Konecranes’ automated stacking cranes (ASC) are the most
technologically-advanced products they have in their crane portfolio, with 20
of them currently due for delivery later this year to Global Terminals in New
Jersey. The light crane design, based on the field-proven technology of
Konecranes’ RTGs, with its Active Load Control, enables fast and eco-efficient
container stacking. Other Konecranes ASC deliveries are ongoing to four
terminals in Europe and Asia-Pacific.
In January, Konecranes announced the world’s first hybrid
reach stacker, the SMV 4531 TB5 HLT, for container handling, with a lifting
capacity of 45 tons. It has a diesel/electric driveline and electrified
hydraulic lifting system which helps reduce fuel consumption and emissions
while providing better lifting response to driver commands. And while important
advances in technology have been helping with global cargo handling equipment
environmental concerns, Saastamoinen says in Europe, there is an organization
called PEMA (Port Equipment Manufacturers Association) working to push for
basic standards in design among crane manufacturers.
“Unfortunately, the industry has not yet been able to
provide a standard system of measurement for container crane performances
similar to that provided by the automotive industry, or even for household
appliances,” says Saastamoinen. “PEMA has been driving an initiative, which we
at Konecranes fully support, to provide a standardized system of measuring
energy consumption per TEU, with weight and performance data, that would enable
realistic comparison.”
“Currently, the problem in the market is there are so
many different technologies offered that when statements like 40 to 50 percent
savings are put out there, the customer doesn’t know where the actual savings
are coming from. That’s why we are trying to get a standard where all crane
suppliers would measure the energy consumption cycle so the comparison would be
apples to apples. And then on top of that base requirement, you could add
auxiliary technologies which may reduce the consumption and emissions further.”
The same goes for driver safety technologies. Konecranes
has been continually working on new ways that keep crane drivers focused on the
job and not on secondary maneuvers, which their advanced load control
technology helps with. “The load stays under the operator’s control so it
doesn’t sway and there are no unwanted movements,” explains Saastamoinen. “And
again, we are thinking that the core of the equipment has to be in order. Then
you can add auxiliary devices that may take the safety aspect further.”
Mi-Jack Products headquartered in Hazel Crest, Illinois,
is supplying EcoPower Hybrid Systems, battery GenSet technology on their RTGs
for both port and rail applications. Their new EcoCrane hybrid solution can be
supplied on new RTG equipment as well as being retrofitted for repowers on
RTG’s using conventional diesel electric GenSet.
Back in 2009, Mi-Jack’s EcoPower was placed on the EPA
Emerging Technology list, and the following year, was awarded the US EPA Clean
Air Excellence Award. After an extended period of duty cycle RTG testing, the
EPA has now issued Mi-Jack final verification of EcoPower Hybrid Systems Inc.’s
EcoCrane Hybrid System.
“Mi-Jack’s RTG Model 1200R has long-time been the
standard crane for rail intermodal operations, and now with its hybrid power
solution, has attained even more widespread usage with Class One railroads,”
says Dan Reis, Vice President, Port Division. “This same battery GenSet hybrid
technology has carried over to port terminal operators who are facing stiff
environmental regulations, and by repowering/retrofitting with Mi-Jack’s hybrid
system, they have found a cost-effective solution and sound return on
investment.”
The EcoCrane Hybrid System uses a battery bank as the
primary source of power, allowing the downsizing of the engine from a
6-cylinder (680-1,085 HP) to 4-cylinder Tier 4i (173 HP), reducing fuel
consumption up to 70 percent, depending on the duty cycle, and reduced PM and
NOx by 70 percent or greater, also giving drivers a break on exhaust emissions
and engine noise. “EcoCrane is just one example of Mi-Jack’s EcoPower product
portfolio of cutting-edge green type of product advancement we now offer,” says
Reis. “We always listen to the end-user and this one has been a winner for
Mi-Jack, too.”
Reis also reports Mi-Jack is substituting lead acid type
of batteries with Lithium Ion type which has two times or more the energy
density. Li-Ion batteries require less space and weight and can be stored prior
to usage much longer. “There is no loss of equipment performance with container
handling utilizing batteries as primary power source although that’s sometimes
a concern with just thinking of battery power versus engine power,” he says.
EARLS Industries located in Port Coquitlam, British
Columbia, Canada, is celebrating their 59th year in a four-generation-run
family business and is still the only Ship-to-Shore (STS) spreader manufacturer
in the Western Hemisphere. Their Floating Twin-Twenty (T20) spreaders are based
on an EARLS U.S.-patented invention which Bruce Coatta, Principal Sales
Marketing Corporate Secretary, says set the bar for defining this function
world-wide.
The T20 spreaders are driven by hydraulic extension
cylinders that are designed, engineered, and manufactured in-house and
exclusively use the multi-position (20’/40’/45’) single container handling
capability of the typical modern STS container crane spreader. “Our superior
product will only be of interest to the end-user who truly is interested in the
total life cost,” says Coatta.
Spreader functions, for the most part, relate to the
three main functions of the vast majority of container crane spreaders: (1) TL
(twistlocks) lock and unlock in the container’s corner castings (2) flippers
(corner guides) rotate down to gather onto a container and up to afford
clearance into the ship’s cell guides, and (3) extend/retract slide frame
motions to accommodate the 20/40/45 ISO container lengths. EARLS spreaders are
equipped with fabricated twistlock pins and nuts that are also manufactured
in-house.
Coatta reports there have been a few developments in
terms of the ‘floating T20’ which improved handling of the nominal 10% of conventional
twin-stows, and the ‘separating ST20’ which enabled twin-handling of an
additional 5% to 10% of separated or ‘gapped’ twin-stows, each of which is
quite significant to the bottom-line of the terminal operator, but the
remaining 80 to 85 percent of handling still entails only the three main
functions originally listed above.
“The EARLS approach to technological development has been
to listen to our end-user customers, and they tell us that improved reliability
is the most important consideration moving forward,” says Coatta. “As a result,
the EARLS Spreader has been improved to the point that it has a nominal useful
working life for an above-average terminal operation in the range of 15 to 20
years of 24/7 front-line operation, as opposed to a more common modern trend
toward a throw-away 10-year nominal life product.”
While it might be true that an ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t
fix it’ approach could be applied when it comes to standard crane and spreader
design, it’s obvious that in today’s eco-conscious shipping world, it makes
sense for manufacturers to continue driving new technological developments that
work for both the customer and the ever-changing regulatory environment.
