17 Sep

Semco Invests in Another Overhead Crane

Last month, we wrote about the installation of a new 2000 lbs Gorbel overhead crane in our lathe department work space. We are excited to share that we have made a similar investment in an overhead crane, or bridge crane, to transport graphite blocks to our milling machines.

Concurrently, Semco is investing in OSHA certification for employees who will operate the crane. This overhead crane is 32 ft wide by 50 ft long and, when installed, will be used to transport heavy graphite material to five of our milling machines. This new set-up in our milling department will make loading and unloading of parts and fixtures much safer and easier for our shop floor employees. Just like the crane in our lathe department, this new overhead crane will have a 2 ton capacity.

Picture of Semco Carbon and Graphite Manufacturing's New Crane

Milling Machines Made More Efficient

The material handling tasks involved in moving graphite blocks, heavy components, and substantial tools around the shop floor can be heavy, dangerous work.

There are many types of devices, vehicles, and and large capacity overhead crane systems (gantry cranes, jib cranes, and bridge cranes, just to name a few) that can streamline the process of moving these elements throughout our work area.

The new overhead crane servicing our milling machines will make moving these objects through the milling department much more efficient and safe.

Operating this type of crane can be complicated and does require training. This is why Semco invests so much in employee training and education.

This investment in our employees is a great complement to our investment in this new, impressive machinery.

Overhead Cranes and Safety

Semco’s top priority is the safety of our employees and this new overhead crane serving our milling machines demonstrates again our commitment to providing a secure workplace for our employees throughout the manufacturing process.

As we previously explained, the crane significantly reduces the risk of accidents and injuries by lifting heavy loads and eliminating manual handling, thus ensuring that our team can work with peace of mind and confidence, and without sore backs.

OSHA Certification

Keeping with our focus on safety, we are requiring that all employees who operate the new overhead crane that services our milling machines are OSHA certified. OSHA, or Occupational Safety and Health Administration, is a US Government agency under the Department of Labor. OSHA runs training classes all over the country for people in both the public and private sectors.

OSHA’s website describes its certificate program in the following terms: “OSHA's Safety and Health Fundamentals Certificate program support's OSHA's mission by training public and private sector employees in occupational safety and health to reduce incident rates for workers. Participants have the opportunity to earn certificates for Construction, Maritime, and General Industry training. Participants can choose from a variety of topics such as occupational safety and health standards, safety and health management, incident investigation, fall hazard awareness, and recordkeeping.”

To become OSHA certified, our shop floor employees will complete the certificate program in the area of safety and health. Semco will make all arrangements for our employees to complete this training. Our goal is to have our shop floor run and operated by well-informed and conscientious employees who always have safety in mind.

While an overhead crane is an incredibly useful tool in a milling department, it can be dangerous if handled or operated carelessly or without proper training. Only when our milling department employees are trained on operating the new overhead crane and become OSHA certified will the new crane be put into operation.

A New Investment in Future Enhancements

Semco is excited about this new investment, and we look forward to the improvement in service to our customers that this new overhead crane will facilitate.