We offer well-engineered hoisting solutions keeping safety in full focus.
The Indian industrial cranes sector lacks a structured after sales service infrastructure. This is why we have set up Cranedge, a subsidiary company with focus on maintenance and service for industrial cranes of all makes, says Tushar Mehendale, Managing Director, ElectroMech. Excerpts from the interview.
The industrial overhead cranes sector is not governed by any safety regulations by the government. As a result, there is the proliferation of an unorganised sector that puts together cranes that does not go beyond the scope of the IS norms to offer enhanced safety features. There is definitely a scope for improvement. For example, in China, every crane manufacturer needs to be registered with a government regulatory authority before being able to sell any hoisting equipment. The same applies in Japan for selling any equipment having a SWL more than 3MT. These companies are then subjected to regular audits and their products need to be certified before they can be sold in the market. In India, there is a set of design standards under IS. Several crane manufacturers, especially in the unorganised sector, claim that their cranes conform the requirements of IS; however, if one scratches beneath the surface, a lot of discrepancies are thrown up. These discrepancies lead to price reduction at the cost of sacrificing safety. Do we need to upgrade the existing specs and standards?
The crane industry in India has not traditionally been at the forefront of innovation. However, recently with products from foreign manufacturers becoming more popular, Indian manufacturers are also beginning to upgrade their products. In line with our philosophy of continuous improvement, ElectroMech is constantly evolving and adapting new methods to improve all our processes from sales to dispatching of cranes. This strategy is visible in our product range; the constant evolution of products as well as new ones from global leaders. Our manufacturing techniques are at par with international standards, from CNC plasma cutting machines for the crane girders to shot blasting and a dedicated paint booth for finished crane components. Hence, it is crucial that any industry needs to keep on evolving and upgrading the existing specs and standards according to industry needs. Could you elaborate on the safety features of ElectroMech's products?
All our cranes come, as a standard, equipped with redundant safety electric limit switches, as well as mechanical barriers to ensure that the hook path does not stray dangerously out of the intended work envelope. We have several electrical interlock systems hard-wired in our circuitry, which prevent an operator from running the crane in an unsafe manner even if he wishes to do so. Furthermore, by having smooth start and stop functions as standard features on all our cranes, we ensure that the load swing is restricted to absolute minimum levels and associated accidents and personal injuries eliminated. Overloading protection is standard in our ABUS range of cranes. The safety brakes used on the cranes are rated for one million operations on full load and ensure a lifetime of worry free duty. Not only do our end products incorporate all safety features but our people are also extremely safety conscious when working on the shopfloor while manufacturing cranes as well as when working at the site and erecting the cranes. As a standard practice, whenever we hand over our crane to our customers for their use, we instruct them in the safe usage of our cranes. The company is also ISO 9001:2008 certified, with UKAS accreditation. We are now in the process of putting our systems in place for Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) certificates as we consider ourselves a responsible company and want to ensure the well-being and safety of not only our employees but also our customers.Are safety features a major factor while the customers opting for new products?
It is encouraging to note that the bigger players in the industry have started placing a significant importance on safety on the shopfloor and for sure, it plays a major role while shortlisting the potential vendors for supplying the equipment. However, in case of the smaller and unorganised companies, a majority of the people are giving more importance to price as compared to safety. However, we are confident that even these companies will eventually turn around and notice the inherent benefits of putting safety first during operations.Is cost a deterrent for the sale of advanced machines with inbuilt safety features?
Yes, it is a deterrent for our sales. As mentioned earlier, the smaller companies do make decisions based on pricing rather than safety features. Having said that, we believe that times are radically changing and eventually even the smaller companies will prioritise safety rather than cost. What is the role played by ElectroMech to ensure safety at the job site?
We follow various safety measures at our factory premises to avoid any human accidents. Our workers have to essentially wear basic Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) while they are on the factory premises. These include hard hats, safety shoes, safety goggles, etc. A variety of cranes, transfer trolley and a scissor lift within our pant ensure that we can transfer loads of any type, thus ensuring none of our workers carry heavy loads.Our paint booths and shot blasting facilities are designed in a special way to prevent any harmful substances to come in direct contact with our workers. The paint booth employs a down draft water re-circulation system to evacuate paint fumes and particles in a safe manner Our training programmes for first aid, evacuation, etc, are very pertinent for employees to attend to any safety needs. The safety officer at our factory looks after various safety measures and ensures they are followed. Smoke detectors and proper evacuation routes marked for emergencies make the ElectroMech shopfloor a safe environment to work in. To ensure safety measures are followed on site, we follow a stringent checklist on a regular basis.
