Materials handling and port solutions (MHPS) company Terex has employed an internationally patented high-precision laser measuring system (LMS) to conduct thorough surveys on its crane runways.

The crane runways require continued inspection in order to avoid unscheduled downtime, fatal incidents and damage owing to the daily loading and handling of heavy objects.

The LMS survey is conducted in a vibration, turbulence and interruption-free environment by trained personnel using automatic alignment lasers, a self-propelled trolley and a laser distance metre. The laser distance metre includes a positive centring arrangement for rails, a laptop with a radio modem and control evaluation software.

The laser emits a horizontal visible laser beam while a remote-controlled rail car is directed to the measuring points.

At each measuring point, the horizontal and vertical deviation and rail gradient are measured regularly and Terex MHPS evaluates the quality of the crane runway and geometry, parallelism of travel wheels and guide rollers for deformation.

The LMS also has the capacity to complete evaluations and surveys of storage and retrieval machines, ground rails and high-bay racking.

When the survey is completed, the results are verified on a computer before the measurement data is printed.

“The survey results are immediately available on the laptop and include reports in graphical and table form for easy interpretation,” says Terex MHPS product manager Richard Roughley.

Runways are used for cranes, storage and retrieval machines to ensure quick and easy transportation of goods and material from one point to another. The condition of a crane runway and the crane geometry have decisive influence on the service life of crane components.

“Smooth travel motions can only be ensured by a perfectly aligned crane runway and crane geometry which prevents premature wear and tear of the travel wheels and sudden changes in travel speeds as well as unexpected load sway,” adds Roughley.

Meanwhile, industrial cranes and crane components provider Demag Cranes and Components as well as Terex Port Solutions merged to form Terex (MHPS) as of July 2015. The merger was part of a global integration and business legal entity simplification process within its parent company, the Terex Group.

The restructuring and rebranding has resulted in a company that offers intermodal handling solutions that comprise ship, road and rail transportation. The company also manufactures in 16 countries on five continents and operates a sales and service network in more than 60 countries.