Monorails: Moving Material Handling Industry Along
A recent article in MHI Solutions magazine highlighted the role of the Monorail Manufacturers Association (MMA) in developing safety standards for both monorails and workstation cranes. The nine-member group may be small, but it’s also highly productive.
Over the last two years, the MMA has worked to update two ANSI standards, one related to patented tracks and another for enclosed tracks.
“It’s quite a process to get them revised,” said Lee Bailey, P.E., president of MMA and manager, manufacturing integration and engineering with MHI member Schmalz, Inc. That meant putting the ANSI standards, MH 27.1 and MH 27.2, into new formats and addressing technological changes that have occurred since the last revisions nearly a decade ago.
“While not a lot has changed with cranes, you have to consider new methods and new materials because we want to make sure it is an inclusive document, that it includes everyone who is manufacturing these products,” Bailey said. “We are trying to make sure what is done is done safely.”
Updated Standards to Include Aluminum Monorails
That means accounting for aluminum monorails, a relatively new innovation for the industry given MMA’s long history, which has been around for 90 years. “On the horizon are other materials that could potentially be used,” Bailey said. Lighter weights make the cranes more ergonomic and can move with less effort on the operator, hence the push to lighten up. “But we want to ensure that a crane made of aluminum meets the safety standards.”
Jeff Brazwell, vice president of MMA and president and CEO of MHI member PtP Spanco, Inc., said European facilities utilize aluminum cranes more widely. Spanco offers an aluminum product there. “We’ve tried in the U.S. It’s not what the market wants,” he said.
While aluminum is a lighter material, the weaker metal requires shorter distances between support materials. “American factories like to go with more robust materials,” Brazwell said.
While aluminum may not be a growing material in U.S. factories, the ANSI standards will make sure that any used meet the stringent safety expectations. With the ANSI drafts submitted, the committee will turn its attention to what’s next, Bailey said.
“Anybody can suggest whatever we want to take on next,” Bailey said. “I’m sure different aspects of ergonomics and best practices will come up in that discussion. We will decide which projects we want to take on that will be beneficial to users of cranes.”
MMA Promotes Benefits of Monorails
One continuing MMA program: promotion of the benefits of monorails in a warehouse. “It provides a means to be able to lift an item from one area, transport it to another area, to set it back down or on a pallet or help pick up a part to load it into the machine,” Bailey said. “The goal of it is to help take the load off the operator. There are many different devices that can hang below a crane to lift the load, the chain hoists, vacuum lifters, servo hoists, those are all things that hang below a crane that none of those systems by themselves can perform the task without a workstation crane.”
Last year, MMA joined the Hoist Manufacturers Institute and the Crane Manufacturers Association of America Inc. in forming the Overhead Alliance, which markets the three organizations.
While monorails are somewhat “forgotten,” they do have an important role in the warehouse, Brazwell said. He believes “trends in general do favor our types of products.”
That includes nearshoring or reshoring factories. “As more work moves closer, there is a demand for lighter capacity cranes,” Brazwell said. “Most of our member companies start at two tons capacity. That is an area that is growing and should continue to grow as we see reshoring of factories.”
Motorized Workstation Cranes Trending
Brazwell also sees a growing interest in motorization for workstation cranes. “Although easily moved on their own with a very low rolling resistance, motorization is safer and easier for the workers. As we have an aging workforce, that becomes more and more important.”
With safety at the forefront of its goals, MMA works to promote an understanding of monorails, ensuring that they are a product of choice when warranted, and that purchasers understand the safety benefits. “They’re not the right solution for every application,” Brazwell said. “It is the most economical way to move certain types of products around.”
Promoting its slice of the industry and safe use of products remains the goal of MMA, both Bailey and Brazwell said. “The products from any of our member companies are safe,” Brazwell said. “It comes down to installation and application. That goes back to the standards that we’re writing, to ensure proper application and installation.”
It’s a story that MMA has been telling for nearly a century, helping others understand the benefits of their products and ensuring that manufacturers create those products with safety at the forefront.
To learn more about MMA, visit mhi.org/mma.
