Ergonomic Crane Cabs for 24/7 Operation at Steel Facility
03/30/2015 - Fort Worth, Texas-based crane component specialist Flow in Motion LLC has supplied a second ladle crane cab to Nucor’s Hertford County facility in North Carolina, where the steel giant produces carbon steel plate.
The facility is operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, placing huge demand on all production equipment, including cranes, and their operatives. Installation of the second Merford Ergocab, featuring the Ergoseat-H, will take place during a rare outage of the furnace over a long weekend. Again, it will replace a dated cab on an existing crane.
The Ergoseat-H concept was designed to allow operators to work with proper posture and the best possible view of the workplace. The Ergoseat-H is suspended from the ceiling of the cabin and comes with a wide range of adjustment options, which enables an ergonomic sitting posture for a wide range of male and female body dimensions.
Ceiling suspension keeps the cabin’s floor free from obstacles, which provides the operator with a greater field of view. Forearm supports significantly reduce the load placed on the neck and back, supported by seat adjustments. The small consoles enable the operator to look past the flat surface containing the controls instead of over it. This means that the operator is not forced to assume harmful sitting postures.
Flow in Motion president Richard Warriner said: “The cab is designed to provide the optimum working environment for the crane operator. This includes ease of vision, elimination of blinding light reflection on the cab windows, dampening sound entering into the cab and shock absorption in the cab mounting.” He pointed to additional features including suspension of the seat, pressurizing the cab with clean filtered air and quietly maintaining air temperature.
The two Ergocabs delivered to Nucor’s Hertford County facility are similar, but the latest order included an additional feature of windows that can be opened for cleaning from inside the cab. Warriner explained that this was a crucial feature given the nature of the operating environment.
He added: “The net result in embracing Merford ergonomic operator environments is operators remain more comfortable and more alert, thus, make safer decisions for themselves and those around them. We want to continue to capitalize on existing customers who have experienced the benefits of our seats and cabs in ports and steel mills.”
Konecranes’ modernization team will carry out installation from its New Berlin facility in Wisconsin.
The Ergoseat-H concept was designed to allow operators to work with proper posture and the best possible view of the workplace. The Ergoseat-H is suspended from the ceiling of the cabin and comes with a wide range of adjustment options, which enables an ergonomic sitting posture for a wide range of male and female body dimensions.
Ceiling suspension keeps the cabin’s floor free from obstacles, which provides the operator with a greater field of view. Forearm supports significantly reduce the load placed on the neck and back, supported by seat adjustments. The small consoles enable the operator to look past the flat surface containing the controls instead of over it. This means that the operator is not forced to assume harmful sitting postures.
Flow in Motion president Richard Warriner said: “The cab is designed to provide the optimum working environment for the crane operator. This includes ease of vision, elimination of blinding light reflection on the cab windows, dampening sound entering into the cab and shock absorption in the cab mounting.” He pointed to additional features including suspension of the seat, pressurizing the cab with clean filtered air and quietly maintaining air temperature.
The two Ergocabs delivered to Nucor’s Hertford County facility are similar, but the latest order included an additional feature of windows that can be opened for cleaning from inside the cab. Warriner explained that this was a crucial feature given the nature of the operating environment.
He added: “The net result in embracing Merford ergonomic operator environments is operators remain more comfortable and more alert, thus, make safer decisions for themselves and those around them. We want to continue to capitalize on existing customers who have experienced the benefits of our seats and cabs in ports and steel mills.”
Konecranes’ modernization team will carry out installation from its New Berlin facility in Wisconsin.
