June 26, 2008

Hook camera has crane operators smiling

Photos courtesy of Garner Construction [enlarge]

Garner Construction’s Tyke Melhart used a HookCam to place scaffolding on the hidden-from-view south side of an Opus Northwest condo tower under construction near Pike Place Market.

OPERATING A tower crane can be tough work.

Seated in small cabins that are sometimes hundreds of feet above the ground, operators must maneuver their hooks along the jibs, or horizontal arms, of their T-shaped cranes, dropping them to hoist loads of up to 20 tons or more while fighting wind, fatigue and, often, obstructed views.

Missteps can inflict costly damage or even fatalities.

Buck Robinson, a tower crane operator with three decades of experience, estimates he spends 40 percent of his time “in the blind” — with his hook outside of visual range. To compensate, he remains in contact with riggers on the ground, who help him guide the hook to its destination. The riggers aren't always native English speakers, though, and miscommunications add to the stress of the job.

“The minute the load is off the ground, I've ‘bought' it,” Robinson said. If anything goes wrong after that, such as a load coming loose, he's the one held responsible.

A suburban Honolulu company has invented a camera system to make Robinson's job a bit easier.

The HookCam, developed by Pacific Systems Solutions, is exactly what it sounds like: A camera that gives crane operators a hook's-eye view of the job site.

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The camera piggybacks onto a crane’s hook system.

The outdoor camera is installed within the cheekplates of the hook block, and transmits video to a monitor in the cab.

With the monitor in place, operators can position their hooks more quickly and precisely, with fewer view obstructions and less communication with workers on the ground.

Chris Catanzaro, operations manager for Pacific Systems Solutions, said the company began developing the device in 2002 after talking informally with Morrow Equipment Co., a Salem, Ore., tower crane distributor and operator.

Morrow helped field test the HookCam, for which PSS filed a patent in 2006. Morrow company officials knowledgeable about the HookCam were unavailable for comment.

Catanzaro said the system was developed from scratch. Other systems use security cameras mounted to a fixed position on the jib, which require crane operators to use controls to pan and focus.

“The problem is that you're operating the camera instead of the crane,” Catanzaro said. The HookCam doesn't require operators to adjust the camera, he said, because it's always in position.

The company can also provide additional cameras for the trolley, which carries the hook along the jib, or for providing rear views, which are useful for keeping tabs on other nearby cranes.

Seattle firm Garner Construction, the sole distributor for PSS, installed one of the first commercial HookCams on a crane at Trammell Crow Residential's Alexan Green Lake project, on the site of the former Albertsons store on Green Lake Way.

Ross Fleming, Garner's HookCam specialist, said the device takes about two hours to install if the crane is being erected (longer if it's already been set up), and requires no permanent modifications to the crane.

While operators don't require a significant amount of training, they do need to learn the device's limitations, he said. The HookCam monitor doesn't offer a 3-D view, for example, and operators must learn to judge the depth of the images.

The cameras themselves are durable, Fleming said, but they're designed to be protected by the hook structure.

A monthly lease for the device is $1,295, but the price depends on variables such as the location of the site, Fleming said.

The HookCam will be marketed primarily in the Northwest at first. If it does well, the company has plans to make improvements to the product and roll it out nationally, Catanzaro said.

PSS commissioned a study of the device's effectiveness — four cranes equipped with the HookCam were tested over six months — and determined it can shave off 27 percent of “pick time” in open space, and save even more time — 39 percent — when the operators' views are otherwise obstructed.

Fleming said testing has even revealed unforeseen advantages, such as less time spent choosing a Dumpster.

“The operator knows how full the Dumpster is,” Fleming said. “He doesn't waste time dropping loads into a Dumpster if it's full.”

Response to the HookCam has been positive so far, he said, particularly from safety and equipment people. Still, the extra cost can be an obstacle, especially if a project has started.

“Once the project is under way, the budget is more fixed than when it's still being bid,” he said. To entice new customers, Garner is offering a “risk free” satisfaction guarantee.

Fleming predicted that as more people gain experience using HookCams, operators and corporate safety directors will increasingly insist on its use. The cost of an accident, he pointed out, far outweighs the cost of leasing the device.

“Hopefully, (using the HookCam) will result in lower experience factors for people and lower workers' comp,” he said.

Robinson, who works for Garner, has been using the HookCam for just three weeks.

“If they took mine away, I would just about quit my job,” he said. “When I can see exactly where my load is, where it's going, the electrical or human factors, it makes life a whole lot easier.”

Previous columns:

• Lumber company helps builders construct homes, 06-19-2008
• State grapples with construction-related deaths, 06-12-2008
• Generals must act quickly when trust funds file liens, 06-05-2008
• Finding flaws without tearing through walls, 05-29-2008
• Union contest highlights apprentices' skills, 05-22-2008
• Carpet takes on a different shade of green, 05-15-2008
• SPU has a plan to stop Madison Valley floods, 05-08-2008
• Contractors work to bridge the generation gap, 05-01-2008