While AI is set to disrupt business sectors in a variety of ways and to different degrees, it is unlikely to cause disruptions within the lifting-equipment industry, crane and hoist manufacturer Condra assures.

AI is more likely to change the processes and workflows at customer installations – and, over time, potentially the methodology of manufacture where the crane is installed – than the equipment itself or the lifting industry in its entirety.

“People are talking about AI as a change agent equal to the industrial revolution, and maybe that is so. But when something heavy needs lifting, AI is not going to change the fact that you will still need a machine to do that,” says Condra MD Marc Kleiner.

“AI has been around for years, with a presence established throughout commerce and industry long before the headline- grabbing advancement of today’s large-language machine learning models.”

He points out that motion control sensors, frequency drives and vibration monitoring pods have long been a part of crane safety, efficiency and reliability.

While all these components make use of AI, skilled technicians are still required to fit them, or replace the part predicted to fail.

“There is not suddenly going to be some kind of magic wand that will get the installation to do that.”

He also dismisses the possibility of the industry progressing to fully operator-free cranes, in a manner similar to that of driverless cars, as even if a crane could position itself correctly, there will still be a need for an operator to attach the hooks or change the bottom block to a grab to enable the crane to carry out the designated lift.

“AI will change the way things are manufactured, but not the application of a crane to lift the part that needs to be moved.”

The most likely change to emerge will be crane automation within processes involving repetitive lifting and positioning tasks, such as warehouse packing and picking operations, or sensitive tasks such as the replacement of fuel rods in nuclear reactors.

“In these types of processes, there will probably be a shift of the operator away from the crane to a more remote workstation. But this type of automation has been around for a long time. It is nothing new. Condra has several fully automated and semi- automated crane installations in our customer base.”

Kleiner further comments that current crane operators tend to view AI systems with cautious scepticism, appreciating their usefulness while still relying on their own skill, awareness and split- second judgement.

He cautions that the AI add-ons available for cranes and hoists are expensive.

Customers often exclude them from specifications at the tender phase because of the cost and rather opt to invest in a better- quality crane at the outset, one that is going to last without needing the add-ons.

“Whether AI is used or not will always depend to a large extent on the answer to a single question: Can the crane perform the same task for a lower investment?”

Turning to design, Kleiner admits that AI is likely to have a substantial impact.

“Condra has invested heavily in AI-driven CAD programmes to enable optimal component design. However, you have to be careful with optimisation because the programme can progress in the wrong direction.”

Further, an engineer is still required to review the results, and the component still needs to be manufactured.

“The jobs are safe. The AI drive toward improved theory continues, but the people remain; at least in the lifting equipment industry they do.”