Schedule
10–11 June 2025 • The Westin Indianapolis • Indianapolis, In., USA
Monday, 9 June 2025 | |
| 4–6 p.m. | Registration |
| 5–6 p.m. | Reception |
Tuesday, 10 June 2025 | |
| 8 a.m. | Opening Remarks |
| 8:15 a.m. | How to Make a Technical Presentation Tom Berringer, Gantrex Inc. |
| 8:45 a.m. | Strategies for Crane Runway Upgrades Tim Bickel, CSD Structural Engineers When upgrading cranes, don't forget about the runway structure. Recognizing the limitations of existing runway capacity, this presentation will focus on strategies to increase crane capacity while limiting costly (and impractical) runway upgrades. |
| 9:15 a.m. | How to Make Your Crane Modernization a Success |
| 9:45 a.m. | Using Ergonomic Solutions to Improve Operator Safety, Comfort and Productivity Dan Millet, Metagro Americas Considerations for creating an ergonomic operating environment for crane operators. The presentation will include a case study with a real-life customer. |
| 10:15 a.m. | Break |
| 10:30 a.m. | Layered Approach to Campaign Life Assessment and Extension of High-Capacity Bridge Girder Cranes Michael Ross, Hatch High-capacity meltshop cranes, exposed to harsh service environments, can exhibit damage, such as cracking, toward end of code life. These damages can lead to lost production and potential safety risks. This typically leads operators to seeking means of managing the continued operation of the crane through campaign life assessments, with the intent to inform critical commercial decisions, typically the timing of procuring a replacement crane. A layered assessment approach will be presented which incorporates assessments of varying levels of complexity, from initial screening to detailed numeric assessment intended to align operational and commercial decision-making requirements. Several recent case examples using this approach will be presented, demonstrating typical resolutions, technical commentary and benefits to operators. |
| 11:00 a.m. | Renew Your Heavy-Duty Cranes for the Future Steven Lona and Steven Noble, CareGo |
| 11:30 a.m. | Crane Modernization Strategies Jon Bradford, Konecranes Discover how smart crane modernization strategies can transform existing equipment into high-performance assets. Designed for the unique demands of the steel industry, these modernization approaches offer scalable solutions that align with today’s production challenges. Whether you're looking to reduce downtime, improve throughput, or future-proof your operations, this session delivers practical insights and real-world applications to help you get there. |
| Noon | Lunch |
| 1 p.m. | Crane Incident Prevention — New Technology Paul Thurber, Everguard.ai Through the use of computer vision-based artificial intelligence, technology can aid in reducing the risks associated with all crane-related activities. These technologies can be retrofitted to most any crane regardless of age and location. These solutions can identify, alert and record predetermined events per customer's desire. |
| 1:30 p.m. | Plantwide Fully Automatic Coil Handling System at Big River Steel Edgardo La Bruna, Janus Automation, Jason Petrillo, SES Engineering This project presents an automatic coil handling system involving 13 automatic cranes and six additional manual cranes with coil tracking functionalities. Cranes are supported by an extensive ground coil handling system made of different types of coil cars, walking beams, rotators, shifters and two automatic packaging lines. The system is fully integrated with all process lines (starting at the exit of the hot rolling mill), shipping and plant level 3 systems. Based on a complex level 2 scheduling system (made of several optimization modules) and comprehensive warehouse management system, the system has more than 35 user terminals throughout the site. |
| 2 p.m. | Multilevel Crane Collision and Obstacle Avoidance Steven Lubeck, Laser-View Technologies, Steven Lubeck, laser-view technologies |
| 2:30 p.m. | Structural Monitoring of Cranes – A Novel Approach |
| 3 p.m. | Break |
| 3:15 p.m. | Reducing Human Factor Error in Crane Rail Inspections Mike Falk, Falk PLI |
| 3:45 p.m. | The Significant Role of Industrial Air Conditioner in Reducing Carbon Footprint Ted Smith, FrigorTec LP High-temperature industrial air conditioners used on overhead cranes play a crucial role in reducing carbon emissions. These systems must operate reliably in extreme heat while maintaining energy efficiency, minimizing electricity use in high-load environments. With rising environmental standards, there is a shift from high-GWP refrigerants to eco-friendly alternatives. What are the new rules and regulations? What refrigerant can be used in the future to keep a reliable and safe operation for the crane operator and crane controls? |
