CRANES AND LIFTING: april/may 2018

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APRIL/MAY 2018

THE YESTERYEARS

INSIDE

Pioneers of change

• Breaking the mould • 2018 in cranes • Financing as the tide turns

THE YESTERYEARS Pioneers of change

CONTENTS | APRIL/MAY 2018

11 22 30

INANCE AND 14 CICA INDUSTRY REPORT 34 FINSURANCE The training wheels are off

18 HIGH ON CRANES

Flying high with Linden Comansa

20 TOP 50 PROFILE

Covering unique risks and exposures

TTACHMENTS 42 AAND ACCESSORIES The impact of tyres on pick and carry crane safety

A solution for every situation

ANUFACTURER 26 MROUND-UP

46 EQUIPMENT NEWS

2018 in cranes

Ronco launches Scheuerle SPMT Light

30 AWARDS

Through the glass ceiling with Load 28

Cranes and Lifting is a media partner of

Senior Editor: Jacqueline Ong (jacqueline.ong@mayfam.net) Editor: Greg Keane (greg.keane@mayfam.net) Journalists: Jan Arreza (jan.arreza@mayfam.net), Patrick Lau (patrick@mayfam.net) Creative Director, Patterntwo Creative Studio: Toni Middendorf Advertising sales: Simon Gould (simon.gould@mayfam.net or 0404 865 109) Marketing and customer support: Benjamin May (ben.may@mayfam.net) Subscriptions: Email: subscriptions@mayfam.net Web: www.insideconstruction.com.au Publisher: Ross May (ross@mayfam.net or 0400 868 456) Office: Level 13, 333 George Street, Sydney, New South Wales 2000 Email: contact@mayfam.net Website: www.insideconstruction.com.au COPYRIGHT WARNING: All editorial copy and some advertisements in this publication are subject to copyright and may not be reproduced in any form without the written authorisation of the managing editor. Offenders will be prosecuted.

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I hear voices

T

his issue has been an interesting one to put together, if only for stories on two industry identities who occupy vastly different spaces in the Lego structure that is the crane industry today.

Ron O’Sullivan, or Sully as he is universally known, was the type of character that is virtually extinct these days. His life story is amazing, and some of his exploits would be things that you couldn’t (and shouldn’t) do today. However, it would be wrong to judge someone of Sully’s vintage by the standards of today.

He had a crack and he made a difference, even if he did have a few stumbles along the way. The real benchmark is that, at 94, he had outlived almost everyone with whom he worked and yet over 200 people celebrated his life at his wake: some travelling long distances to do so. Salut!

Mark Gilbert is a much more recent entrant

to the Australian crane industry, and influential in a different way. He’s still in the industry, although winding back gradually.

The early industry was very “seat of the pants”, but some became quite professional by learning from their seat of the pants experiences.

In Mark’s early time as a lift planner, few valued or even understood what they did. Seat of the pants might have worked nine times out of 10, but how would you know which one was the exception, and what if it was the one with the highest consequences of failure? Professional lift planning gave reasoned answers and, because pioneers like Mark took a few on the chin in building their case for lift planning, it is now regarded as a necessity for a serious project.

Mark’s opinions are to be valued because, like a lift plan, they take into account a full range of factors and then deliver a considered judgment. Thank you

for sharing them with us, Mark.

Another voice, and one I hear regularly, is Stuart Edwards, our rigging columnist. His enthusiasm must lift anyone working around him and, even when he has a high workload with his business, he somehow finds time to do his volunteer gig writing the column. With young people like Stuart and the next gens emerging in family crane businesses, the future of the industry is in good hands.

Finally, the voice of Marcus Rigney. I’m glad we got his Load 28 lift entry in this issue - for a time I feared that his work planning an industry day to showcase CICA safety initiatives to user industries in SA in late June would be at the expense of showcasing his own business. Yet more proof that the future is in good hands.

Greg Keane greg.keane@mayfam.net

COUNTING CRANES RIDER Levett Bucknall’s Q2 2018 RLB Crane Index, released in April, reported a decline in the number of residential tower cranes in Australia. This is the first decline in residential cranes in three years, reporting a fall of 57 since its last publication. This drop is in line with the slowing of the residential sector over the last year; the value of residential building work has fallen by 2.4%.

Overall, a total of 684 cranes are currently on projects across Australia, only one crane down from the previous index, despite a 10% fall in the residential sector. RLB said the non-residential sector played a key part in off-setting the loss.

Here, the index has risen from 117 in Q4 2017 to 166, a rise of 42% represented by an additional 56 cranes across the non-residential sectors.

The current crane count was the highest count on record for Melbourne, Newcastle and Hobart, however, Adelaide and Sydney’s crane counts fell from their respective peaks in the previous edition.

The impact of the slowing mining sector and the large number of residential apartment completions within Brisbane has seen a 21% fall in crane numbers. Although

residential cranes fell within Sydney with 45 removals, the non-residential sector grew, offsetting these losses. A net loss of four cranes within Sydney is the first fall since the commencement of the index.

Three quarters of Australian cranes were located in Sydney and Melbourne. Currently Sydney has 51% of all cranes erected nationally - and residential still dominates in Sydney, accounting for 73% of all cranes installed - while Melbourne contributed 23% and Brisbane 10%.

Since the last index, there has been a movement of cranes across Melbourne. CBD increases were mainly driven by new large projects such as 311 Spencer Street (Vicpol) and 447 Collins Street. Mason SQ in Moonee Ponds currently has seven - the most residential cranes of any site within Australia.

Brisbane’s recent

residential apartment surge has impacted crane numbers across the city. With overall crane numbers falling below 2015 levels, current building approval values are still strong with the last three calendar years recording similar levels at $20.3 billion for Queensland.

This edition also observed cranes on the Sunshine Coast, a first for the index.

Source: RLB

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February/March 2018

NEWS

Auckland dominates NZ skies NEW Zealand’s national crane count has grown, with Auckland accounting for 66% of all cranes counted across the country’s main centres.

Rider Levett Bucknall noted in its Q1 2018 RLB Crane Index that New Zealand’s crane count had increased to 125 and construction growth - 13% over 12 months to September 2017 totalling just under NZ$17 billion (AU$16 billion) - is forecast to continue.

Auckland topped the leader board with 83 cranes. 33 new cranes have been erected in the Auckland area and 23 removed from projects

that are nearing completion.

Auckland’s crane count increase was driven by net increases in the hotel and civil sectors of four cranes each, the commercial and civic sectors of two cranes and the mixed-use sector of one crane.

Tauranga also had a net increase in cranes of three. Christchurch and Wellington saw net decreases in cranes of four, bringing their total counts to 13 and nine respectively, while Hamilton and Queenstown also experienced net crane decreases of one and

two respectively.

According to the RLB Crane Index, Auckland remained the main driver of the crane count, increasing by 10 cranes since the last index.

The residential sector continued to contribute the largest amount of the crane count, with 48 (57%), but recorded a slight net decrease of two cranes for the period.

Auckland’s residential sector cranes on apartments accounted for 89% of all the residential project cranes across New Zealand and 38% of all cranes nationally.

MAJOR BLITZ PLANNED FOR QUEENSLAND’S VEHICLE LOADING CRANES QUEENSLAND authorities are planning to look closely at firms with vehicle loading cranes (VLCs) and related equipment due to recent fatal incidents and other accidents highlighting safety and compliance issues with the machines in the state.

