Crane Star fleet management system from Manitowoc

Crane Star is new from Manitowoc. The manufacturer claims it as "the most extensive OEM-produced fleet management system in the crane industry." John Bittner, director of global marketing at Manitowoc Crane Care, said the new product will help end users get better productivity and profitability from their cranes.

"CraneStar gives customers up-to-date information on their crane fleet, no matter where they, or their cranes, are in the world," he said.

"It is the most comprehensive system our industry has ever seen and will help end users get more out of their cranes. By monitoring working conditions and locations, customers can plan maintenance and lifting schedules to get maximum efficiency from their operations."

Each crane with CraneStar has a Manitowoc-engineered Telematics Control Unit which monitors major crane functions and provides operational data taken from the proprietary CANbus network or RS232. It also provides information from the load moment indicator.

The information is transmitted to a secure database linked to a web server, allowing the crane owner to access the information online, from any web-enabled computer or handheld device.

CraneStar is unique, Manitowoc said, in that it can transmit data over GSM and satellite networks across countries and regions to maximise coverage. CraneStar also uses a global SIM card to work worldwide.