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Demystifying Classifications: FEM Hoist Duty Classifications
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Today we are going to discuss the FEM hoist duty classifications and when you might come across FEM classifications in a facility.  This is the third blog post in our Demystifying Classifications series.  The next post in the series will be the final post comparing each of the classifications so you can determine which overhead crane and hoist best suites your application. If you have any questions throughout the series, please feel free to contact us.

FEM is the European Federation of Materials Handling that, like HMI & CMAA, publish standards for the material handling industry. The FEM standards use a couple of main factors to determine the hoist duty classification: load spectrum and average daily operating time.  The load spectrum is the magnitude of the load over the duration of the hoist operation and the average daily operating time is calculated using the formula discussed later in this article.  In addition, FEM 9.755 specify hoist working life as ten years and a working year is defined as 250 days.
 

Load spectrum is defined as follows:

Light – Occasional full loads, but the loads are usually light.  Small fixed load.  Usually a light duty workshop crane with single shift operation.

Medium – Occasional full loads, but the loads are usually light.  Average fixed load.  Medium duty workshop crane with single shift operation.

Heavy – Repetitive full loads, the loads are usually average.  Heavy fixed load.  Heavy duty crane with one or two shift operations.

FEM Heavy Load Spectrum

Very Heavy – Usually almost full loads.  Very heavy fixed load.  Two to three shift operations, magnets below the hooks.

FEM Very Heavy Load Spectrum

The average daily operating time is calculated using the formula: 

FEM Daily Operating Time Formula

Where H = average hoisting height in meters, N = the number of work cycles per hour, T = the daily working time in hours and V = the hoist speed (meters/minute)

With the load spectrum and average daily operating time calculated, you can figure out the FEM duty cycle classification of the hoist using the following table.

FEM Table

Typically, you may run into FEM specifications in a facility when you’re dealing with a European based company or a European style hoist.  Seeing the FEM requirements may not be as common in the United States, but it is not unheard of to see these specifications.  If you need assistance clarifying the FEM specifications or requirements, please contact us today. To find out how the FEM classifications relate to the other classifications, look out for our final blog post. If you missed our first post discussing CMAA classifications or our second post discussing HMI classifications, be sure to check them out.

All information here is for reference.  Request a quote or contact us for assistance in making duty cycle application decisions for your facility.