HAN-TEK Automated Crane Enhances Safety at Nuclear-Waste Facility
System uses customized controls to ensure precise positioning of hazardous materials while minimizing risks to workers
(VICTOR, N.Y., July 16, 2004) - HAN-TEK, Inc., has developed an Automated
Crane solution that allows workers at a nuclear-waste processing facility
to safely handle hazardous materials by controlling the crane from outside
the thick walls of a nuclear hot cell.
Vital to the crane system are customized controls that offer a variety
of benefits. A touch screen located outside the hot cell shields workers
from proximity to hazardous materials, and offers easy access for maintenance
and reprogramming. The system allows an operator to program up to 200
preset positions.
The Automated Crane solution also features unusually tight tolerances.
"At HAN-TEK, we pride ourselves on meeting or exceeding our customers'
specifications," says Todd VandeSande, company vice president. "In this
installation, delivering quarter-inch tolerances -- when the project
required half-inch -- will allow our customer to perform its painstaking
work with greater speed, efficiency and - above all - worker safety."
Tight positioning tolerances avoid the time-consuming, trial-and-error
jogging typical of manual crane operation.
In addition, a brake system that secures the crane load whenever power
is interrupted enhances the system's safety profile. Once power is restored,
the operator restarts the system using the remote control panel.
HAN-TEK, Inc., an ISO 9001:2000 registered company, customizes
advanced automation technology to develop and optimize manufacturing-assembly
and product-distribution systems. Founded in 1961, HAN-TEK specializes
in overhead cranes, integrated conveyors, and systems automation and
controls. To learn more about HAN-TEK, call 800-836-0237