Konecranes applies innovative digital training to mobile harbor crane in Canada

 

LOGISTEC is a multinational company offering water-related infrastructure services based in Montreal, Canada. Partnering with other organizations, including the local government, it helps run harbor facilities at the sheltered, deep water Port of Corner Brook in western Newfoundland. Unusual for a port at such a northern latitude, it is accessible year-round, so it is well-positioned for shipping to and from destinations in North America. To improve efficiency at the port, they decided to invest in a Konecranes Gottwald mobile harbor crane.

The crane was the first Konecranes equipment at the port, so operators and technicians had no prior experience with it and LOGISTEC had requested training as part of their order. Training is normally provided at the customer site or at a Konecranes training center. Unfortunately, the crane was delivered during the COVID-19 pandemic, and constraints on international travel made such training impossible. 

The solution was to provide a remote mobile harbor crane Onboarding course over MS Teams to train LOGISTEC personnel on the basic principles of maintaining the Konecranes Gottwald mobile harbor cranes. Included in the training was a product introduction, mechanical and electrical maintenance instructions and a description of the functional components, along with a possibility to ask questions, do exercises and complete short homework tasks. In addition, a 360° virtual tour gave the trainees visual support for descriptive maintenance procedures, including a knowledge of the physical layout of the crane and the location of all the components, a valuable insight when starting to work on the crane in person.

“At the core of training is safety - personnel who can maintain a crane correctly are doing everything they can to ensure the safety of their colleagues and the cargo their cranes transport,” says Robin Reuter, Port Solutions Trainer, Konecranes. “We should always be able to deliver the essential basic training required, especially when customers have no prior experience of the product.”

“We couldn’t wait for travel restrictions to be lifted to start our training,” says Jeff Schofield, Maintenance Supervisor, LOGISTEC. “Konecranes has produced an excellent remote program to introduce the crane to our technicians, covering the electrics, hydraulics, fault messages, and manuals. I attended the training myself and felt the virtual tour in particular really helped to expand our understanding. In addition, because the training was on schedule, we were quickly able to secure regular business for the new crane.” 

 

Will remote training become the norm?

Throughout its history, Konecranes has led the industry with the latest high-end technology for container handling, including Smart Features, remote monitoring and other software solutions. Now they can add remote training to the list. 

The success of this training shows how Konecranes can apply its expert knowledge to offer the flexibility that customers need. In its dedication to high-quality training, LOGISTEC demonstrates a strong commitment to their personnel and their customers to ensure safety and security throughout their operations. It also makes local maintenance and planning a lot easier.

Although global passenger travel should open up again soon, it can’t be predicted when this will happen. Konecranes is continuously listening to customers like LOGISTEC to find the best methods to improve service and fulfill requirements as situations change. Remote training also has long-term implications, long after the pandemic is in the past. 

“Although it can never fully replace in-person training, today’s technology offers realistic alternatives that can supplement and enrich training programs,” says Deborah Schriegel-Bendik, Training Manager, Konecranes. “This remote solution is just a preview of what is to come as we develop material for virtual training solutions that will play an important role in future training, minimize customer downtime and get their cranes lifting faster.”