Original Date: 07/21/2003
Revision Date: 01/18/2007

Electric Boat Corporation, Quonset Point Facility’s establishment of a Crane Asset Management Program resulted in improved equipment utilization and reliability, and in the reduction of labor hours expended for crane maintenance.

When Electric Boat Corporation acquired the Quonset Point Facility from the Navy, the average age of the overhead cranes was 30 years. The cranes were a variety of makes and models and classified as light service. Few cranes had maintenance manuals or repair data, and their maintenance was further hampered by the difficulty in procuring repair parts and Original Equipment Manufacturer service. Overhead cranes, although critical to maintaining the flow of production throughout the manufacturing process, were not well managed.

Electric Boat Corporation, Quonset Point Facility (EBQP) analyzed the management of the cranes and found more than 300 unresolved crane deficiencies (58% of the overhead cranes were operational and the resolution of deficiencies averaged 25 weeks to complete). Determining that changes in crane maintenance and engineering areas were necessary, management consulted outside resources to evaluate the program (including the Navy Crane Center [NCC]). The crane program became an engineered-driven program, and compliance to Occupational Safety and Health Agency (OSHA), American Society of Mechanical Engineers, Crane Association of America, and manufacturers’ standards and guidelines were reinforced.

The result of this effort was the creation of a Crane Management Program. Since the initial audits, a Lifting and Handling Program manual was developed, and all crane records and manuals are centrally managed by the organization. Crane-specific preventive maintenance records and testing documents were developed. Currently 95% of the assets are operational, and open deficiencies have been reduced from 300 to less than 50, proving the program’s success.

For more information see the Point of Contact for this survey.