Depending on the types of vehicles currently used in a facility, deploying cranes, hoists and monorails can greatly reduce an operation’s environmental impact while simultaneously enhancing overall throughput and performance. A recently released video produced by MHI’s Overhead Alliance (which includes the Crane Manufacturers Association of America (CMAA), the Hoist Manufacturers Institute (HMI), and the Monorail Manufacturers Association (MMA)) explores the many ways overhead handling technologies can support sustainability initiatives while enhancing the bottom line.

The video, entitled “Overhead Lifting Environment & Technology,” first explores how adding overhead solutions can reduce the emissions and air pollution produced by fossil-fuel powered lifting vehicles. For operations with dedicated battery charging and maintenance space, overhead technologies can introduce greater space savings by allowing that area to be otherwise utilized. Replacing these floor-based lifting technologies with overhead handling systems also eliminates possible leaks contaminants from the workplace.

Overhead equipment also enables an operation to better utilize available space because the systems enable higher lifting elevations. This allows for more optimized use of the facility’s cubic volume without need for expansion of the existing footprint to store or handle more products.

Finally, the latest overhead lifting technologies incorporate advanced motor control, ergonomic handling, and data outputs that can be utilized to improve performance, safety and efficiency within an operation. With far fewer moving parts and components than ground-based material handling equipment, overhead systems can be less challenging to operate and maintain, further increasing efficiency.

Looking for more advantages to be gained from implementing overhead handling technologies in your facility? The Overhead Alliance details 13 different ways these lifting solutions benefit manufacturing and distribution operations in the free publication, “Expand Your Possibilities. Discover the Potential. Choose Overhead Lifting.”