| 4:15 p.m. | Making Overhead Cranes Smart to Avoid Unexpected Stops and Prolong Operational Life |
| 4:45 p.m. | Remote Lifting Hooks for Long Products |
| 5:15 p.m. | End of Day Wrap-Up |
| 5:30 p.m. | Conference Adjourn |
| 6:30 p.m. | Dinner |
Wednesday, 11 June 2025 | |
| 8 a.m. | Opening Remarks |
| 8:15 a.m. | Emergency Breaks and Feedback |
| 8:45 a.m. | Automated Roll Handling Crane Project Case Study |
| 9:15 a.m. | Fatigue-Critical Elements in Runway Systems Noah Smithwick, Smithwick Engineering This presentation explores fatigue-critical elements in overhead crane runway systems, highlighting common failure mechanisms and their impact on structural integrity. It covers key design considerations, inspection techniques, and mitigation strategies to enhance reliability and prevent costly failures. |
| 9:45 a.m. | Removable Sheave Basket Ladle Lifting Beam David Gingerich, SES Engineering |
| 10:15 a.m. | Break |
| 10:30 a.m. | How to Select the Correct Runway Electrification Dan Klasel, Spanguard Corp. |
| 11 a.m. | Using Radar-Based Technology for Safety and Positioning Gerald Prezeau, Rotator Products Ltd. Using radar-based technology in a steel mill environment for safety and positioning applications. |
| 11:30 a.m. | Crane Operator Training Is Your Legal Soft Underbelly Tad Dunville & Larry Dunville, Overhead Crane Consulting A discussion of the contrasts between "canned" training products and custom-tailored operator and maintenance training for specific applications. |
| Noon | Lunch |
| 1 p.m. | Encoders — Safe and Reliable Signals for Your Overhead Crane Marvin Limbacher, Johannes Huebner Corp. This session will explore the working principles of encoders and review their various applications in overhead cranes. By understanding how encoders provide precise position, speed and movement feedback, this presentation will highlight their critical role in optimizing crane performance, ensuring safety and improving operational efficiency. This discussion will provide valuable insights into selecting the right encoder to achieve reliable and effective crane operation. |
| 1:30 p.m. | Effective Training Solutions for New Crane Operators Rohit Kumar Reddy Kovvuri, Purdue University Northwest Effective training solutions have been developed and implemented for new crane operators in iron- and steelmaking plants. This project showcases two examples of using virtual technologies and microcontrollers to allow users to interact with a virtual version of a crane on-site, and in turn, help expedite the learning process of working with the crane. The simulations help users learn about concepts like swing, lifting, dumping, and other common operations that are universal across many situations, but also some tasks that are specific to a particular area, which is useful in getting people ready to operate as part of any required seat time as part of training. Overall, this work helps to show the benefit of having even a small-scale digital solution like this to aid in the training process by providing a hands-on tool that provides a safe and worry-free environment to practice before bringing it into the real world. |
| 2 p.m. | Enhancing Crane Maintenance With LiDAR: A Transformative Approach Zachary Merkling, Orbital Engineering The integration of advanced technologies in the field of crane maintenance has the potential to revolutionize safety, efficiency and reliability. Among these innovations, LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) has emerged as a powerful tool for enhancing industrial operations, including crane system monitoring and maintenance. |
| 2:30 p.m. | Enhancing Crane Lift Safety With Wireless Emergency Stop Systems: Empowering Spotters for Immediate Response Mark Densley, Cattron North America Increasing lift safety by empowering your spotters with shared crane control. |
| 3 p.m. | Break |
| 3:15 p.m. | U.S. Traditional Box Girder and 1/2 H Profile-Torsion Box Girder ComparativeAnalysis for Resistance and Functional Performance Emiliano Meotti, Bertolotti SpA - Bertolotti US Inc. The presentation seeks to carry out a comparative analysis in terms of structural-fatigue performance, through structural calculations, and functional performance (access and egress) to and at the box girder top walkway. |
| 3:45 p.m. | Movable Counterweight Cantilever System |
| 4:15 p.m. | Fall Protection |
| 4:45 p.m. | Conference Wrap-Up |
| 5 p.m. | Conference Adjourn |