The enforcement campaign, conducted

by Workplace Health and Safety Queensland (WHSQ) and the Department of Transport and Main Roads (TMR), will commence in August and will ensure that VLC owners

and operators are complying with relevant work health and safety as well as road safety requirements, and have implemented adequate controls to reduce the likelihood of unintentional extension of manually operated stabilisers and outriggers.

“The campaign will include on-road inspections of VLCs and assessments of work systems,” WHSQ said in a statement.

“Inspectors will take enforcement actions if they identify unmanaged risks relating to

VLCs. This may include compliance notices and immediately prohibiting the use of the VLC until risk controls are implemented and verified.”

Though the safety operation is not officially due to kick off for six months, state safety and transport authorities are on heightened alert in the meantime, focusing on owners, or persons conducting a business or undertaking in chain of responsibility parlance.

MANITOWOC CONTINUES GROVE LEGACY MANITOWOC will soon launch a follow-up to the Grove GMK6300L all-terrain crane that was launched in 2010.

Manitowoc says the new 300t capacity model - the GMK6300L-1 - will bring “new levels of performance leadership to the six-axle category.”

Several improvements have been made to the structural strength of the machine, which have improved load charts by over 7% on average when compared with the GMK6300L.

At height, the improvements are even better, with advantages of over 16% in the boom length range of 70m - 80m.

It features a maximum tip height of 120m when working with its full 80m main boom and 37m of jib. When lifting with the main boom, it can lift up to 14t at full height and can handle this within a 14m - 28m working radius, offering a flexible range for such applications as tower crane rigging. Overall

capacities on the long boom will set a new benchmark for the industry.

The GMK6300L-1 is powered by a 430kW Mercedes Benz (Euromot 4/EPA Tier 4 final) engine in the carrier that features improved fuel economy over its predecessor. This is paired with a reliable Allison torque converter transmission. A 210 kW Mercedes Benz (Euromot 4/EPA Tier 4 final) engine powers the superstructure.

The GMK6300L-1.

6

April/May 2018

News updates at www.insideconstruction.com.au

Liebherr reports record turnover LIEBHERR Group has announced the highest turnover in the Group’s history, with total sales amounting to €9,845 million (AU$15,678.32 million). Compared to the previous year, revenue has increased by 9.3% and the company is expecting further sales growth in 2018.

Overall, Liebherr posted a net result of €331 million for the year. Compared to the previous year, this represents an increase of €33 million or 11.1%.

In the construction machinery and mining segments, as well as in other product areas, Liebherr recorded an increase in turnover.

Sales of construction machinery and mining equipment rose by 14.5% to €6,182 million.

Liebherr said its key markets - Germany and France - showed particularly strong growth but also noted that revenues in the Far East, Australia and America were above the previous year’s level.

DPWA WELCOMES NEW CRANES

cranes for DP World Australia’s Melbourne and Sydney terminals.

DPWA chief officer operations (terminals) Max DP World Australia’s Brisbane terminal has Kruse said the delivery of the cranes was a key welcomed the first of two quay cranes to be part of a $180 million port equipment investment delivered to the facility in 2018. nationwide and according to Glen Wayne, DP The new crane, manufactured by Shanghai World Australia’s Brisbane Terminal general Zhenhua Heavy Industries Company (ZPMC), manager operations, once commissioned, the arrived at the Port of Brisbane on board the Zhen new cranes would produce increased operational Hua on March 5, along with three additional efficiencies and capability The first of two quay cranes have for the terminal. arrived at the Port of Brisbane.

“The new cranes, with a boom outreach of 51m, can service larger

Turning to progress made in research and development, the company pointed to its HLC 295000 heavy duty crane as a significant development in 2017. This heavy-lift crane, with a load capacity of 5000 tonnes and a maximum lifting height of more than 170m, will be the largest crane Liebherr has ever developed. It is intended for use in the installation of wind farms, in the decommissioning of offshore installations and in the oil and gas sector. vessels, which increases our capacity and ability to service vessels faster,” Wayne said.

As part of the investment, a total of nine cranes are to be delivered and fully operational

by October 2018 at DPWA’s four terminals in Brisbane, Sydney, Melbourne and Fremantle.

Quick facts: • Rated capacity under spreader 65t and 75t under heavy lift beam.

• Outreach of 51m with a rail gauge of 25.3m.

• Hoist height above rail is 38m.

• Hoist speed 90m/minute loaded and 180m/minute unloaded.

• Cross travel speed 240m/minute.

CRANES COMBINED ACES DELICATE LIFT CRANES Combined has successfully relocated a historic church in Tasmania that had been at the site for more than 100 years.

It deployed a Grove GMK5150L all-terrain crane equipped with 5.6t of counterweight and working at a radius of just under 12m.

The crane took approximately 7 hours to move church.

“The church was built in the 1800s, and therefore relatively delicate, despite its size,” said Chris Kolodziej, who co-owns Cranes Combined with his wife, Cathy.

“The GMK5150L is very smooth in its operation, so the whole lift was carried out without a hitch. Even the windows, which are very thin and fragile, were undamaged in the move.”

The GMK5150L has a maximum capacity of 150t. It has a main boom length of up to 60m, and a maximum tip height of 88m.

Delicate lift goes without a hitch.

April/May 2018

7

NEWS

ALE adds tower crane to its global fleet

A KR1650 being assembled on-site in Thailand.

A new tower crane has been added to ALE’s fleet, which the company said will offer cost

CHARGES LAID ON CRANE DRIVER AFTER a detailed and lengthy investigation, a crane driver has been charged with manslaughter over the death of a construction worker in 2016.

62-year-old Herman Holtz was killed at the University of Canberra Public Hospital building site when a mobile crane attempted to lift an 11t generator during construction.

In April, Work Safe ACT Commissioner Greg Jones announced what he called “extensive and unprecedented” workplace health and safety charges, noting that evidence gathered, which included some 30,000 pages, 2000 photographs,

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and times savings for those in the wind sector.

ALE said its K1650L crane has an increased lifting height and is able to work at high wind speeds as well as with uneven or small hardstands.

The compactness of this free-standing pedestal crane means that civil works and costs are ultimately reduced, without the need to be tied-in to the turbine tower. The low counterweight, increased visibility and quick assembly functionality optimises overall project efficiency. and the use of 3D modelling, suggested “significant and systematic failure to take into account the safety of workers on the site.”

In a statement, he said: “It is alleged that a number of people made several very poor decisions, repeatedly over a period of time, in undertaking that lift.

“The risks that were apparent and available to not only the people in the supervisory or a management role, but particularly those on-site.”

And yet, despite the risks, the lift continued eventually resulting in the mobile crane exceeding its design capabilities, he said.

In addition to the manslaughter charge laid on

Thanks to the short 70m boom, the area to boom up and down can be significantly shortened when compared to any equivalent lattice boom crane. This, together with the short minimum boom radius, allows the developer to reduce the portion of land to be acquired and cleared, eventually reducing costs and environmental impact.

The crane can be transported and even partially rigged, reducing the relocation time. the driver for his involvement in Holtz’s death, category one offences handed down for “reckless conduct” were also laid on the principal contractor Multiplex Constructions as well as RAR Cranes, the sub-contractor on the project. The latter’s managing director and former’s chief executive were handed category two offenses for failing to comply with health and safety standards.

