Rotary Hook: Canam Selects Premium

27 June 2022

Even with seemingly simple issues, a little investigation can reveal the potential consequences of a risky situation and help understand clients’ concerns. From there, true solutions can emerge! Most situations are unique and require their own solution. When Canam Group was looking for a specific lifting application, it turned to Premium Industrial Group to find it!

Challenging Manoeuvres

Canam Group uses overhead cranes and other industrial lifting methods to handle steel components every day. For several years, these lifting systems have employed a C-shaped hook to move steel coils. The bottom of the C is inserted into the opening of the reel to lift it. As the position of the coils varies throughout the process, the hook must be able to turn (360° rotation).

This technique seems simple in theory. However, the practice is a little more complex. The hook’s approach must be extremely precise so that it lines up directly in the opening of the reel. If the approach is not perfectly aligned with this opening, the hook enters into contact with the surface of the part and suffers a forced rotation. This complicated manoeuvre requires human intervention each time, because the hook is no longer in the right axis and must be realigned. Employees must approach the loads to adjust the hook by hand, systematically resulting in OHS risks. For example, when employees are unloading a coil from a delivery truck, they must climb on the truck to manually reposition the hook in the opening of the reel. The same applies to storage: the wire rope hoist operator must use a very narrow path to guide the coil by hand before putting it down. These are daily risks of injury by crushing or falling from a height. Not to mention the effect on productivity! One can easily imagine the time lost unsuccessfully trying to position hooks.

For handling and lifting specialists, the solution may appear simple and already available: a telescopic-coil-grabber-type hook seems appropriate. Unfortunately, the coils are placed back to back in the Canam storage system, making this tool impossible to use. So, what lifting solution was selected?

Canam Chooses a Premium Rotary Hook

To completely eliminate these problems and preserve the established storage method, Premium Industrial Group proposed installing a motorized rotary hook on the existing wire rope hoist. This hook can pivot clockwise and counterclockwise, rotate 360°, and it includes speed control programming and acceleration ramps for gentle, accurate and adjustable movements. Because it is an update to existing lifting material and not new equipment, the original pulley block was replaced while preserving the existing engineering of the wire rope hoist. The power and controls required for motorized rotation also had to be added. This solution was accepted and installed successfully! Were there any benefits?

A Positive Effect on OHS

With this modernization, the wire rope hoist operator can control the hook approach remotely by perfectly positioning the base of the C in the opening of the reel. This manoeuvre consists in small adjustments with the controller module, without a person’s hands approaching the load. The same applies to putting down the load: the operator can easily remove the base of the hook from the coil through slight adjustments performed remotely. This eliminates the OHS risks listed above. The motorized rotation of the hook also eliminates rotation through contact. Thus, the reels can be handled hassle free and be turned to one side or the other to adapt to the necessary position. The coils can be stored without changing a storage configuration that has been established for several years. What’s more, the commands for the hook rotation have been integrated directly into the existing controller module, eliminating the need for two modules. Again, this increases safety.

This first project in Boucherville was such a success that Canam Group has decided to use this solution in two other Canam plants in Canada! Thank you to Canam Group for choosing Premium Industrial Group to help increase safety by implementing this new perfectly adapted lifting and handling solution.

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