Heavy traffic

Just 7 km west of the centre of Paris on the banks of the river Seine, the former Renault factory, has been derelict for over 15 years.

Now a 37.5 ha area at the Rives de Billancourt will be developed with residential, commercial, retail, entertainment and other public centres. At the heart will be a 7 ha park. Also part of the development is the 11.5 ha Ile Seguin, the site of the original Renault plant.

Engineering consultant CICAD requested that all cranes be fitted with SMIE anti-collision and zoning systems to ensure compatibility.

To meet requirements, SMIE had to upgrade the software on its AC243 systems to increase wireless integration from nine to 14 cranes on a single network. Even then, says the company, such is the density of cranes that will eventually be on site, two or more networks will be required. This, inevitably, means that some cranes will have dual installations because they work across different networks.

Key features of the AC243 are: a function that prevents over-sailing of critical zones and static obstacles, such as high-voltage lines, railway tracks, public highways, etc.

It also includes an anti-collision system detecting dynamic obstacles, such as crane hoist cables, jibs, counter-jibs or masts and an inter-crane communication system, using cabled connections for up to 30 cranes, or a wireless connection for up to nine cranes.