The dogman assisting the crane driver at the time, along with the site’s safety officer and supervisor - all of whom were employed

by Multiplex, were also accused of reckless conduct. The site manager was also handed a category two offence.

April/May 2018

News updates at www.insideconstruction.com.au

Global crane manufacturer imposes surcharge ON March 1, US President Donald Trump announced new tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium in a bid to “build our [America’s] steel industry back”. However, the protection of US’ steel and aluminium producers could be at the detriment of the country’s other manufacturers.

Already, global crane manufacturer Terex Corporation is preparing for the changes a 25% and 10% tax on imported steel and aluminium respectively - with the company writing to its customers on March 6.

Terex Corporation president and CEO John Harrison noted that steel prices have been rising steadily for several months but the Trump administration’s proposed tariffs have further driven these prices, “reaching heights not seen in many years.

“The longer-term impact of the trade action is uncertain, but the inflationary impact on steel prices and related components is already increasing our product cost,” Garrison said.

While the company is “committed to protecting our customers from the adverse impacts of rising costs”, Garrison said the

April/May 2018

Credit: DonkeyHotey, Flickr CC.

impact of the rising cost of steel “is too large and too sudden for us to absorb”.

“Given the uncertain nature of these market dynamics, we are not increasing our base prices,” Garrison said.

“Instead, we will be adding a steel cost surcharge on our equipment. The surcharge will cover a portion of our cost increases - and will remain separate and transparent from our base prices.

As the price of steel normalises, we will adjust or remove the surcharge. Our aim is to minimise the impact on your business. We are still finalising the details of the surcharge - your Terex representative will communicate with you very soon.”

MOBILE APP AIMS TO INCREASE CRANE UPTIME A new smartphone app launched by Manitowoc is now available for iOS and Android devices. The app promises to increase crane uptime by enabling customers to diagnose technical issues without third-party assistance, leading to faster repairs and maintenance.

In the past, when cranes had technical issues, Manitowoc customers had no way of interpreting the diagnostic codes that would appear on the main display of the crane’s cab. As a result, specialised technicians would have to be called to the job site with proprietary equipment, and any time spent waiting affected the project schedule.

Now, with this app that instantly tells users what codes mean, crane owners can begin working on solutions immediately, boosting their uptime.

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 (CCS), as well as all-terrain (GMK) models that have ECOS 1 or ECOS 2 installed. National Crane boom truck functionality will follow in a future update.

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IN MEMORIAM Sully operating a CHEP Unit 5t truck crane at Gibson Island in 1953.

They broke the mould…

Despite being 94 at the time, the person known as “Sully” to his friends and acquaintances within and outside the crane industry probably surprised many with his mortality. He had survived the vices that claim lesser mortals for so long that many probably thought he was bulletproof, writes Greg Keane.

B

orn Ron O’Sullivan, he pushed the boundaries by signing up to fight in WWII as a 16-year-old (NOT his declared age). When his parents found out, they fought to have him discharged as in their eyes he was too young to go to war.

Undaunted, a little while later Ron caught a train to Queensland where he enlisted as a 17-year-old under an assumed name. Not having thought of a name, he saw a Vaughan’s Transport truck driving past when he was asked his name and joined as Ron Vaughan. He was almost brought undone when asked to spell his surname - Ron was many things but academic was not one of them!

He was posted overseas to Alexandria where, fearing that his deception was catching up with him, he volunteered for a posting to Greece, where he was captured by the Germans.

Despite escaping four times, he was treated relatively well because of his youth.

He returned to Australia and re-enlisted, but under his real name. His service record is unusual in that he had three enlistment numbers, but remained a private in all of them perhaps a “tell” for his unwillingness to blindly follow authority in later life.

In civilian life, Ron worked as a crane operator at the Commonwealth Handling Equipment Pool depot in Albion (Brisbane), and was one of the few remaining people to have worked for both CHEP and Brambles, which bought CHEP operations from the Australian government in 1958 as part of a syndicate with Dickson Primer (Consolidated) Ltd, Breckett Pty Ltd and 10

Development Finance Corporation Pty Ltd. Later that year, Brambles bought out its partners.

The cranes, forklifts and pallets that US forces brought to Australia for stores handling during the War exposed Australia’s deficiencies in materials handling capabilities, and the government took these over after the war and hired them to industry when the equipment would otherwise have been destroyed.

Ron rose through supervision to management in Brambles’ Queensland operations, and was instrumental in establishing branches in Gladstone, Mackay and Townsville, coinciding with the start of a resources boom.

He was a strong supporter of Kato truck cranes with locally manufactured carriers using Mack drivetrains, making them capable of maintaining highway speed limits: a benefit when there weren’t many cranes in regional areas.

However, he pushed the other end of spectrum when he bought a Manitowoc 4600 crawler crane - the largest in Australia at the time. This was built up in a paddock at Murrarie (Brisbane) and demonstrated lifting a 150t Manitowoc crawler and a Cat 988 wheel loader (not at the same time, though he was probably tempted!). A keen photographer, Sully rode the boom to get aerial pics of the lifts.

In some respects, the 4600 was probably too large for the market but it did service at Yallourn Power Station and worked from a barge using a clamshell to dig the trench for the North West Shelf gas pipeline.

The Sully box was a creature of its time,

being a man box with 180° slew fitted to the fly jib attachment points of a 50t crane. This was at a time when the largest platform had a height of 80ft (25m) so the Sully box provided a safe means of accessing greater heights. The first football broadcast in Australia using aerial vision is believed to have been made from a Sully box. A later variant could be attached to the end of the fly jib to gain additional height.

Whether as a reaction to his wartime experience or for other reasons, Sully loved getting away to spend time in the desert, taking with him his Toyota Landcruiser and trailer, a swag and a pet cattle dog. It wasn’t a solitary experience - Sully was well known at the Birdsville Hotel and made an impact wherever he went. His custom hollow bull bar, with separate tanks for storage of beer, rum and scotch, and taps to discharge each into waiting cups, was the stuff of legends.

He enjoyed sharing the desert experience, as Dennis Fernan recalls. Dennis worked with Sully for many years and was often Sully’s “go to man” when there was a challenge to beat into submission. When a permit to take a GCI trailer-mounted tower crane through NSW could not be obtained despite Sully’s belligerence, he resorted to “Plan B” - taking the GCI from Renmark to the Birdsville track and into Queensland the back way, with a Ford F100 as escort.

Sully’s instructions were to drive to Maree and then wait for him to arrive - he thought that Dennis would get lost if he tried to go through to Birdsville without Sully’s local knowledge.

Dennis waited five days until Sully turned April/May 2018

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Sully with the GCI convoy travelling the Birdsville track.

Sully on the CHIPS Harley that stowed away in a parts crate for the Manitowoc 4600 (background) - the unofficial signwriting was removed before the crane got to Karratha.

Sully (front right) at the first national crane conference in 1979.

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MOBILE CRANES TOWER CRANES up in his Landcruiser, along with the supply of tyres that was asked for as there had been 40 punctures on the trip to Maree and the tyres were almost bald.

The hard yards then began. On average, it took 12 tries before the GCI could climb each sand dune. The dolly was chained to the trailer as it created drag if left at ground level. Driving conditions actually improved after some rain during the journey. The trip along the Birdsville Track took three months, but the fun wasn’t over as Sully decided to stand the tower up at Birdsville. A ram was bent in the attempt (later diagnosed as caused by dust entering a seal).

