The Value of Data

Data should be utilised and technology embraced below-the-hook.

To understand the importance of data to continued improvement of industry best practices and safety, we need to remind ourselves of two terms and, moreover, accept their combined power:

Data-driven

Progression being attributable to facts, figures, and evidence versus a feeling, hunch, or experience alone. 

Audit trail

A system that traces transactions and creates a documentable pathway of an item’s use.

It’s true that our ability to capture data through advancing technology and apply it to our day-to-day or other activities represents progress. The world tends to agree, which is why data is everywhere, constantly providing facts and statistics upon which we base improvement. Further, whether it be based on transactions, communications, actions, or all of the above, understanding the route to a certain place and the steps that have been taken along the way gives us data that we can analyse to help us get better, faster, safer, or more efficient in the future.

There’s gravitation in the modern world towards both data-driven decisions and audit trail-based solutions. However, the uptake in more traditional sectors, like the lifting equipment industry, is slower. Only approximately 5% of lifts currently use a load cell, but what about the other 95%? A long-term goal for the industry should be that every lift is monitored, every time. The same theory applies to any application, within reason, where force is applied and information about it can enhance the activity in some way.

As an aside, some feel that the sector is being left behind somewhat, which is hindering ongoing endeavors to promote lifting and engineering more broadly to young people choosing their career paths. Think of the technology and science that impacts a young person’s life these days and then ponder the impression they get of an industry that for the most part carries on like it did 100 years ago. It’s the first question a lot of young engineers ask me: why isn’t this equipment applied more widely?

An endearing quality of the lifting sector is that the same principles apply today that did when the pyramids were built, but it’s about balance. If the percentage split referenced above was close to 50/50, I’d suggest it were on the right path. As it is, it’s going to be like turning a supertanker around.

Small steps are being taken in the right direction. I’ve spoken extensively about my company’s latest product, a 6.5t (14,300 lb.) capacity load cell, that introduces Bluetooth technology to existing and prospective customers still utilising outdated mechanical force measurement products. The reaction of those that remain loyal to traditional equipment has suggested that the industry will reach 6, 7, 8% and so on of loads being monitored.

As the market evolves, data will be as prevalent as it is elsewhere in the world. Every application will be based on metrics already gathered, generate its own figures, and provide information that can be used for future projects. Imagine the breadth of information that would be generated by the below-the-hook sector alone if 90 or 100% of lifts were monitored. Think of the knowledge that is missing from available data, the causation being only applying force measurement technology to a tiny fraction of them.

At the cutting edge of the lifting marketplace, there are an increasing variety of examples of how to harness this technology in the various stages of a project. I always try to reference the functions of those technologies versus the brands as to “know the load” (SP’s recently adopted mantra) is a mindset that should be encouraged across the board. It’s up to us manufacturers to compete for the abundance of market share available as we move towards ubiquitous use of all of our equipment. The important thing is that when a load needs to be lifted, moved, pulled, or towed, it’s as safe as possible.

To demonstrate the variety of technology available, we can look at the benefits of force measurement technology in terms of what it can offer us before, during, and after a lift:

Before

LoadSafe wireless compression load cells and modern day software can combine to verify the centre of gravity and weight of large and heavy objects that may not be evenly proportioned. Imagine the safety advantages gained by lifting a load only to lower it onto compression load cells and capture the data on a laptop at a safe distance. Often, loads don’t weigh what paperwork suggests and when one is midair, it’s too late to do anything about it if the crane’s load limit is exceeded.

During

Other load cells or dynamometers can be used with high-speed, wireless, data-logging software that allows for simultaneous control, display, and real-time logging of up to 100 load cells. This means that even during a lift, the collective force and individual readings from load cells can be fed to a laptop or another device at a safe distance. Given that the data is captured in real time, a lift supervisor can react should any element of the application need attention. In one recent project we explored the lift director was able to signal to the crane operator to take incrementally larger loads until a module was airborne and the load of each pick point was known with confidence.

After

Post-lift analysis is an extremely valuable component of a more data-driven market. Data-logging software can present information about a lift in a spreadsheet that captures every consistent and varying force during a project. Based on those readings, competent professionals can calculate ways to improve the methodology next time or provide concrete evidence that a best practice is working and should be more widely adopted. Such systems can be used in testing as well.

I hope to see a time when we’re not referencing load shackles as being a high tech shackle but when a shackle is expected to have a load cell in it. Who talks about camera phones anymore? I’m increasingly dejected by situations where there’s a dearth of knowledge, particularly around heavy or critical lifts. Huge investment and extensive planning goes into the manufacture, transportation, storage, and delivery of loads, only for certain operations to regress back to the dark ages when it comes to rigging to the crane. Arguably, this is where the whole process is at its most dangerous.