Mass Crane completes overlapping dual 5 ton crane system for Devine Stone Works


UPLOADED: 5/26/2016

When Devine Stone Works settled on a location, a showroom design, and a shop floor layout for their new facility in the fall of 2015, they soon realized the building posed serious challenges from a material handling perspective.


THE CHALLENGES

1. The loading dock bay and the interior bay had different roof and floor heights.

2. The layout of the loading bay support structure did not align with the structure of the interior building.

3. The loading bay, which would see active traffic from delivery trucks, was narrow and afforded little real estate for a crane structure.

4. The new showroom planned would need to occupy a corner of the high bay crane space, creating a potential collision hazard with the showroom walls below.

5. Devine Stone Works needed a "crossover area" where the 8"-10' granite and marble slabs could be "“handed off" from the loading area to the shop floor without the need of a forklift or dolly system.


THE SOLUTION

Mass Crane and Hoist met with Devine Stone Works over the course of several months to conceptualize, layout, and ultimately engineer and design two independent, floor supported 5 Ton crane structures. The two cranes, which operate at two different elevations roughly 6' apart, overlap, creating a 12'x15' "crossover area." The structure of the lower and upper crane system was designed to allow the lower and upper cranes to occupy the same space without conflict. The loading bay structure is equipped with cantilevered columns in two locations and offset columns and a header in another to prevent the possibility of getting hit by a truck while backing under the crane.

The upper crane system is equipped with electronic zoning limits to prevent the high bay hoist from entering the showroom area and colliding with the showroom walls. Both cranes are equipped with laser-operated, two-event, anti-collision devices that slow a crane when it approaches the adjacent crane, and stops it before collision. Both cranes are equipped with handheld radio remote control devices for ease of use and operation.


THE RESULT

Thanks to the hard work of Mass Crane's sales staff, engineers, fabricators, millwrights, and service technicians, and the cooperation and teamwork with Devine Stone Works and the building's owners, United Home Experts, the two cranes were tested, commissioned, and turned over to Devine Stone Works in May 2016. Construction is ongoing, and Devine Stone Works hopes to open their new facility later in the year in Ashland, Massachusetts.