Some quick thinking was required to provide a plausible explanation for the damage.

Crane travel and damage seemed to follow Sully - the boom of the Manitowoc 4600 was damaged when it was being loaded on a ship for transport to Karratha for the North West Shelf job. As a host of dignitaries would be there to greet the ship, a damaged crane was not an option.

Sully got his favourite fall guy, Dennis Fernan, to fly to Cairns, get hold of a welder and meet the ship off the coast of Cairns. He took replacement boom lacing with him, found the welder at NQEA, chartered a deep sea fishing boat, climbed a rope ladder onto the ship and helped the welder repair the boom before the ship reached port. A secondary mission was to remove a sign Sully had ordered to be painted on the crane to honour former manager Jack Robbie.

April/May 2018

Sully was many things, but he wasn’t dull - he was a lovable larrikin to many. He had his idiosyncrasies, such as personally testing each prospective operator and visiting every site before sending a crane out, but he was regarded as a straight shooter who gave you a fair go.

It is a mark of the regard in which he was held that when Alzheimers started to take hold in later life and his family was worried that he would get lost when visiting the desert, Sully was offered a free room at the Birdsville Hotel and the local policeman kept track of him and his vehicle keys while he was there.

That same policeman was among the 200 people who celebrated his life in a wake at the Rathdowney Hotel, which was his favourite haunt in later life.

CL

CRAWLER CRANES HARBOUR CRANES OFFSHORE CRANES OFFSHORE WINCHES DRILLING OPERATIONS AUTHORISED

SUPPLIER OF CRANE ROPES

(08) 9406 9999 www.theriggingshed.com.au info@theriggingshed.com.au

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KHL’S INTERNATIONAL ROUND-UP

Around the world with KHL Cranes and Lifting has partnered with supplier of international construction information KHL to bring you news from around the world.

INAUGURAL JOB FOR ALE’S NEW BARGE Heavy lift and transport specialist ALE has used its latest marine investment, the Sarah S barge, for its inaugural job. It is currently transporting transition pieces (TPs) as part an offshore wind project in the UK. ALE has been contracted to provide the specialist offshore engineering, as well as the marine transportation, sea-fastening, load-out and ballasting of over 100 TPs for Ørsted’s Hornsea Project One. Once complete it will be the biggest wind farm in the world.

ALE’s Conbit team has performed the structural integrity and sea fastening calculations of the grillages (the foundations for the TPs) ALE is transporting over 100 transition pieces for the Hornsea Project One windfarm. on the barge deck.

ALE then started its heavy lifting and transportation scope in March 2018, loading out the first TPs (each weighing 337t and measuring 25m high) from the fabrication yard onto the barge and performing the sea-fastening and marine transport.

Once on the Sarah S barge, the TPs are being transported on the River Tees to the discharge berth. ALE said the Sarah S is 3m narrower than most North Sea barges, making it ideal for this project, as it can fit between the quayside and the offshore installation vessel. It also falls in line with the vessel’s crane radius limits for transferring the TPs from the barge to the installation vessel.

To date, ALE has loaded out the first five TPs and successfully completed the first discharge onto the installation vessel. The operations are expected to last until the end of 2018.

GRADITO DISMANTLES TBM Italian crane contractor Gradito Oleodinamica used its 500t capacity class Liebherr LR 1500 crawler crane to dismantle a large tunnel boring machine (TBM) on the Italian island of Sicily.

The tunnel boring machine had been used to widen a main road near Porto Empedocle and needed to be dismantled in restricted conditions.

“The LR 1500 was ideal for this job as a result of its compact dimensions and remarkable flexibility,” said company owner Angiolino Gradito.

“The constricted working conditions made moving and positioning the components, which weighed up to 370t, a real challenge.

The sensitive Liebherr crane control was invaluable for this work.”

According to Liebherr, when designing the crane, it focussed on making it compact and powerful. Liebherr also said it designed the setup processes and crane operation to be as simple and economical as possible. Liebherr added that the crane’s transport weight of 46.7t means it can be transported around the world without restrictions.

M-KRAN ORDERS DEMAG CC 8800-1 WITH BOOM BOOSTER Russian crane service provider M-Kran has placed an order with Terex Cranes for a 1600t capacity Demag CC 8800-1 lattice boom crawler crane with a Boom Booster Kit. In its standard configuration the CC 8800-1 offers a maximum tip height of 216m. With the Boom Booster kit, however, capacity can be increased by as much as 90%, Terex said.

Terex says that the Boom Booster Kit can extend the CC 8800-1’s lift capacities by up to 90%.

HUISMAN APPOINTED FOR JUMBO CRANES A pair of pair of Huisman cranes, the main one of which will lift 2500t, will be fitted to Jumbo’s new DP2 Heavy Lift Crane Vessel (HLCV).

Heavy lift shipping specialist Jumbo has appointed fellow Dutch company Huisman Equipment BV to design and construct the cranes for delivery in the first quarter of 2020.

The main crane will have a triple hoist to handle complicated upending operations.

It will also have a 600t capacity auxiliary hoist with active heave compensation (AHC) and a depth rating of 3000m.

The second crane will have capacity of 400t and AHC to 3000m on the main hoist.

It will be positioned to service the moon pool and there will be a man-riding whip hoist.

CL

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April/May 2018

ENERGY RECOVERY SYSTEM FOR RTG Transiidikeskuse, an Estonian stevedoring service provider with a container terminal located in Muuga Harbour, part of the Port of Tallinn on the Baltic Sea, and ultracapacitor manufacturer, Skeleton Technologies, have equipped a rubber tyre gantry (RTG) crane with a graphene ultracapacitor-powered kinetic energy recovery system (KERS) that they claim reduces the RTG’s fuel consumption and CO2 emissions by 34%.

According to Skeleton, it has successfully used the technology in motorsport and for heavy-duty vehicles but this is the first time it has used it for lifting applications. Called the Muuga Crane KERS solution, it recuperates energy while the crane is lowering the cargo and reuses the same energy for lifting.

Taavi Madiberk, CEO at Skeleton Technologies, commented: “Skeleton’s ultracapacitors have a charge time of fewer than three seconds, an efficiency of over 95%, and 20 years of life, making them ideal for KERS applications. I am very pleased to see that our team has managed to transfer their know-how on KERS from motorsport and heavy-duty vehicles sectors to port cranes and achieve outstanding fuel savings.”

Skeleton Technologies believes that with the trend towards sustainable, environmentallyfriendly and low carbon emissions crane and port logistics equipment, energy efficiency and recuperation will become increasingly important in harbour-side installations worldwide.

“From a technological point of view, we belong to the absolute top in our field and energy efficiency has always been an important part of our business,” added Joel Tammeka, director of engineering at Transiidikeskuse.

“For servicing vessels, we use the most advanced equipment and loading technologies.

Implementing high-tech graphene ultracapacitor technology to provide energy savings fits well with our strategy.”

HYVA TECHNICIAN TRAINING IN ASIA Dutch hydraulic loader crane manufacturer Hyva is actively focusing on technician training. The company recently held a three-day training course and workshop at the Hyva Malaysia facility, in Kuala Lumpur, for technical staff from its Asian offices.

