United Crane and Rigging – Northeastern USA
Established in Maryland in the 1970s, United Crane and Rigging rents and sells crane and rigging equipment to clients across the northeastern United States. The company sought new solutions for obstruction lighting, a key aspect of the business that ensures their equipment is safely and properly marked for aircraft. Joe Mirabile, lead tower crane technician, explains the frustrations of using AC or battery-powered lights on their equipment. “Frequent battery changes get expensive, and hard-wired lights take up valuable time to set up,” he says. “I needed something easier for our team to install that would work for any application.”
Requirements: The lights should work on a job where the crane is running on a generator. “On these jobs the generator can only run during the day,” Mirabile says. “We found ourselves in a situation where we had to run power to the base of the crane and plug in the hardwired lights at night or else we weren’t in compliance.” The lights need to meet FAA compliance, with at least 32.5-candela output. Mirabile also wanted steady-burn lights with the option of flashing in sync.
Our Solution: OL800 compact solar LED obstruction light
Flash Technology’s OL800 offered the FAA compliance Mirabile and his team required, as well as the GPS synchronization option he desired for simultaneous flashing. These lights also offer optional remote monitoring, a new feature Flash provides for secure data transmission via GSM and Globalstar satellite networks. Although Mirabile had tried another solar lighting company previously, he chose Flash Technology because of the rugged design and out-of-the-box setup. “I provided the geographic location and application and the lights came programmed, ready to install,” he explains. “And as a bonus, the lights offered a much longer battery autonomy than I expected.”
These lights have solved all my issues. This is the last obstruction light you’ll ever need—for an affordable price, at that.
– Joe Mirabile, Lead Tower Crane Technician, United Crane and Rigging
Outcome: “No external wiring is a game-changer,” Mirabile says. “This saves approximately 2 hours on installation. It’s also safer to install because the lights can be installed on the ground prior to crane assembly.”
Mirabile also says the service he received was superior. “United Crane and Rigging is a company that also feels strongly about providing great service, so I especially appreciated this,” he says. The company has ordered 5 sets of 4 lights for its fleet. With a single type of light that meets all applications they need, there’s no more worry about whether the right light has been used. “I’ve already recommended the OL800 to other crane companies,” Mirabile says.
