You can operate a tower crane without going to high altitudes! How can a 5G smart tower crane be "unmanned"?

"I don't have to climb up and down every day, and the calluses on my hands have improved a lot." At the site of the Jinan International Trade Industrial Park project of Shandong Energy Group, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, unlike traditional tower crane drivers, Ke Changyi sat in the cockpit on the ground and easily completed the lifting operations again and again. The reason behind this operation is that the project has put into use the 5G tower crane intelligent remote control system independently developed and produced by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau. This is also the first appearance of the 5G intelligent tower crane equipped with this system in the Jinan regional project.

Realize real-time remote control

Lifting efficiency can be increased by 15%

"Please move the materials to the operable area." On the 1st, in the digital panoramic tower crane centralized control cockpit of the Jinan International Trade Industrial Park project of Shandong Energy Group, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, the three tower crane drivers only needed to pass the face recognition to start the formal lifting operation. Through the large visual screen in front of him, Ke Changyi found that the building materials to be hoisted were placed in his own hoisting restricted area, and immediately contacted the signal operator at the construction site through the intercom. "Before, we couldn't see the positions of these ground objects clearly, but now, through this large screen, we can monitor in real time from the position of the hoisted objects to each link of the hoisting, which greatly reduces the operational risks."

At the scene, the reporter saw that in front of the centralized control cockpit of the tower crane operated by Ke Changyi were 6 large visual screens. Through these large screens, Ke Changyi could clearly see the real-time scene images captured by the right camera of the tower crane's big arm, the arm root camera, the trolley fixed focus camera, the trolley zoom camera, the rolling field monitoring camera, the arm tip camera, and the rotatable gun camera, as well as the panoramic view of the entire construction site. Through these images, although they are indoors, Ke Changyi and other tower crane drivers can also accurately lift the construction materials.

Zhang Anxiang, an electromechanical engineer of the Jinan International Trade Industrial Park Project of Shandong Energy Group of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, told reporters that the three 5G smart tower cranes used by Ke Changyi and his colleagues are based on 5G communication technology. On the basis of traditional tower cranes, a PLC (programmable logic controller) system with remote transmission and remote control feedback has been added, thus realizing remote control and completing the hoisting operation. "We installed 11 cameras throughout the process, which can basically achieve no dead angles and ensure that the tower crane can perceive the hoisting operation in real time with 'zero blind spots'." Zhang Anxiang said that according to their statistics, after two months of use, the project hoisting efficiency has increased by 15%. In addition to the improvement of hoisting efficiency, based on remote control, a tower crane driver can realize time-sharing control of multiple tower cranes, which also greatly improves the utilization rate of personnel.

No need to climb up and down

Work is safe and "decent"

Having worked as a tower crane driver for 5 years, Gao Shenggang did not expect that his original "annoying" job could be linked to "intelligence".

"It's so spacious here, and we can discuss with each other when we encounter emergencies." Gao Shenggang told reporters that from high-altitude operations to the ground, it is not only the movement of the cockpit position, but also makes him feel that this job has become "decent". "In the past, I climbed 200 meters every day, and the place I stayed in was only more than one square meter every day. I stayed there for 10 hours, and I could only get off the ground at lunch time." Speaking of the previous working environment, Gao Shenggang laughed and said that he didn't want to "go back to the past".

Ke Changyi, who has also been working as a tower crane driver for 5 years, said that the current ground driving makes him feel more at ease. "After climbing tower cranes for 5 years, I have a lot of calluses on my hands. You can see that it is much better now." Ke Changyi told reporters that the most difficult thing for him to endure when climbing tower cranes in the past was the cold winter and the hot summer. Although he wore gloves, his hands would feel hot due to the high temperature during the dog days of summer. In addition, the slight shaking of the cockpit at high altitude sometimes makes him feel a little nervous. These discomforts no longer exist with the use of 5G smart tower cranes.

No need to climb up and down, in addition to bringing dignity and safety to tower crane drivers, the time saved is also an improvement in the efficiency of hoisting operations. "Each tower crane driver takes about half an hour to climb this trip, and four trips a day is two hours." Zhang Anxiang calculated that each tower crane driver can have at least two more hours of hoisting time on this day.

First appearance in Jinan area

Will be gradually promoted in Shandong projects

According to Tu Yujun, deputy secretary of the Jinan International Trade Industrial Park project of Shandong Energy Group of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau, the 5G tower crane remote control system is independently developed and produced by China Construction Third Engineering Bureau. The technology is now very mature and has been mass-produced. It is currently being promoted and used in key projects in many provincial capitals across the country. The Jinan International Trade Industrial Park project of Shandong Energy Group is the first project of China Construction Third Engineering Bureau to use this technology in the Jinan area. Next, China Construction Third Engineering Bureau will also actively promote and use it in other key projects in Shandong Province.

The reporter learned that the "Implementation Plan for Vigorously Promoting Intelligent Construction in Shandong Province and Promoting the Industrialization, Digitalization and Greening Transformation and Upgrading of the Construction Industry" recently issued by the Shandong Provincial Department of Housing and Urban-Rural Development mentioned that by the end of 2025, Shandong will promote the application of appropriate technologies in large and medium-sized construction projects to account for 30%, and the application scenarios of intelligent construction will be fully covered in 16 cities, promoting the integrated development of the construction industry and the new generation of information technology, and promoting the high-quality development of the construction industry with new quality productivity.

"The Jinan International Trade Industrial Park project of Shandong Energy Group has defined the goal of intelligent construction management since it entered the site. Therefore, in the project design stage, production stage, construction stage and later operation and maintenance stage, it will be selected and implemented in accordance with the catalog of intelligent construction technology for construction projects in Shandong Province." Tu Yujun introduced that the project has implemented 5 major and 53 minor intelligent construction application items at this stage. By integrating key technologies such as the Internet of Things, big data, and artificial intelligence, the actual needs and scenarios in the construction process are accurately analyzed to achieve improved construction efficiency, reduced costs, and enhanced quality. The project has been included in the first batch of Shandong Province's construction project intelligent construction pilot projects.

According to reports, the project is currently undergoing main structure construction. In the later stage of the project, the project will also adopt intelligent equipment such as single-tower multi-cage circulation elevators and construction robots independently developed by the Third Bureau to further improve the overall level of intelligent construction of the project.