Project FAIRCOP - Feasibility of Converging Beam LIDAR for Improving Crane Operational Productivity

"It is proposed that the construction industry may be made more efficient and also more safe when crane operations are scheduled to stop and start according to accurate wind measurements from new laser based wind LIDAR devices designed for cranes. Wind LIDAR is a remote wind profiling technique that measures the laser backscatter from airborne particles to obtain line of sight wind speed. Intersecting beam LIDAR uses three lasers trained onto one point and obtains the true 3D wind vector.

Time is money. However, cranes are depending on rudimentary anemometers which give no look ahead advance warning and they also give no indication of the variation of the wind field across large crane structures. Meanwhile coarse wind conditions forecasting is employed to enable scheduling on a day-ahead and hours ahead basis but this forecasting is subject to wind speed estimation uncertainty. By designing new LIDAR systems for the construction industry these difficulties can be overcome.

The project will confirm the technical and economic feasibility of applying converging beam LIDAR to the construction industry and crane applications in particular. The project partners are already working together for commercialising converging beam LIDAR products and processes for the wind industry planning and operation (but not including wind farm construction) and it is envisaged that the knowledge gained can be re-applied in new ways for other commercial applications for the construction industry.

The team have designed, built and tested beam steering LIDARs for the wind industry. They have also engaged with the wind industry previously. This provides relevant skills and experience for engaging with the construction industry and designing LIDAR products for use in the construction industry.

The feasibility study will include detailed assessment of the market sizes of various construction sub-sectors such as offshore wind farm construction, onshore wind farm construction, skyscraper construction, bridge construction and other sub-sectors.

The route to market can be through direct high value manufacturing, or through technology licensing.

In addition to the improvement in crane operations and efficient definition of operational weather windows there are significant benefits to improve safety for workers and the public. Up to around a quarter of crane accidents can be directly attributed to extreme wind whilst problems due to non-wind faults are often exacerbated by the wind. The main problem is that forecasts and existing devices do not accurately warn of extreme gusts or sudden changes. Converging beam LIDAR can do much better."