Manitowoc Cranes has a new smartphone app that will help customers diagnose technical issues on cranes. The free app will be available on iOS and Android devices, and will enable users to understand the numeric diagnostic codes generated by their on-board control systems. Manitowoc said it is the first manufacturer in the crane industry to release an app of this kind.
In the past, when cranes had technical issues, Manitowoc customers had no way to interpret the diagnostic codes that would appear on the main display of the crane’s cab. Specialized technicians would have to be called to the job site with proprietary equipment, and any time spent waiting affected the project schedule. Now with a freely available smartphone app that instantly tells users what codes mean, crane owners can begin working on solutions immediately.
“We’re entering into a new era of crane operation where we can harness the power of mobile devices and Manitowoc wants to lead the way,” said John Alexander, director of all-terrain crane service, mobile training and telematics at Manitowoc. “By addressing a cloud database right from their smartphones, companies can quickly get valuable diagnostic information to keep the cranes up and running.”
The first version of the app will address diagnostic codes on all Grove- and Manitowoc-branded cranes that run on Manitowoc’s Crane Control System as well as all-terrain models that have ECOS 1 or ECOS 2 installed.
Information on National Crane boom truck functionality will follow.
The smartphone app is available for free in the App Store (Apple) and Google Play (Android) by searching for Manitowoc Diagnostic Code App.
About the Author
Michael Roth
Editor
Michael Roth has covered the equipment rental industry full time for RER since 1989 and has served as the magazine’s editor in chief since 1994. He has nearly 30 years experience as a professional journalist. Roth has visited hundreds of rental centers and industry manufacturers, written hundreds of feature stories for RER and thousands of news stories for the magazine and its electronic newsletter RER Reports. Roth has interviewed leading executives for most of the industry’s largest rental companies and manufacturers as well as hundreds of smaller independent companies. He has visited with and reported on rental companies and manufacturers in Europe, Central America and Asia as well as Mexico, Canada and the United States. Roth was co-founder of RER Reports, the industry’s first weekly newsletter, which began as a fax newsletter in 1996, and later became an online newsletter. Roth has spoken at conventions sponsored by the American Rental Association, Associated Equipment Distributors, California Rental Association and other industry events and has spoken before industry groups in several countries. He lives and works in Los Angeles when he’s not traveling to cover industry events.