How it works – and what it costs

The system can be installed in new and existing spreaders, requiring no twistlock or spreader modifications. According to Port Technology International, a specially designed sensor is inserted into the centre line of the twistlock, which measures the elongation of the twistlock shaft when under load. The load data is then sent into the crane PLC and displayed on the monitor in the crane cabin. In terms of costs, the price very much depends on the type of spreader and crane, says LASSTEC’s Beat Zwygart. “As an indication, we count about 10% of the spreader price for the LASSTEC system. So this would be between € 10 000 to € 15 000 for a system depending whether it is for an RTG or STS crane. “But the LASSTEC system is not just a simple weighing system,” says Zwygart. “We process the load signals and can provide a multitude of accident prevention features, maintenance monitoring, etc. We can monitor the number of load cycles a twistlock has accumulated, track overload situations and the like. “In addition we provide a large number of alarms and warnings, such as one or more twistlock is not carrying a load, one or more twistlock is overloaded, over eccentricities, total overloads, lifting up trailers or rail wagons. “The system is re-calibrated to ‘zero’ at each twistlock unlock cycle which makes it very precise over the whole life. There is no manual recalibration required.”