Prevention Through Design Using Crane Sensors

To address the ongoing need for increased patient capacity, Froedtert and the Medical College of Wisconsin is adding four floors to the Center for Advanced Care. The expansion is scheduled to be complete in spring 2019 and will add 165,000 square feet – two floors of inpatient rooms and two floors of shell space.

As a part of the expansion, two tower cranes will be erected to the north and south of the building. The 350-foot south tower crane was erected last weekend and the 311-foot north one will be erected on July 15. Both tower cranes will be equipped with anti-collision sensors – a first for Mortenson’s Milwaukee office.

The goal of the anti-collision system is to prevent human error as a result of sharing a crane radius. If one crane approaches another, the sensor will identify the possibility of a collision, calculate the point where action is required, and override the crane operator to prevent an issue. This use of prevention through design provides a safer tower crane environment.