According to Hyva, a competent application engineer is able to assist the sales organisation in optimising the selection of the product for customers, help with truck installation and offer user training based on daily, and exceptional use, requirements.

It said that the value of application engineering and after-sales competences is recognised by crane owners around the world.

Davide Catellani, line of business director cranes, commented: “It has been a pleasure to welcome technicians from Malaysia, Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam, And, to see them communicate with each other, share experiences and ideas, and work on cranes and demo units with the trainers is very encouraging.”

Hyva said all participants will continue to train the local importers, dealers and partners to support its presence in the Asian market.

Hyva is training its local importers and recently descended on its Malaysian facility in Kuala Lumpure for a three-day course.

Skeleton Technologies believes energy efficiency and recuperation will become increasingly important in harbour-side installations worldwide.

CUSTOMISED GANTRY SOLUTION FROM REID LIFTING UK lightweight gantry and davit crane manufacturer Reid Lifting (Reid) provided a custom version of its 1000kg capacity Porta-Gantry system to a wastewater treatment facility in Ajman, United Arab Emirates. The Porta-Gantry was used to lift 600kg blower motors free from acoustic housings for maintenance, repair and replacement.

Reid said the project presented a number of challenges. First only panels at the front and back of the motors’ acoustic housing were easily accessible. Second, there was only 390mm of headroom between the motors’ lifting point and the top panel of the enclosures.

Further, the flooring was uneven and access was difficult.

Reid managing director Nick Battersby elaborated: “The motors were located on a plinth and we had to utilise a sloping walkway; the floor was uneven on the other side of the acoustic housings, too.

The solution had to accommodate the extremely tight headroom and the ground conditions.”

A raft of alternative solutions had already been ruled out by personnel at the plant, Reid revealed.

Reid customised its PG1000 Porta-Gantry, providing it with a bespoke trolley system and pick-up bar, with wind-up jack legs. Reid said it created a ‘gull wing’ attachment to create lifting points higher than the top of the beam. Two hand chain hoists, one on each side, were rigged to this take the load further down the motors, lift them off fixtures and then free them from the housings.

A four-metre-long beam was threaded through the open enclosures and mounted on two frames, the uprights of which provided rough height adjustment in 50mm increments, before being levelled using the jack legs’ height control. Reid said this enabled it to take the top of the beam to within a couple of millimetres of the top of the enclosure.

Reid concluded that in this way the customised PG1000 not only met the challenges of the application but also presented Black & Veatch with an economic system that requires little maintenance, is easy to assemble and simple to use. The PG1000 has remained onsite for use on other projects.

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CICA INDUSTRY REPORT

The training wheels are off as infrastructure booms The outlook for the remainder of 2018 in the crane industry is certainly promising across most states.

Crane hirers are experiencing demand for services at levels not consistently seen for almost a decade with engineering construction, particularly government-funded infrastructure on the east coast, generating immediate activity along with confidence to upgrade and expand crane fleets.

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PIPELINE LOCATION Source: CoreLogic

Apartments & Units

Civil Engineering

Commercial

Community

Industrial

Mining April/May 2018

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he chart (left) certainly demonstrates that the volume of construction projects is heavily skewed toward the east coast, with Civil Construction far greater than any other sector. For the past three years, New South Wales had the greatest volume of infrastructure work approved or in progress. This has now been overshadowed in Victoria as both state and federal funding have placed the state on an infrastructure program which has not been seen for generations.

Interestingly, the chart also shows the level at which mining construction programs have declined relative to all other sectors.

Only as recently as two years ago, manufacturers and machinery traders all had rough terrain cranes left in their sales lots, unable to find buyers as demand on projects waned. Fast forward to today, and this machinery is moving again, and in volume.

All major manufacturers are importing stock cranes, particularly all-terrains, confident in the fact they will either sell in-transit or soon after landing. Further, the volume of inquiries for telescopic crawler cranes is at a level unseen as this type of machine starts to consolidate popularity among tier one contractors.

For all stakeholders, greater demand generates greater reward. But this most certainly doesn’t come without challenges. We are now experiencing skills shortages as major projects quickly absorb quality machinery operators. And it’s not just machinery operators.

Finding skilled maintenance technicians experienced in heavy diesel or electric over hydraulic technology is also extremely difficult.

The traditional fear through trade unions of casualisation of the workforce is regulating itself away as industry competes for labour and offers permanent employment or fixed term contracts in an attempt to retain their skills.

CICA members have for many years expressed concerns of pending skills shortages in our industry. Like most industries, the workforce is aging, and the agreed consensus is that our most experienced personnel will exit the industry rapidly as they reach the end of their tenure.

This shortage doesn’t arise, however, due to a lack of enthusiastic youth with ambition to build a career in our now burgeoning industry.

Our problem, which is a nationwide problem, is the lack of a structured traineeship which builds skills through a combination of peer-to-peer learning and theory. As it currently stands, the mobile crane sector has only 14 trainees nationwide, all enrolled in New South Wales.

All other states have been unable to gain any forward momentum due to a raft of issues including uptake, funding and compliance with enterprise agreements. For too many years, the High Risk Licensing system, which can deliver the ‘two-week ticket”, has filled the April/May 2018

industry with new workers without adequate skills to match their license. It is absolutely essential for sustainable skill development within our industry that we can facilitate a traineeship program which overshadows the High Risk License system. CICA recognises this and continues to work with all state branches and local stakeholders to establish consistent uptake and funding of traineeship programs nationwide.

To compensate for the inadequacies of the High Risk License system, industry has demanded a Verification of Competency (VOC) process to prove operator skill matches the license they hold. This is costly to industry both through the expense of third party engagement and lost time. CICA is continuing to pledge ongoing support for members in the areas of skills and competency not only through supporting traineeships, but through the recently launched CrewSafe Program.

Throughout this year, CICA is conducting state by state roadshows to demonstrate the CrewSafe program. This program is designed to create a web-based VOC which tests and confirms operator competency on individual machinery types. By doing so, industry stakeholders can view the skill of an operator through a web interface prior to them either being employed or arriving on site to perform high risk tasks. Through the use of technology, it is our intention at CICA to build this program into a viable VOC database. This provides a powerful tool to aid our membership in both vetting new employees and providing evidence of competency to their existing and prospective clientele.

CICA continues to pursue its vision for “A Safe and Profitable Industry” across many fronts.

Our dedicated staff and volunteers have established a solid footprint for CICA at the highest levels of government as we continue to lobby for better outcomes for our industry. On behalf of the board, I’d like to extend our thank you to all paid and volunteer staff for their ongoing dedication and suppor t.

To finish, I’d like to remind you all of our annual CICA conference, this year to be held in Melbourne from October 17 to 19 at the newly developed Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre. Be sure to save the date for this magnificent event which will showcase one of Victoria’s newly completed infrastructure upgrades and offer comprehensive and interactive industry forums and display booths.

I look forward to seeing you all throughout the year and at the conference.

