Breakout Session: Tech Trends in Crane & Rigging The impact of technology on your personal life is obvious. But are you leveraging the latest technology to make your company more efficient and safer? Learn from a panel of experts about the benefits and limitations of emerging technology and how it will affect the industry. Panelists: Ted Blanton, Founder and Consultant, North American Crane Bureau (NACB) David Thornton, Senior Technical Product Manager, Fleet Cost & Care Tawnia Weiss, President, AIA Software

1. Communication
UsingTechnologyTo More Effectively
Communicate
TawniaWeiss

2. Tawnia
Weiss
Tawnia Weiss is President ofA1A Software LLC,
Fernandina Beach, Fla., which creates software
and interfaces for the heavy construction
industry.The company got its start by developing
the well-known lift planning program called 3D
Lift Plan, and it now offers other business
management tools specific to the needs of crane
and construction equipment owners. For more
information visit 3DLiftPlan.com and
iCraneTrax.com.

3. Technology and Communication
Communication is not what you want to say but how your
customer understands it.
Technology can make the conversation between customers,
vendors, and your team even more effective.

4. Good and Bad Communication can
happen with and without technology
Using technology like project management
tools, website portals, email and text
message to communicate
Not waiting to make that dreaded phone
call
Creating upset or confused customers,
vendors and co-workers by lack of good
communication

5. Paths to Good Communication
CRM’s help keep customers informed and create loyalty
Job/ Project management software keeps communication effective between salespeople, dispatchers,
safety team, and jobsite personnel.
Lift Planning and Safety tools can be great forms of communication
Telematics coordinates communication about assets internally and externally
Training and Virtual Reality helps communicate and aide in the safe planning of the job.

6. Business and
Back Office
Tools for Good
Communication
• Sales Management with CRM
• Project and Job Management/Dispatch
• Documentation Management

7. Project Management to Keep Everyone
Informed

8. Lift Planning
as a form of
Communicati
on
• As a sales tool in the bidding process
• As job planning tool with construction
owner, GC and other trades
• For safety and training
• For lift execution

9. Which one tells the better story?

11. Bidding and Logistics
• “Using 3D planning to correctly scale the cranes and
jobsite, allowed us to accurately bid the project, and
allowed us to price accordingly.”
• --Riley Pettrone, Project Manager, La Grange Crane
Service
• “Using 3D planning early in the process reduces
changes to logistics and the chance of going
over budget. It also streamlines communication
through the life cycle of the job, which can extend
many months, and involve lots of different people. But
most importantly, 3D planning is integral to
communicating with the crane operator, so that he or
she is fully informed and has confidence that the lifting
scenario was well planned.”
• --Judi Mooncotch Jr., President, La Grange Crane
Service

12. Job Planning
• “The 3D Image of the Jobsite, an
informative narrative plan and 3D
Specific Printouts helps Extreme Steel
Crane and Rigging Inc. demonstrate to
the General Contractor, the Safety
Team, and the Customer that our
services are expertly provided and
exceeds expectations."
• --Matthew Brady from Extreme Steel

13. Safety and Execution

14. Use online ground bearing pressure calculators to keep operators,
managers and safety personnel up to date.

15. Using GPS/Telematics to
Communicate
LET YOUR CUSTOMERS KNOW
WHEN YOU ARE ARRIVING
ALERT SERVICE PERSONNEL TO
ISSUES WITH YOUR EQUIPMENT
KEEPS MECHANICS AWARE OF
USAGE OF YOUR EQUIPMENT TO
MONITOR MAINTENANCE

16. Harnessing
Telematics
Data for Good
Communication
• Alerting you when your asset needs
attention
• Creating specific reports that auto-email to
the right person so that the data can be
acted upon
• Monitoring conditions to reduce costs or
improve revenue margins
• For diagnostics communication from
equipment to techs

17. Real-time communication with customers
and field service personnel
• Telematics really helps the customer
by keeping better control of the
maintenance. With multiple operators
running the same piece of equipment
maintenance has always been an
issue. Telematics will alert my
mechanics and myself when service is
due.
• Charles Poskey from American
Drilling/ Crane Division
• Helps quickly find where the
crane is when the customer calls
on the phone.
• Martin Alba from Kelly Equipment

18. Quick Reference to communicate asset
locations and conditions

19. Using Virtual
Reality to
Communicate
Lift Scenario to
the Operator
• Incorporating the lift plan into the VR
Simulation.
• Communicating Potential Hazards to the
safety team, jobsite personnel and lift
director
• Practice makes perfect

20. Use VR to Communicate with operators the jobsite and where to place the load, have operators
practice the lift to communicate potential hazards with the safety team.

21. How can you make technology tools work
for you?
Know how your customer
wants to be
communicated with…
accurate, real-time, and
with documentation
Make the most of
integrations so that you
aren't duplicating steps,
creating opportunities for
error
Choose platforms that are
simple and user friendly