Safe and efficient lifting

Why safety and efficiency are at the heart of one Middle East crane manufacturer’s activities.

“A well-trained team aware of the hazards inherent in their work, combined with the use of available technology, allows clients to improve materials handling efficiency, reduce downtime and avoid accidents”
-Abood Ali Humaid

Lifting heavy loads and installing heavy pieces of equipment is, by its very nature, inherently dangerous, while processes requiring overhead lifting and material handling need to be efficient to be economic. For these reasons, safety and efficiency are at the heart of Eastern Morris Crane Company's activities, where a combination of management commitment, competent employees, advanced design systems and a leading product and service portfolio enable this crane manufacturer to provide safe and efficiency enhancing solutions to its clients.

With a base in Dammam, Eastern Morris Crane Company (EMC) is a joint venture between the Zamil Group of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, a global investment company with diverse interests and capabilities, and Morris Material Handling Ltd. Morris is a UK-based company that benefits from more than a century of experience delivering overhead crane and hoists. The joint venture offers comprehensive crane manufacturing, sales and after sales support facilities offering unsurpassed service to its clients.

"Customers of EMC benefit from utilising some of the most technologically advanced products available," says Abood Ali Humaid, the company's General Manager. "Along with safety features you would expect such as overload devices, anti-collision and zone avoidance systems, further safety and efficiency benefits are offered via condition-monitoring systems."

These solutions provide valuable data on the actual operational activity of a crane's lifting device and allow effective preventative maintenance planning based on actual hoist-use, minimising downtime. The safe working period available prior to service can be calculated based on actual usage and, in addition, a summation of loads lifted between multiple cranes or hoists can be monitored to ensure that building structures are not overloaded.

EMC and its clients also benefit from Morris Material Handling Ltd's dedicated training school, which is a full member of the Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) and runs accredited training courses both internally and for external clients. Available LEEA-accredited courses include Managing Lifting Operations, Rigging and Slinging, and Lifting Equipment Inspections. "Participants of such courses gain awareness of the hazards associated with heavy lifting and learn how to minimise the risks associated with performing lifting operations," explains Abood Ali Humaid. "Of course, ensuring that lifting equipment is appropriately inspected during its life is paramount to its ongoing safety."

When identifying a solution to a client's lifting problem, EMC use specifically developed design software. This software uses internationally recognised design rules and standards when selecting electro-mechanical components and calculating steel structures. As a result, structural design and component selection is consistent and proven, as are the production instructions increasing the quality, safety and suitability of the resulting product. Design rules developed by the European Federation of Materials Handling (FEM) – Europe's manufacturing association for materials handling, lifting and storage equipment, whose activities include establishing guidelines and encouraging technical progress and safety at work – are most commonly adopted by EMC. The company's management also demonstrates its commitment to quality by ensuring that BS EN ISO 9001:2000 accreditation is maintained. Whilst it can be argued that this does not necessarily guarantee safety or quality, it certainly promotes control of activities to ensure that client expectations are met.

"A well-trained team aware of the hazards inherent in their work, combined with the use of available technology, allows clients across the spectrum of industry to improve materials handling efficiency, reduce downtime and avoid accidents," concludes Abood Ali Humaid.