Thomas Smith CICA Vice President Managing Director, McKay United Pty Ltd 0439 130 567

CICA Vice President Thomas Smith

CICA Board Danny Black – President, Terex Cranes Tom Smith – Vice President, Williamstown Crane Hire Andrew Esquilant, Liebherr Australia John Gillespie, Gillespies Crane Services Bart Sutherland, Complete Crane Hire Geoff Bevan, Hydralift Cranes Ben Pieyre, Freo Group

CICA Office Brandon Hitch, Chief Executive Officer 03 8320 0444 Tracey Watson, Business Operations Manager (VIC/TAS Secretariat) 03 8320 0411 Simone Hill, CICA Administration Officer (Accounts/Membership/Events) 03 8320 0420 Heidi Biuwale, CICA Administration Officer (NSW, QLD & NT Secretariat) 1300 887 277 John Humphries, VIC/TAS Liaison Officer 03 8320 0433 Alice Edwards, Project Engineer 03 8320 440 Patrick Cran, Plant & Operator Assessment Officer 0488 004 274 Damien Hense, Industry Communications Officer 03 8320 0460 Taylah Allan, CraneSafe Administration Officer 03 8320 0455 Unit 10, 18-22 Lexia Place, Mulgrave Vic 3170 (PO Box 136 Mount Waverley Vic 3149) Phone: 03 9501 0078 Fax: 03 9501 0083 Email: admin@cica.com.au Website: www.cica.com.au For information regarding CICA membership, please visit our website or call the CICA office.

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April/May 2018

Experience the Progress.

Strong, compact, smart – The LR 1500 crawler crane from Liebherr High lifting capacities and long boom system Compact dimensions Simple overall concept Economic transport worldwide Innovative detail solutions for greater customer benefit Liebherr-Australia Pty. Ltd. Mobile Crane Division 1-15 James Erskine Drive Erskine Park, NSW 2759 Phone: (02) 9852 1800 E-mail: sales.las@liebherr.com www.facebook.com/LiebherrConstruction www.liebherr.com.au

HIGH ON CRANES

Flying high with Linden Comansa In May, the Arora Group will start building a 14-storey hotel next to Terminal 2 of one of the world’s busiest airports Heathrow airport in London. And right by its side will be Linden Comansa’s 21LC750 tower crane. Jan Arreza reports.

The crane will lift heavy prefab modules of up to 13,200kg.

The 21LC750 building a 14-storey hotel inside the airport’s facilities.

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upplied by rental company City Lifting, the machine is said to be the UK’s largest flat top crane and it has its work cut out for it.

City Lifting owner Trevor Jepson told Cranes and Lifting a special model had to be installed at the Heathrow site its maximum load capacity is 50 tonnes instead of the regular 48 tonnes - so that it can lift heavy prefab modules of up to 13,200kg.

“This increase

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in the load has been possible thanks to a new and lighter trolley/hook set and the use of compact wire rope, which improves not only the maximum capacity but the entire load program,” Jepson said.

City Lifting director Bob Jones further explained why a flat top was picked for the project.

“The ceiling height of the airport radar interference is only 2m above the crane.

If an A-frame crane was used, it would have penetrated the radar. In this configuration with a 55m jib, lifting capacity at the end of the jib was 16.2t. This can be increased to 17.28t by using the PowerLift system, which is standard on all flat-top models from Linden Comansa.”

Once the project is done and dusted, Jepson is convinced the company will receive rental enquiries because “the trend in construction is to use heavier prefabricated units and machines like the 21LC750 will be more necessary for construction companies to work in a quick and efficient way.”

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All Terrain

Power

Taking Australia by storm!

NEW GMK4100L-1

NEW GMK5250L NEW GMK5150L

Meet the Grove all-terrain All-Star lineup now featuring MaxBase variable position outriggers The new GMK4100L, GMK5150L and GMK5250L all-terrain cranes offer industry-leading performance and features that include: • Superior lift capacities • Longest booms • Fast and efficient rigging times • Best maneuverability • Perfectly suited to Australia’s stringent roading requirements

GMK4100L-1

GMK5150L

GMK5250L

100 t capacity 60 m boom

150 t capacity 60 m boom

250 t capacity 70 m boom

Take power, performance and maneuverability to new heights. Learn more at your local Grove dealer today, or go to www.manitowoccranes.com/Grove

MEGATRAK™ independent suspension with all-wheel steering and suspension that can be raised 170 mm or lowered 130 mm Hydraulic luffing swingaway extension allows outstanding lifting capability over obstacles at great heights, boom and jib extensions available Grove Single-engine concept with one simple angular gearbox drives hydraulic pumps through the centre of the slew ring for optimum efficiency and weight savings New Fuel Saver technology and optional auxiliary power supply Fast and easy rigging with new intuitive Crane Control System (CCS) with full graphic display, jog-dial and boom configuration mode MAXbase variable positioning outriggers, an efficient, user friendly option on all CCS cranes. Maximized capacities over a wider arc allow more useable loadcharts - SIMPLE and SAFE

TOP 50 PROFILE Steel bridge girder installation, Transmission Gully project, December 2017. (Source: NZ Transport Agency, photo by Mark Tantrum/marktantrum.com)

A solution for every situation From humble beginnings back in the mid-1960s, New Zealand’s Smith Crane & Construction has come a long way. Boasting a large range of machines, Smith Crane says it is the only company in the country that offers tower, crawler, and mobile cranes, writes Jacqueline Ong.

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he company, which ranked 13th overall and 2nd in New Zealand in Cranes and Lifting’s inaugural Top 50 crane owning companies in Australia and New Zealand, commenced operations in 1964. It all began when managing director Tim Smith’s father, an Australian immigrant, moved to New Zealand. A construction contractor, the older Smith was largely involved in bridge construction and in the course of his work, purchased a few cranes. The rest is history, as they say, because with a few cranes in his fleet, he could go into crane hire.

The younger Smith spoke to Cranes and Lifting about the early days, saying his father had encouraged all of his children to “do their own thing”. And for Smith, that meant starting out as an owner-operator with a single crane back in 1991.

“I was doing mobile crane hire and driving the crane by myself at the start. I would do one [project] and another one [would come up] and another one and eventually, it grew from one to more than a hundred,” Smith said.

Business was booming (and still is) and in 1997, Smith Crane relocated to its current premises, a 10-hectare property in Harewood, Christchurch. Today, the company has branches in Auckland, Queenstown, and Invercargill, and employs about 170 people.

A one-stop-shop Smith said the company covers a fair few sectors because it can, having one of the broadest ranges of equipment on offer - from a 2.9t mini spider crane to a 600t crawler across New Zealand.

“It’s an advantage for us. Some jobs require 20

a combination of all three [tower, mobile and crawler cranes] while some suit tower cranes, some suit crawlers, and some suit mobiles. Being able to offer the lot [is a plus] and we don’t tend to be biased about which one’s best for the job.

So, we can offer what’s best for the job not what we have. A traditional mobile company would tend to offer only mobile cranes because that’s what they’ve got and that’s what they tend to sell and a crawler company would say a crawler’s best for the job. Whereas for us, we don’t mind, we’ll just do what’s best for the job,” he said.

The added advantage is that Smith Crane is able to mix up the fleet to suit changing applications in the one project.

“Often you’ll get a job where you’ll have crawler cranes at the start doing foundation work. Later, you may need mobile cranes or the larger mobiles coming in to do part of the job and then the infrastructure changes to suit tower cranes. Quite often we have all three different types go to the same job at different stages of the job,” Smith said.

“Another advantage is when we’re busy, we may have tower cranes coming down on a project and then booked to go on another one and quite often, projects go over time or are late and if the tower crane needs to go on to the next job, we can sort out both clients by either putting a large mobile or crawler on the job where the tower crane currently is to cover the gap. Sometimes, you can use a mobile at the beginning of a project or a crawler at the beginning of the project and de-labour the tower crane a little bit so that the previous job can finish up. We’ve always got the ability to provide something.”

