SIMOCRANE CMS product overview, example of a harbor crane system

The product overview describes the implementation of SIMOCRANE CMS (Crane Management System) and its scalability based on the example of a harbor crane system. The application fields range from the control center/control room (Ethernet/WLAN) through loading and unloading in the harbor area right up to the maintenance station with remote access options.

1. CMS station in the electrical room of a stacking crane for maintenance technicians

2. Remote access or remote control of stacking cranes in the stacking area of a container terminal

3. CMS station in the electrical room of a ship‑to‑shore crane for maintenance technicians and in the cabin for the crane driver

4. Remote access to ship‑to‑shore cranes in the plant area (quay) of a container terminal

5. Remote access and remote control from the maintenance building for maintenance technicians and crane drivers

6. Central administration building with system administration, data archiving and evaluation

7. Remote access is possible by specialists over the Internet, remote crane access over Internet connection to CMS or RCMS

The SIMOCRANE CMS crane management system is a PC‑based visualization application (SCADA) for crane drivers, maintenance personnel, and terminal operators.

It provides the following main functions:

• Graphical visualization of the crane system
• Alarm/event reporting system and support for diagnostics
• Recording measured values for various operating parameters
• Recording and analysis of cargo handling data
• Recording and evaluation of operating hours and counters
  • Web‑based report function
• Replay function (playback function)

SIMOCRANE CMS is a graphics‑based, user‑oriented system that supports users in a simple manner during operation as well with troubleshooting and rectification of faults.

By using SIMOCRANE CMS, the downtimes for a crane are shortened and the availability of cranes or the complete terminal is optimized. SIMOCRANE CMS provides the crane operator with important data for analysis. Critical states are signaled to the crane driver preemptively to prevent damage.

The system architecture is based on market standards and thus offers the facility for integrating into existing IT and automation landscapes. The SCADA package from Siemens, SIMATIC WinCC, is used as a development and RT platform for SIMOCRANE CMS.

WinCC has a number of available communication channels for connecting to automation systems of different manufacturers. The connection to higher‑level logistics systems (such as TOS) is also possible thanks to the openness of the system.