring System
The PAC controller, in combination with the HMI, Performance Monitoring System
can monitor key operational points for the crane and Along with maintenance points, the PAC can track
indicate possible problems before failures actually key performance indicators (KPIs) of the crane and
occur. Using its Ethernet link to the VFDs, the PAC operator. KPIs such as number of loads moved per
can monitor all of the drive currents and power con- shift, day, week, etc., can be collected, displayed and
sumptions. RTD temperature inputs allow the PAC trended.

54 ✦ Iron & Steel Technology A Publication of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology
 Figure 3

Programmable automation controller panel.

Table 1
Sample List of Key Performance Indicators
Number of crane starts Requested speed reference
Operators’ daily checklist verification Requested speed reference percentage
Amount of time the crane was powered Time crane controlled by cab
Amount of time the crane was active Time crane controlled by remote
Time spent unloaded Ambient temperature average
Time from pick (loaded) to unload Average bearing temperature — all bearings together
Average time from pick (loaded) to unload Average bearing temperature — each bearing
Time: Average loaded Maximum bearing temperature with ID and time stamp
Bridge master drive run time Number of crane alarms
Trolley drive run time Instant skew
Main hoist drive run time Average skew amount
Auxiliary hoist drive run time Maximum skew amount
Total weight main hoist lifted Bridge master current 1
Average main hoist load weight Bridge master current 2
Maximum weight main hoist lifted Bridge slave current 1
Number of lifts for the main hoist Bridge slave current 2
Total number of main hoist overloads Bridge master voltage 1
Total distance bridge travelled Bridge master voltage 2
Bridge travel: loaded Bridge slave voltage 1
Bridge travel: unloaded Bridge slave voltage 2
Total distance trolley travelled Bridge master power 1
Trolley travel: loaded Bridge master power 2
Trolley travel: unloaded Bridge slave power 1
Total distance main hoist raised Bridge slave power 2
Hoist travel: loaded Bridge master power consumed 1
Hoist travel: unloaded Bridge master power consumed 2
Automatic moves Bridge slave power consumed 1
Average main hoist speed Bridge slave power consumed 2
Average gantry speed Bridge master torque 1
Average trolley speed Bridge master torque 2

AIST.org  June 2012 ✦ 55

 Collecting and reporting the KPI data is a complete Summary
supervisory and data acquisition (SCADA) software Smart crane control solutions can reduce manufac-
package. The SCADA system’s job is to collect all turing costs while providing a more efficient, safer
of the production information and KPI data gener- working environment. It collects data for predictive
ated by the PAC and synthesize it into comprehensive maintenance and operational KPIs. This informa-
reports that operations personnel can use to make tion empowers managers to make decisions that may
informed decisions. In addition, graphical displays improve business excellence.
show crane operations on an individual to plant level. Tracking material by its location removes the costs
The communications network of choice for this of owning and maintaining bar code or RFID tag
solution is secure wireless Ethernet. Ethernet allows reader systems. Personnel no longer need to be put
all of the components of the solution to communicate at risk in slab and coil yards to manually read or affix
freely with one another. In addition, maintenance new labels. Material cannot be lost by missing tags or
personnel can remotely access the system in real time labels. Material cannot be lost by incorrect produc-
via a Web browser to view maintenance and fault data tion orders or by incorrect movement by the crane
and to perform troubleshooting. operator. Material tracking by location can be easily
adapted to almost all existing facilities.
Operational Improvements Maintenance monitoring reduces crane downtime
The smart crane control solutions are complemented by alerting a potential failure before it occurs. As
by motion control algorithms to help the cranes pick a bridge wheel bearing begins to fail, its tempera-
up and deliver loads faster and more safely. These ture while moving starts to rise. The maintenance
algorithms bring additional benefits: from reduced monitoring system reads the rise in temperature in
operator stress to extended equipment life (reducing comparison to the other bridge wheel bearings and
equipment stress and maintenance). sends an email to the crane maintenance depart-
Anti-skew control prevents the two sides of the ment. Maintenance orders the appropriate parts and
bridge axis from becoming misaligned. A gross mis- contacts manufacturing to schedule downtime for
alignment of the bridge can cause increased wheel the affected crane. Until the crane is taken down for
and rail wear, physical jamming of the bridge axis, repair, it continues to run.
and in extreme cases, a failure of the bridge axis and Performance monitoring provides operational data
the collapse of the crane. Anti-skew control monitors that can be used to reduce costs and improve material
the positions of both sides of the bridge axis and throughput. Performance monitoring can indicate
makes command changes to keep both sides in align- where production bottlenecks exist due to material
ment. If, for any reason, the control system were to fail, handling systems. Decisions can be made from the
an alarm would be generated in case the bridge align- data to adjust manufacturing or crane capabilities to
ment exceeded a preset limit. The system is designed reduce or remove the bottleneck.
to operate on both gantry and overhead cranes. It has Skew and sway control systems can reduce cycle
been successfully operated on bridge axes over 1 mile times while increasing the safety level of the facility.
in distance. Skew control reduces wear to crane wheels and rail
Anti-sway control minimizes the induced load swing systems. Sway control reduces load delivery times and
during and at the completion of a commanded trol- increases the safety factor for ground personnel.
ley or bridge move. Swinging loads can be extremely This technology is an example of how automation
dangerous to both equipment and personnel. Sway can contribute to steel operations, combined with
can also drastically increase pickup to drop-off cycle constant process improvements, to help users be safer,
times. Loads can take minutes to stabilize before they more productive and cost-efficient. F
can be set down without risking damage. Anti-sway
control adjusts the acceleration and deceleration
profiles of the trolley and bridge axes during a com-
manded move. This adjustment minimizes the step
impulse to the load during the initial acceleration.
The algorithm does a similar adjustment on decelera-
tion to a stop.

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This paper was presented at AISTech 2011 — The Iron & Steel Technology Conference and Exposition, Indianapolis, Ind., and published in the Conference Proceedings.

56 ✦ Iron & Steel Technology A Publication of the Association for Iron & Steel Technology