Case study: Implementation of a positioning system for overhead cranes and personnel in a workshop
Customer's task
A large machine-building plant operates several overhead cranes in one production workshop. Because of the intense pace of work and the operators' limited visibility, there was a risk of personnel being in the crane movement zone. The customer needed to:
- ensure the safety of personnel in the crane operating area;
- create a digital twin of the workshop with accurate visualization of equipment and personnel movements;
- collect and analyze the history of movements and potentially hazardous events;
- use a solution with high-accuracy real-time positioning.
Project goals
Improved safety
Eliminate cases of employees being in the danger zones of crane movement.
A digital twin
Display the movements of equipment and personnel in real time on an interactive 3D/2D map of the workshop.
High-precision positioning
Determine object coordinates with an accuracy of 10–30 cm.
Analytics and reporting
Collect detailed statistics on movements and events to optimize production processes.
RealTrac solution
The project used a positioning system based on UWB technology.
PROD TAG 210
Personal tags for employees, worn on a helmet, belt or work clothing.
PROD VTAG 210
Vehicle tags installed on the overhead cranes.
PROD POINT 520
Fixed access points that form the UWB positioning network.
RealTrac Software
Movement display, zone setup, statistics collection and creation of the digital twin.
How it works
- Personnel are equipped with PROD TAG 210 tags, and cranes with PROD VTAG 210 tags.
- PROD POINT 520 access points receive signals from the tags and calculate object coordinates with an accuracy of 10–30 cm.
- The digital twin of the workshop in RealTrac shows the current location of every employee and crane.
- When a worker enters the danger zone under a crane, the system gives a sound and light signal to the operator and the worker.
- All events are recorded for later analysis and reporting.
Implementation results
- A digital twin of the plant with an accurate map of equipment and personnel movements;
- zero incidents of people entering the danger zone since the system was launched;
- process transparency: control of personnel movements, analysis of the zones where people are and of work completion times;
- integration options with access control systems and ERP/SCADA.
In addition
The system scales easily to other workshops and production sites. It can be integrated with a vehicle collision avoidance module and with personnel working time control.