38
ACT
DECEMBER2014
TECHNOLOGYREPORT
CRANE CAMERAS
John Skelly
s
p
eaks
to themanufacturers
of
crane cameras
to find
out how their technol
ogy
is
imp
rov
ing s
afety
and
p
recis
ion.
operatorswith a second, sometimes first,
look at their pick. The results include
fewer accidents, injuries anddamage to
property.
That’s just the tipof the iceberg, though.
Pl
anting the s
eed
AfterChrisMachut, chief technology
officer ofHoistCam, soldhis small
software company in2010, he andhis
business partner cameupwith the idea
toput cameras onboats. Both avid
boaters, their initial thought processwas
to address blind spots. “TugCam” had
officially launchedwhenChris andhis
partnerwerewalkingdown the street
and saw a tower crane operatormaking a
blindpick.
“Iwent onto the site and
talked to the construction
manager aboutwhere to
I
n2002 theNissan InfinitiQ45 started
a trend amongpassenger vehicles
that in less than20 yearswill become
standard law. TheCameronGulbransen
KidsTransportationSafetyAct of 2007,
named for the two-year-old sonof a
pediatricianwho tragically lost his life
whenhis father accidentallybackedup
the family SUVover him, calls for the
NationalHighwayTransportation Safety
Administration (NHTSA) to issue a final
rule amending theFederalMotorVehicle
Safety Standardon rearviewmirrors by
2018. This amendmentwould essentially
make rear-viewbackup cameras
mandatory for all new vehicles.
Nissan’s pioneering solution toback-
up technologywas so successful it can
be seen inmakes andmodels across the
automobile industry andbeyond. For the
last decade, that same technologyhas
beenmaking itsway toheavymachinery
like forklifts and cranes.
The typical setup is tomount a camera
on thehookblockof a crane and a
monitor in the cab.Oftendone after-
market, the cameraprovides crane
put the camera [on thehookblock] and
he completedmy sentence,” saidMachut.
Thus,HoistCamwas born.
HoistCamdoesn’t have tobemounted
to thehookblockof a crane, though.
“The kicker is the camera is not a
permanentmount, the operators can
put itwherever theywant,” saidMachut.
“Soone spot tohave a spottermight not
necessarilybe the best spot for another.”
Machut is sensitive to the idea that
cameras on cranesmight replace riggers
or other employees and is confident the
product canonlyhelp them.
“Our technology is not to replace
people, it’s toprovide additional
information so that operators can
make better decisions,” he said. “It’s not
eliminating riggers by anymeans, or
spotters or standard safetypractices.
It’s taking technology thatwe all take
for granted, like a back-up
camera in a car, andputting
that concept inheavy
equipment.”
Thesedays there’s a vast
arrayof camera solutions
for everything fromdeep-
seadiving to camping and
skiing. TheGoPro is a
popular example. AGoPro
Hero4Blackmodel runs
about $500 and comes
equippedwith1080p, 120
fps and iswaterproof up
to40meters. They canbe
seenon jobsites aswell.
HoistCam’smost popular camera
is the armoreddomeHC180. They
introduced it atConExpo this year and
it canwithstandup to20Gof shock.
Lights,
camera,
action
s
l
y
ABOVE: The crane operator’s view
of the lift as displayed by the HoistCam
monitor in the cab of his crane.
RIGHT: Riggers install a HoistCam camera
on the hook block of a crane before a lift.
A tower crane operator utilizes a Orlaco
monitor in his cab as he conducts a lift.
