Crane and Lifting
Equipment Telematics
A crane monitoring system that reads the load moment indicator, load cells, wind, and angle sensors already on your tower, mobile, and overhead cranes, logs every lift and overload event with a timestamp, and ties each cycle to the operator who ran it. The data feeds duty-cycle records, predictive maintenance, and a compliance audit trail you can hand to an inspector.
THE CHALLENGEThe Crane Already Knows. You Cannot See It.
A modern crane is full of safety instrumentation. The LMI computes load moment from boom angle and load cell readings, an anemometer watches the wind, an inclinometer tracks slew and level, and the PLC trips the cut-out when a limit is reached. The problem is that all of this lives on the machine and disappears the moment the shift ends. When an overload trip happens, nobody can prove whether it was a genuine event or an operator overriding the cut-out. Duty cycles that drive gearbox and rope wear go unrecorded, so maintenance runs on a calendar instead of actual work done. The telematics layer taps the existing CAN/J1939 and Modbus links to the crane PLC, captures load, moment, wind, and angle in real time, stamps every event, and pushes it off the machine so the data outlives the shift.
One layer of the full Telematics and GPS Tracking platform, working closely with Remote Equipment and Machine Monitoring.
WHAT'S INCLUDED
A Telematics Layer Over Your Crane Safety System
Load and Moment Capture
The LMI load moment indicator and the load cells or strain gauges are read over CAN/J1939 or Modbus, sampling lifted weight, boom angle, radius, and computed moment. An STM32 host running FreeRTOS timestamps each sample so a lift can be reconstructed from pick to set-down.
Overload and Over-Moment Event Logging
When the load or moment crosses a limit, the event is captured with a UTC timestamp, the value at trip, wind speed, and the active operator ID. The record is written before it can be cleared on the machine, so an override or near-miss leaves an audit trail that cannot be wiped at end of shift.
Wind and Stability Monitoring
The anemometer wind speed and the inclinometer angle are logged continuously. When gusts approach the crane out-of-service limit or the chassis goes out of level, the platform raises an alert and tags the lifts that ran in those conditions for review.
Operator Identification
An RFID reader at the cab requires the operator to badge in before the crane is enabled. Every lift, overload trip, and duty hour is then attributed to a named, certified operator, which makes the compliance record meaningful rather than anonymous.
Duty-Cycle and Lift-Count Logging
Lifts are counted, tonne-hours summed, and time in each load band tracked per crane. This is the real duty record that gearbox, brake, and wire-rope wear depend on, and it replaces guesswork about how hard a given machine has actually worked.
Position and Connectivity Hardware
For mobile cranes, u-blox GNSS provides position and a Quectel EC200 modem on Cat-M1 lets the unit report from sites with thin coverage. Telemetry streams over MQTT with TLS, and the enclosure is sealed to IP67 for an outdoor cab or gantry mount.
WHAT YOU GET
Proof of Safe Operation, Not a Memory of It
The crane monitoring system turns sensor data into the three things a lifting operation actually needs: a defensible safety record, a maintenance plan based on real work, and accountability for every lift.
A Compliance Audit Trail
Every overload trip, wind exclusion, and operator login is logged with a timestamp you cannot edit on the machine. When an inspector or insurer asks what happened, you produce the record instead of an account from memory.
Maintenance From Actual Duty
Service intervals follow tonne-hours and lift counts per crane, not the calendar. A machine that worked hard gets attention sooner, and a lightly used one does not get torn down before it needs to.
Accountability Per Lift
Because RFID ties each lift to a named operator, you can see who ran an overload, who works inside limits, and where retraining pays off, across tower, mobile, and overhead fleets.
HOW IT WORKS
From PLC Bus to Signed Event Record
Read the Crane
The STM32 unit listens on the CAN/J1939 and Modbus links to the crane PLC and LMI, decoding load, moment, boom angle, wind, and level. Where a signal is not on the bus, a dedicated load cell or inclinometer channel fills the gap.
Detect and Stamp Events
FreeRTOS tasks run the limit checks locally, so an overload, over-moment, or wind exclusion is detected and written with a UTC timestamp and operator ID even if the network is down. Events are buffered in flash until they are confirmed sent.
Report and Build the Record
Telemetry and events publish over MQTT with TLS via the Cat-M1 modem. The backend assembles the duty-cycle log, the safety audit trail, and the predictive maintenance view per crane and per operator.
ENGINEERING DETAIL
Built to Read the Crane Without Touching Safety Functions
Listen, Do Not Interfere
The connection to the CAN/J1939 and Modbus links is read mode only, so the telematics unit never sits in the path of the LMI cut-out or the PLC trip logic. The safety system keeps full authority, and the hardware cannot stall or override a limit.
Calibrated Load Sensing
Where a dedicated measurement is added, load cells and strain gauges with a known calibration curve and temperature compensation are used, so the logged tonnage matches the crane chart rather than drifting with the weather.
Events Survive Lost Coverage
Tower and mobile cranes work in steel canyons and remote sites. Events are stamped and stored in flash on the STM32 first, then sent over Cat-M1 when a link returns, so an overload at a dead spot is never lost.
Open Integration
Duty data and events push to your fleet, maintenance, or EHS system through REST APIs and webhooks, so lift counts feed service planning and overload records feed incident reporting without manual re-entry.
FAQ
Common Questions
Does this replace your LMI or safety cut-out?
No. The LMI load moment indicator and the PLC cut-out keep full authority over the crane. The unit connects to the CAN/J1939 and Modbus links in read mode only, capturing load, moment, wind, and angle without ever sitting in the path of a safety trip. The telematics layer records what the safety system does, it does not make safety decisions.
How is an overload captured if the operator clears it on the machine?
The event is written the instant the load or moment crosses a limit, with a UTC timestamp, the value at trip, wind speed, and the operator ID. It is stored in flash on the STM32 and pushed off the crane over MQTT before it can be cleared in the cab, so an override or near-miss leaves a permanent record.
Can this fit mixed tower, mobile, and overhead cranes?
Yes. Where a crane exposes load, moment, and angle on a CAN/J1939 or Modbus bus, the data is decoded directly. For older machines, dedicated load cell, strain gauge, inclinometer, and anemometer channels are added, so tower, mobile, and overhead or gantry cranes report into one platform.
How does the operator identification work?
An RFID reader at the cab requires the operator to badge in before the crane is enabled. From that point every lift, overload trip, and duty hour is attributed to that named operator, which is what turns the safety log into an accountable compliance record.
What does predictive maintenance use from this data?
Lift counts, tonne-hours, and time spent in each load band are logged per crane. Gearbox, brake, and wire-rope wear track actual duty rather than the calendar, so service is scheduled when a machine has done the work that warrants it instead of on a fixed interval.
What happens to events when there is no cellular coverage?
Limit checks run locally under FreeRTOS, so overloads, over-moment trips, and wind exclusions are detected and timestamped on the STM32 with no network needed. Events buffer in flash and send over Cat-M1 once a link returns, so a trip at a dead spot on site is never lost.
Ready to Get the Data Off Your Cranes?
Share your crane types, the LMI and PLC you run, and what your inspectors and insurers ask for, to see how a crane monitoring system captures load, overload events, and duty cycles into one audit trail.
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