Tenaris, which provides a complete range of tubular products for energy and other industrial applications, has invested in state-of-the-art material handling solutions for bundling and moving pipes.
Tenaris operates a network of manufacturing facilities, service yards and commercial offices that span the globe. It provides casing and tubing, line pipe and various other mechanical and structural steel pipes, varying in diameter, length, thickness, finishing, steel grades, threading and coupling. All manufacturing facilities share a unified global quality policy and are ISO 9001 certified.
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Facilities are strategically located in major oil and gas markets, allowing it to serve customers with a regional presence. Seamless pipe manufacturing takes place in North and South America, Europe and Asia, while welded pipe production facilities are located in the Americas, for example.
A variety of industrial lifting technologies are utilised during production and transportation of pipe, including 48 automatic hooks with overhead cranes that enhance safety and productivity at three factories in Italy and Romania.
To the northeast of Milan in Italy, 22 hooks are in operation in Arcore and six in Dalmine, while a further 20 units are used at a facility in Zalau, in the northwestern corner of Romania. The 5t capacity hooks, equipped with a magnet that both attracts and positions slings and other rigging gear, are used with the cranes to lift loads up to 8t.
Massimo Mariano, warehouse and yards manager, Supply Chain—Tenaris, said: “Using the hooks has made our operations safer and more efficient. Most importantly, we have improved safety by removing personnel required to work at height to unhook loads. Bundling and moving pipes can trigger significant risks when personnel are accessing rigging equipment by hand.”
Previously, standard hooks and slings were used to rig loads, which required Tenaris staff to climb trailers and racks to hook and unhook bundles of pipe, as they are loaded for storage or transportation.
The evo5 hooks are manufactured by Barcelona, Spain-based Elebia. Mariano explained that he was introduced to the concept via a colleague in Argentina. In turn, Tenaris is looking to test the hooks at operations in Mexico and Canada in the short-term future.
He said: “An online video demonstrates the hooks’ ability to handle long bundles of pipe with two pick-up points. It first shows early tests with a bundle of pipe on the workshop floor with one member of staff signalling to the crane operator—both kept at a safe distance thanks to two evo5s. The video then shows the hooks lifting below a spreader beam in an outdoor environment to place the bundle on a rack and then pick it up again.”