How do you assess the overall scenario of safety in the industrial cranes segment?
Safety as a characteristic in the day- to-day working module is a non-negotiable aspect. Regardless of the sector, a manufacturer operates in, be it organised or unorganised, it is unwise to disrespect safety as eventually one is putting human life in danger.
The industrial overhead cranes sector is not governed by any safety regulations by the government. As a result, there is the proliferation of an unorganised sector that puts together cranes that does not go beyond the scope of the IS norms to offer enhanced safety features. There is definitely a scope for improvement. For example, in China, every crane manufacturer needs to be registered with a government regulatory authority before being able to sell any hoisting equipment. The same applies in Japan for selling any equipment having a SWL more than 3MT. These companies are then subjected to regular audits and their products need to be certified before they can be sold in the market. In India, there is a set of design standards under IS. Several crane manufacturers, especially in the unorganised sector, claim that their cranes conform the requirements of IS; however, if one scratches beneath the surface, a lot of discrepancies are thrown up. These discrepancies lead to price reduction at the cost of sacrificing safety. Do we need to upgrade the existing specs and standards?
The crane industry in India has not traditionally been at the forefront of innovation. However, recently with products from foreign manufacturers becoming more popular, Indian manufacturers are also beginning to upgrade their products. In line with our philosophy of continuous improvement, ElectroMech is constantly evolving and adapting new methods to improve all our processes from sales to dispatching of cranes. This strategy is visible in our product range; the constant evolution of products as well as new ones from global leaders. Our manufacturing techniques are at par with international standards, from CNC plasma cutting machines for the crane girders to shot blasting and a dedicated paint booth for finished crane components. Hence, it is crucial that any industry needs to keep on evolving and upgrading the existing specs and standards according to industry needs. Could you elaborate on the safety features of ElectroMech's products?
All our cranes come, as a standard, equipped with redundant safety electric limit switches, as well as mechanical barriers to ensure that the hook path does not stray dangerously out of the intended work envelope. We have several electrical interlock systems hard-wired in our circuitry, which prevent an operator from running the crane in an unsafe manner even if he wishes to do so. Furthermore, by having smooth start and stop functions as standard features on all our cranes, we ensure that the load swing is restricted to absolute minimum levels and associated accidents and personal injuries eliminated. Overloading protection is standard in our ABUS range of cranes. The safety brakes used on the cranes are rated for one million operations on full load and ensure a lifetime of worry free duty. Not only do our end products incorporate all safety features but our people are also extremely safety conscious when working on the shopfloor while manufacturing cranes as well as when working at the site and erecting the cranes. As a standard practice, whenever we hand over our crane to our customers for their use, we instruct them in the safe usage of our cranes. The company is also ISO 9001:2008 certified, with UKAS accreditation. We are now in the process of putting our systems in place for Environmental Health and Safety (EHS) and Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) certificates as we consider ourselves a responsible company and want to ensure the well-being and safety of not only our employees but also our customers.Are safety features a major factor while the customers opting for new products?
It is encouraging to note that the bigger players in the industry have started placing a significant importance on safety on the shopfloor and for sure, it plays a major role while shortlisting the potential vendors for supplying the equipment. However, in case of the smaller and unorganised companies, a majority of the people are giving more importance to price as compared to safety. However, we are confident that even these companies will eventually turn around and notice the inherent benefits of putting safety first during operations.Is cost a deterrent for the sale of advanced machines with inbuilt safety features?
Yes, it is a deterrent for our sales. As mentioned earlier, the smaller companies do make decisions based on pricing rather than safety features. Having said that, we believe that times are radically changing and eventually even the smaller companies will prioritise safety rather than cost. What is the role played by ElectroMech to ensure safety at the job site?
We follow various safety measures at our factory premises to avoid any human accidents. Our workers have to essentially wear basic Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs) while they are on the factory premises. These include hard hats, safety shoes, safety goggles, etc. A variety of cranes, transfer trolley and a scissor lift within our pant ensure that we can transfer loads of any type, thus ensuring none of our workers carry heavy loads.Our paint booths and shot blasting facilities are designed in a special way to prevent any harmful substances to come in direct contact with our workers. The paint booth employs a down draft water re-circulation system to evacuate paint fumes and particles in a safe manner Our training programmes for first aid, evacuation, etc, are very pertinent for employees to attend to any safety needs. The safety officer at our factory looks after various safety measures and ensures they are followed. Smoke detectors and proper evacuation routes marked for emergencies make the ElectroMech shopfloor a safe environment to work in. To ensure safety measures are followed on site, we follow a stringent checklist on a regular basis.
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