Because of its capacity and fleet offering, Smith Crane has been involved in a wide range

of projects, from large infrastructure projects such as the Waterview Tunnel, a twin road tunnel in west Auckland (also New Zealand’s longest road tunnel) that opened in July last year, to working on-site at the country’s only oil refinery at Marsden Point.

“We’ve got a long-term five-year contract where we supply the cranes for the oil refinery it’s a business as usual [scenario] where there is ongoing general plant maintenance and every now and again they will do an expansion or a shut down,” Smith explained.

“A few years ago, we rigged them up in an expansion project where we had 550t, 600t cranes right down to 3t cranes. It was a job where we were the only company that tendered for it as we had the capacity to tender for it. The client had some consultants from the US come down and check out what we were doing at the start. They were only there for a month or so and left us to it, saying we’d done a good job. [Overall for the project], being the crane maintenance contractor, we had four to five cranes on the site and then over the next month or so we had 25 cranes on-site for the major shutdown.”

The year ahead “Busy” was the first thing Smith said when asked what the next 12 months had in store for Smith Crane and the sector in general. New Zealand’s economy has had a strong run over the last few years, with a number of ongoing and future projects planned across the country.

On the tower crane front, Rider Levett Bucknall reported in early April that New Zealand’s crane count had increased to 125, representing a 13% growth over 12 months to September 2017. RLB noted that this growth is April/May 2018

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Working on Transmission Gully One of the projects that Smith Crane has been engaged for is the $850 million Transmission Gully - the first motorway in New Zealand to be constructed on behalf of the government under a Public Private Partnership contract.

The 27km four-lane motorway will run from Mackays Crossing to Linden, through Transmission Gully, and will include four interchanges and two new link roads to connect the route to Mackays, SH58, eastern Porirua and Kenepuru. The motorway is scheduled to open in 2020.

Smith Crane has been on the project for about 12 months and will remain there for a further 18 months or so.

“It’s a long project with a number of bridges in it and there are still a few more bridge beams to install, and support cranes will be on-site,” Smith said.

At the end of last year, Smith Crane deployed its 280t crawler, configured with superlift, to unload and handle BR28 components ahead of the deployment of New Zealand’s largest crane, Smith Crane’s Terex CC2800 600t, that was installed during the Christmas break.

“Over Christmas, we had a 100t crawler, a 200t crawler, and a 300t crawler and we went it for a few heavy lift projects such as putting up fixed steel beams on a few overpass bridges,” Smith added.

Smith Crane is currently engaged in the $800 million Transmission Gully project. Over the Christmas break, an important project milestone was achieved - the successful installation of a section of steel bridge girders over the North Island Main Trunk railway line for the new Kenepuru connector road.

(Source: NZ Transport Agency, photo by Mark Tantrum/marktantrum.com)

forecast to continue, with Auckland being the main driver of the count where residential sector cranes contributed the largest number (38% of all cranes nationally). Meanwhile, the number of new building consents in New Zealand has been steadily increasing since 2012, with an average year-on-year growth of 10%.

“There will still be a lot of infrastructure and a lot of building, particularly high-rise apartments, shopping centres… there’s a lot of work and so the next 12 months is looking pretty positive,” Smith said.

That’s not to say that there are no challenges at hand. According to Smith, strong demand has led to difficulties in hiring skilled personnel.

New Zealand may have a large pool of migrant workers but crane drivers and technicians in particular are hard to come by.

“New Zealand is only a small place with a April/May 2018

small pool of experienced people. Yes, a few came home from Australia [at the end of the mining boom] but they are still in pretty short supply,” he said.

In order to fulfil the growing volume of work and the “good sized projects coming on”, Smith Crane has invested in new machinery, acquiring 20 cranes across tower, mobile and crawler in the last six months. When thinking about expanding the company’s fleet, Smith told Cranes and Lifting he works with all major suppliers but the ones that provide adequate sales support and parts, and are price competitive with parts, do catch his attention.

“Some of them take a long-term view on warranties and this is a good thing because those that take a short-term view, when you’re out of warranty, they’ll try to flog you as hard as they can,” Smith said, adding that while the company

has a mix of brands in its fleet, in recent days, Liebherr has been its manufacturer of choice.

“Liebherr’s become quite strong in New Zealand in the last few years so majority of our fleet is probably Liebherr now. We’re certainly leaning that way at the moment.

Liebherr used to be more expensive but they’ve come down a bit and are now more competitive.

“Grove was initially quite strong and tended to have majority of the market but that’s probably slipped a little bit. Not to say that we will not buy Manitowoc, we certainly have a few Potain tower cranes, but Liebherr’s the majority of our fleet.

“At the end of the day, the client may have some restrictions on things like age and they do get to choose the plant that they want but it’s based on us offering good advice on the best type of crane, model or configuration for a particular project.”

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TOP 50 PROFILE A CC2200, supported by an LTM1130, lifting 96t super T beams at Birregurra on the Princes Highway duplication between Winchelsea and Colac.

A fleet boasting diversity and modernity

Committed to supplying first class service and equipment to its clients, Williamstown Crane Hire has spent the last few decades establishing a profile as one of the most modern and diverse crane hire companies in Victoria, operating in a range of markets including manufacturing, petro-chemical, wharf services and construction. Jan Arreza reports.

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stablished in 1987 by sole owner and director Gilbert McKay and commencing operations with only one crane, the company initially began operating in the inner western suburbs of Melbourne doing industrial and port work and, as the years went on, the company expanded to doing business in Geelong and Hobart, Tasmania as well.

Thomas Smith, managing director at McKay United (Williamstown Crane Hire, Eastside Crane Hire and Elliott’s Cranes), said that, while traditionally the work has more often than not been around the industrial projects, in the last couple of years they have increased their involvement in construction.

“In recent years, our Melbourne side of the business has gone heavily into the construction space, with a lot of the infrastructure work that is going on around here,” Smith said.

“And because of this, we’ve added more machinery to our fleet that better suits that space; and now we are trading in both spaces

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and we’ve got plenty of stuff in our fleet that we can put into the marketplace.”

The company’s goal as a group is to have the most efficient and modern crane fleet in Melbourne and Geelong, and to extend this reputation nationwide through a continued commitment by management toward expansion and growth.

Already, the company has pledged about $10 million in the last 18 months in upgrading its fleet and expanding new equipment across the crawler cranes and the heavy hydraulics range of machines.

“The 350t crawler cranes in our fleet are a very strong performer because a lot of the infrastructure work being done in Melbourne at the moment are retrofit against the current stuff,” Smith said.

“This means that when we don’t really have a lot of room to work in, we can get in there with these crawlers and get a lot done in the environment available to us.

“There is really nothing at the moment that we can’t do apart from the massive undertaking involved with wind farm construction work and some of those extremely specialised infrastructure works. We are involved with the maintenance of wind farms though.”

Smith pointed to a few recent projects, including the use of the company’s Demag CC2200 crawler cranes on bridge sections for an elevated rail project for Lendlease, and its Liebherr LTM1300s that works with McConnell Dowell for the Level Crossing Removal Project in Williamstown North.

