WIRELESS Remote Control Switch

Wireless remote control switch: Electric hoists safety with Industrial wireless remote controls switch

Electric hoists are an invaluable and essential component to a variety of industries including construction, manufacturing, warehousing, steel production, grain, logging, ship loading, and rail yards.

The reliance on hoists in these industries for loading, unloading, and moving heavy materials will remain for the foreseeable future.

This necessitates a continued focus on maintaining or improving operational safety and having the proper safety protocols in place.

One safety measure that is now widely adopted is the use of a wireless remote control system with a switch to control the electric hoist rather than using pendant or cab controls.

Electric Hoist with Wireless Remote Control

While these systems achieve a variety of process improvement and efficiency outcomes, a major driver of the adoption of remote control technology is the improvement of operator safety.

There are three primary ways that wireless remote control systems accomplish this.

-Minimizing the risk to operators from falling material or dropped loads.
-Reducing the risk of human error.
-Enabling the operator to more easily identify tripping hazards and pinch points.

Wireless electric hoist control minimizes the risk to operators caused by falling material or dropped loads.
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An elevated risk of accidents due to falling materials is present unless the operator has the ability to be positioned at a safe distance from the load.

Reduced line of sight to the load, trip, slip hazards, mechanical failure, and operator competency are additional factors contributing to this risk.

With a wireless remote control switch, the operator is no longer tethered to the pendant and hence electric hoist, giving the flexibility to position themselves out of the danger zone, away from the hoist and its load.

As compared to the field of view when using a fixed pendant, wireless remote control with a switch also offers greater visibility and expanded line of sight to other operations and personnel on the ground.

This enables operators to avoid or alert other members of the work crew to an impending hazard and prevent it from happening.

Electric Hoist with remote control

Wireless controls are equipped to reduce human error.

One of the most important factors to minimize accidents is ensuring the electric hoist equipment is operated by qualified workers.

Having the proper certification and training on the equipment greatly improves the operator’s ability to prevent an accident.

Modern wireless remote controls come equipped with built-in safety features to supplement the operator’s own capability, adding another layer of prevention to the safety plan.

Examples of safety features in standard wireless remote control systems include:

Ergonomic design to prevent inadvertent operations
Easy to access and safe, machine stop switch
Prevention of unexpected motions by using ‘push to operate’ buttons and bars’ or ‘double jog enable’ features
Blocking of illogical combination and applying interlocks and restrictions on certain function combinations
Haptic (vibration)
LED and LCD indications and feedback
RF and Infra-Red Close Start, RF Range limiting, and Infra-Red zoning
Key Interlocks and Supervisory functions
Wireless controls enable the operator to identify tripping hazards.

Wireless controls provide electric hoists operators with free mobility and improved line of sight.

These two factors make it easier for operators to identify potential tripping hazards and pinch points.

Operators can move at their own pace rather than the pace of the crane since they are no longer tethered to it.

Small Electric Hoist with Remote Control

Additionally, operators are no longer restricted by the range of movement of the pendant which gives them the flexibility to position themselves at a better vantage point with an improved line of sight, enabling them to more efficiently plan their movements and reducing the likelihood of tripping, slipping and crush points during the operation of the hoist.

Businesses and operators have adopted a wide variety of safety measures to keep hoist operators safe and preserve the essential use of cranes in these industries.

The use of wireless controls adds another layer of protection and will continue to be used by crane operators for many years to follow.