Wolverine Lauds R&M OLI App

R&M Materials Handling Inc.’s Overhead Lifting Information (OLI) app is being increasingly used to monitor hoists in industry, as Wolverine Crane & Service recently proved.

With the app, it is possible to create reports and collect valuable usage information from the ground, without the need to stop production to access R&M’s HoistMonitor data. The OLI app connects via a wireless electronic key plugged into the HoistMonitor device, allowing anyone in proximity of the monitor to pull raw data and reports.

Wolverine installed OLI in December 2019, and a service manager noted that the format simplified the technical terms of the components and percentages that calculates the Designed Working Period (DWP) of the hoist.

“This takes a hundred parameters of information and shows us the critical and important items to monitor,” he said.

For his customers, easy access to hoist data means that they don’t have to wait for the service team to come out for their periodic inspections to assess hoist performance.

Without OLI, facility managers would have to shut down crane operations and physically open the panel on the hoist to get the data from the HoistMonitor. Now, they don’t have to sacrifice productive time to see important data like the number of starts or the average weight of the loads lifted.

For Wolverine’s customers, who are concerned about the usage, the service team can get a snapshot and share it with them. Service technicians can help immediately relay data findings to facility managers. That data has always been available for the managers, but now it’s no longer hidden or difficult to access.

Not only does OLI give real-time information about what’s occurring with a hoist, it keeps a data log for the entire lifecycle of the hoist. Whether it’s for preventative maintenance or investigating a part failure, service technicians can easily pull up the hoist’s data from the floor to show the customer exactly what happened.

“We call it data forensics,” said the service manager. “We can identify the DWP of each component in a preventative maintenance sense. The information is downloadable, and its format helps us connect the dots between over-usage, misuse or regular use.”

The Overhead Lifting Information (OLI) app is R&M Materials Handling’s latest innovation that places real-time data from the HoistMonitor into the palm of your hand. The app connects wirelessly and is available for both iOS and Android devices.

In that way, this type of data reporting helps facility managers keep safety, efficiency and best practices at the forefront of their daily operations.

The ease of use benefits Wolverine’s service technicians, but it also creates a level playing field for everyone to understand the data: maintenance team leaders, facility managers, pendant and radio controllers can immediately know the hoist loads and key conditions.

“It’s a case of a picture being worth a thousand words,” the service manager added. “It gives real-time information about what’s occurring with that crane, and what happened in the past. Whether we’re there for preventative maintenance or because a part broke down, we can get into the HoistMonitor from the floor to show them exactly what happened.”

• Contact R&M online or at 800-955-9967.