The strength to weight ratio of force measurement, load monitoring and suspended weighing load cell equipment is particularly important when there is a requirement to transport products by air, as a Western Australia-based end user explained.
Allplant Inspections uses a 12t wireless load cell to load test a Pinjarra Crane & Access Hire Liebherr LTM1100.
Allplant Inspections uses a 12t wireless load cell to load test a Pinjarra Crane & Access Hire Liebherr LTM1100.
Allplant Inspections uses load cells to complete annual and other inspections on mobile cranes, often located at mines across the sprawling Golden State that covers almost a million square miles. Covering such distance would be impossible without air travel, where weight has to be kept to a minimum. Allplant has five load cells in its inventory, including a 25t and two 12t Radiolink plus units from Straightpoint, which can be employed close to the coastal, Silver Sands company headquarters or over 2,000 miles away in a remote mining town, which are commonplace in the state’s northern region. Allplant is also a regular visitor to numerous construction sites in the geography. Mitchell White, classified plant inspector, said: “The Straightpoint load cells’ light weight, accuracy and ability to remain in calibration are standout features. The low weight is hugely advantageous given how frequently they have to be transported by plane. We have five load cells in total but the non-Straightpoint products rarely see the light of day.” David Ayling, director at Straightpoint, said: “Mitchell is among an ever-growing number of lifting and rigging professionals who have highlighted our products’ suitability for air transportation. Fittingly, the Radiolink plus is manufactured from high-quality aircraft grade aluminium. The oil and gas industry has pioneered its use, given the requirement of the sector to travel to rigs and other offshore locations by helicopter, where every gram counts.” Once offshore, on a mining site, or in another demanding industrial environment, safety and performance are paramount. The Radiolink plus’s advanced internal design structure allows the use of a separate internal sealed enclosure providing the load cell’s electronic components with IP67 environmental protection even with the battery cover plate missing, making it suitable for use in the harshest environments.
Allplant Inspections uses a 12t wireless load cell to load test a Tadano GR-800 at a gas plant construction site.
Allplant Inspections uses a 12t wireless load cell to load test a Tadano GR-800 at a gas plant construction site.
Allplant uses the Radiolink plus load cells, including its newest 12t wireless version, on a variety of mobile cranes ranging in capacity up to 1,250t. It also inspects pressure vessels, elevated platforms, hoists, concrete boom pumps, telehandlers and other plant equipment. White said: “We use the load cells for different work, including full boom capacity tests to 100% WLL [working load limit] of the crane and also line pull tests to 100% WLL winch capacity. Such load tests need to be accurate and most sites do not have known test weights so a load cell is critical. The newest 12t load cell is the only wireless one we have and it has already proved its worth in a number of applications.” Allplant has employed the 12t load cell and Wireless Handheld plus to test the load indicators on two mobile cranes recently. It was called to a large gas plant construction site to complete inspection of a Tadano GR-800 rough-terrain crane, which was one of over 250 cranes in the user’s fleet. Meanwhile, local rental firm Pinjarra Crane & Access Hire required similar tests on a Liebherr LTM1100 mobile at its depot in Pinjarra. The Radiolink plus comes as standard with a flight carry storage case up to 35t (77,000 lbs.) and a shipping crate for larger capacities.