SPS Works Ltd,
Unit 8 Capstan Centre, Thurrock Park Way, Tilbury RM18 7HH.
Project Management & Installations
PROJECT MANAGEMENT & INSTALLATIONS
Working Closely with Clients
Premature failure of components and difficult or laborious tasks can have adverse effects on operations and our customers. SPS work closely with our clients to understand the nature of the problem and associated challenges. We work out the scope and disruption it may cause and envisage the impacts it may have on your operations. We then discuss the objective, review the options and make a recommendation.
Ship to Shore Container Cranes
Quay cranes are the ship to shore cranes which consist of a tall frame and boom section that can traverse across the width of a container ship. There is a cabin which is suspended from a trolley, which runs along rails located on the girder and boom sections of the crane structure. In addition, the trolley carries a specialised spreader via hoist ropes which enable the operations driver to pick up container boxes.
Nature of Customer Issue
Quay crane booms are lowered off across a vessel by use of boom ropes. These ropes are carried and directed by sheave wheels which travel from the machine house on top of the crane girder, up to the ‘A’ frame sheave wheels and directed down to the boom sheave wheels. These sheave wheels are, wheels which have a groove along their edge and house a bearing in the centre to allow for rotation (like a simple pulley system). These bearings allow for the rotation while carrying the ropes which are carrying the load of the boom when lowering or raising. If these bearings fail prematurely, it disables the use of the boom.
Recommendations
Design and fabricate a frame work that would take the load of the boom ropes, releasing the pressure on the sheave wheels and enabling access to the sheaves without having to remove the boom ropes altogether. Design and fabricate a secondary frame that would take the load of the sheave wheels while removing pin. This would prevent the need of a mobile crane because we can then transfer the sheave wheels down onto the trolley, then travel back under the machine house where they can be lifted by the machine house crane and then be transferred to the ground if necessary.
Impacts to Port Customers
When these mechanical failures occur, it impacts on operations their customers. It causes major delays when serving the vessels, and to ensure they leave on time, operations may leave boxes on or off the ship, and ends up a loss in revenue for the company.
Port operations also need to consider the extra journey time when returning for the boxes to be loaded or unloaded, also at extra cost to their customers.
Depending on the circumstances to when the crane fails, it can also have an impact on arrival and departure times. Delaying a ship from leaving on time can have a knock on effect with the ships scheduler. The vessel not making its port destinations on time, can lead to demurrage (breaching the lay time) charges running into thousands and the Port could incur these charges.
Delayed departure times can also have a knock on effect with the next vessel arrival. This again reduces the time that operations can service the ship and adds more strain on the department.
Staff downtime is also a concern because the labour which was brought in to fully man the operations of that crane is now wasted, and ships planning now have to re-organise the workload, the ship mooring and schedule times. This creates peaks and troth periods, where the planning department now have to re-organise the workforce, and encounter late call and cancellations costs to our employees, and have to bring people in on overtime to cover these peak periods.
With all this in mind the relationship with Ports and their Customers become strained. Ports are contracted to provide a service and if this service is not met, their customers may consider using other competitors.
Not allowed to show pictures of installation due to confidentiality agreements
Nature of Customer Issue
Quay cranes traditionally use ropes to pull the trolley along the rails on the girder and boom section. These ropes are carried and directed by sheave wheels which travel from the machine house to the front and rear of the crane and kept under tension via a hydraulic power pack and rams. If these rams fail prematurely, it prohibits the use of the trolley and disables the crane.
Recommendations
Design and Fabricate a Davit Crane which would allow the customer to remove the hydraulic ram and sheave wheel assembly without the added expense and delays of hiring a crane.
Lifting Operations
Nature of Customer Issue
Customer required a 90t Lifting beam and specified needs and dimensions for their operations.
Recommendations
Sometimes, recommendations are not required. Customer specifically gave instructions to design a lifting beam and already had customers in place for the manufacture.
