Cummins Western Canada is an exclusive distributor and service provider for Cummins Inc., the world’s largest independent manufacturer of diesel engines. Cummins Western Canada maintains a 14-branch network across British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba and western Ontario, serving customers in mining, oil and gas, power generation, agriculture and transportation.
One overworked portable crane
The service technicians of the Cummins Western Canada branch in Lloydminster service customers’ diesel engines in six bays. And until August 2014, they shared one portable jib crane, moving it from bay to bay, to lift 3,100-pound engines from trucks.
That reduced their productivity, Shawn Yuzik, manager of the branch, said. Technicians often had to wait until the crane was available. Then they had to carefully position the portable unit to lift an engine – after removing the truck’s hood.
Needing to improve the shop’s efficiency, Cummins Western Canada contacted Konecranes, which had an established service relationship with the company’s corporate office in Vancouver.
Low headroom solution
Paul Crosty, industrial cranes sales consultant for Konecranes, worked with Shawn Yuzik, manager of the Lloydminster branch, to determine the company’s needs. He was tasked with finding overhead crane solutions that could lift up to 14 feet and operate within the 5,200-square-foot building’s limited floor space and headroom.
“Konecranes worked diligently with us to ensure that we achieved maximum clearance since we occasionally have large oilfield equipment in the facility,” Yuzik said. The solution Konecranes developed: two CXT 3-ton freestanding crane systems, which maximize lift in low headroom environments. One runway runs the length of three bays, including a wash bay, and the second system stands over the middle bay on the other side of the building.
In addition to removing truck engines, cylinder heads and radiators, the cranes load engines onto flatbed trailers for transport and lift the facility’s large parts washer.
Accommodating service
“The new cranes save our mechanics two hours a day, 10 hours a week, greatly improving their efficiency,” Yuzik said. The crane’s precise controls make removing engines from trucks much easier. The installation went smoothly, too, Yuzik said. “Konecranes was very accommodating to our request to do the installation on a weekend when there were no customer vehicles in the building.”
He added, “The crane arrived on time, the installers arrived when they said they would and they were very professional. They started on a Friday and had the whole thing up by Saturday evening, which was fantastic. And they did it all safely.”
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