Manitowoc Crane Care is about meeting customer needs. The harnessing of new technology is one way Manitowoc can send its market-leading training on the road.
Since launching in 2015, Manitowoc’s Crane Control System (CCS) has become one of the best-loved features on Potain’s MDT topless cranes. It simplifies control and monitors crane performance, but it’s essential that customers and dealers have the correct training to maximize its benefits.
Manitowoc’s Center of Excellence for CCS on Potain cranes resides with the Manitowoc Crane Care team in Saint-Pierre-de- Chandieu, France. Since the launch of the technology, steady streams of customers and dealers have visited the French center to undertake training.
Manitowoc also recognized that while demand was strong for training, not everyone had the time or resources to travel to France. So the company needed an innovative option for localized training at customer facilities.
Orlando Mota, VP for sales and aftermarket (tower cranes) in Europe and Africa, explained the motivation for coming up with a new solution.
“If people can’t come to us, then we want to go to them,” he said. “For us, Manitowoc Crane Care is about doing whatever it takes, and making our CCS training more accessible is a great example.”
Launching a mobile training function for CCS presented two immediate challenges. First, not every location would have a CCS-equipped crane available for training. And second, a lack of space and resources meant a portable yet comprehensive system was needed. With these issues in mind, Crane Care developed what it calls the Portable Training Bench, a hi-tech training simulator that incorporates the operation, maintenance and repair functions of CCS.
“The Portable Training Bench replicates CCS and allows us to demonstrate all manner of working scenarios,” explained Mota. “It gives customers and dealers better understanding of the system so they can maximize their efficiency with the crane and resolve any issues that could cause downtime.”
Training for CCS, both at the Crane Care center in France and through the Portable Training Bench, incorporates CraneSTAR Diag, Potain’s unique remote diagnostics tool. Using CraneSTAR Diag enables the faster identification of potential issues, as well as the better understanding of necessary repairs. Training is also offered in a variety of languages. At the Saint-Pierre-de-Chandieu center in France, courses are available in English and French, while in the wider market, German, Russian, Portuguese and Spanish languages are offered, with selected others offered too.
“The Portable Training Bench is about more than just the technology,” Mota said. “We conduct training on site with customers, in their local language and with local expertise wherever we can. No other company offers this kind of tailored service and depth of expertise. It’s just one of the many reasons that Potain remains the world’s most popular tower crane brand.”