Meanwhile, the company’s Grove GMK7450s have also been hard at work on the Rosanna Rail Station project. It was also involved with some regional bridgework at Rosedale and Terang and it has undertaken several wind farm maintenance works in the region.

“Our company is fairly unique in the market here; we have a huge volume of work which is either in engineering, construction, civil April/May 2018

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ATF220G-5 and LTM1055-3.2 dual lifting a vintage rail engine carriage at the Newport Rail Yards for restoration.

construction, or just pure building site work, all with specific needs as far as work, personnel and machines are concerned,” Smith said.

“For example, in the petro-chemical space, one is encouraged to go as slow as possible, because the contractors don’t want to even think about someone making a mistake, let alone a serious one actually happening, as opposed to the construction space where productivity and quickness are extremely high on the agenda.

“Our company is really running two operations - a traditional client-based operation and an infrastructure arm of the business, so we really need get the proper skills alignment in the correct segments of our business to service these areas properly, and that is one our biggest challenges.

“Skill shortages are a major challenge today because everybody is competing with not only other crane companies for these skills, but contractors are also employing their own crane operators and riggers to operate machinery that they CL have sourced out themselves.”

April/May 2018

Two GMK5200 Grove hydraulic mobile cranes dual lifting a blade at the Challicum Hills windfarm.

Two Franna MAC-25 cranes dual lifting a cruiser for the Melbourne Boat Show at the Melbourne Exhibition and Convention Centre.

ATF220G-5 Tadano at the Laverton depot.

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TOP 50 PROFILE Panel work remains important, and a 100t Manitowoc M12000-1 was recently added to the fleet.

Growing through constant reinvention Universal Cranes is a business that finds itself comfortably In the Top 50, but few crane businesses would have reinvented themselves as often or as well as Universal, writes Greg Keane.

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April/May 2018

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hen Albert bought the business in 2003, he had a separate marine construction business but was attracted by the way that Universal Cranes used lattice boom crawler cranes efficiently on tilt-up panel jobs.

The fleet grew quickly, as did the business mix and geographic spread, but the panel work remains a core focus to the extent that a new 100t crawler crane was placed into this work in late April. The regional businesses have generally operated on a model where the manager has significant equity in the business, and an incentive to succeed. Some of these operations have commenced as a result of the purchase of an existing business, while others have been start-ups.

The Queensland and Northern NSW spread covers Sunshine Coast (2005), Ballina (2005), Gold Coast (2006), Rockhampton (2007), Townsville (2008). Gladstone (2012, Rockhampton & Yeppoon become sub-branches of Gladstone), Roma (2014) and Mackay (2015), plus a Brisbane-based mini cranes business since 2008. While a business trades as WA Universal Cranes, Universal Cranes Group MD Albert Smith is at pains to point out that it has no association with his company.

The associated Smithbridge marine construction businesses in Australia, PNG and New Caledonia have been sold, and the focus is now on providing cranes and specialised lifting services on the Australian east coast to the building, infrastructure, mining, energy, manufacturing, and transport markets via the Universal Cranes business.

A key part of the business model is having a local fleet with an ongoing workload based at the regional depots with larger or more specialised cranes to be drawn from elsewhere as the need arises marketed and supported by the local branch team.

The addition in recent years of branches with strong industrial and resource-based activity has increased the geographic dispersion of large cranes and seen a significant increase in the number of large AT cranes in the fleet. In addition, the departure of some competitors in the past 3 years has provided growth opportunities for the flagship Brisbane operation.

The AT crane fleet is now headed by a 450t,

7-axle Grove GMK7450 and supported by 3 x 6-axle cranes in the 300-350t class, 4 x 5-axle cranes in the 200t class and a host of cranes in lower capacities. Every AT crane is supported by dedicated counterweight truck/trailer sets.

The project crane fleet has been strengthened recently by the addition of 2 x 70t rubber-tyred straddle carrier cranes, 2 x new 100t crawler cranes and 2 x 180t, 3 x 250t and a 400t crawler crane from the dispersal of the Walter Wright fleet. These machines, combined with 7 additional crawlers in the 250-750t size range managed by Universal Cranes from the Daniel Smith Industries Australia fleet and a good range of RT cranes up to 130t capacity, allows Universal Cranes to offer the largest and most comprehensive project crane fleet in Eastern Australia. A working agreement with Australia Marine Services (trading as A.M.S. Tugs & Barges) also allows Universal Cranes to offer complete crane barge sets specifically configured for individual marine project requirements.

Universal Cranes has also expanded the heavy transport capability to complement the large cranes. The fleet includes 20 axle lines of modular highway-capable platform trailers, 4 x conventional platform trailers up to 11-axle self-propelled site trailers and jinker systems for long bridge beams up to 200t individual beam weight. This equipment, combined with good stocks of heavy crawler carriers and jack and skate gear, puts most specialised lift and shift jobs within the Universal Cranes fleet capacity.

The high level of activity in upgrading the Pacific Highway has created opportunities for the Ballina branch; and 40t and 100t AT cranes have been added to the local fleet to support this. Currently Universal Cranes is transporting and placing 40m long, 170t beams for a bridge at Harwood using the heavy jinkers and a 750t MAX-ER equipped crawler crane for both river spans from barges and land spans from shore.

The ability of Universal Cranes to face challenges and use them as opportunities to adjust the geographic mix, type of work and size and type of crane to suit changes in focus has allowed the company to emerge in strong position to support the current increased CL demand for heavy project cranes.

A 350t Liebherr LTM 1350-6.1 AT crane with 60t of counterweight, 66m of luffing fly and a guyed boom in the Brisbane CBD.

A 400t Manitowoc M16000 set up with 150.6t of crane counterweight, 54.4t of carbody counterweight, 42m of main boom, 42m of luffing fly and a 30m back mast handling 39t beams at 38m radius at Brisbane’s Queens Wharf project.

A750t Manitowoc M16000 and 400t Liebherr LR 1400 handling 170t bridge beams at Harwood, including transport.

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MANUFACTURER ROUND-UP

2018 in cranes There is plenty of development activity in the pick and carry crane market: the cover of our last issue showed the prototype of a new 55t DRA crane, this story includes news of the anticipated 40t Terex Franna, and TIDD expects to soon announce an important new safety feature. All these updates are addressing safety in different ways, which is great for the industry. In some ways, 2018 is the calm before the storm, with most European manufacturers saving major announcements for bauma. Greg Keane reports.

TEREX

being the most tested Franna ever built. Serial production commenced THE proven four-axle Demag AC 100-4L, at 2.55m width, is claimed to in April, with first deliveries expected in June. Part of this relates to be the most compact AT crane in its class and yet it has a 59.4m main the number of improved technologies introduced to align with Terex boom and 19m + 8m jib options to give it a large operating range. It Group’s approach to including Demag Technology Inside (DTI) across has been updated to offer improved performance and serviceability. This its range where possible. This has seen Demag hydro-pneumatic includes the IC-1 Plus control system that offers instantaneous capacity suspension incorporated for the first time in a Franna. calculations, allowing operators to take full advantage of the maximum lifting capacity available at any given slewing position for any crane configuration. This advantage Demag AC 45 City compact three-axle crane. is particularly useful when working with reduced outrigger settings and reduced counterweight.

Further up the chart, a 300t AC 300-6 offers a long main boom (80m) plus 21m of fly jib, and new carrier and crane cabs. Like the AC 100-4L, it shares equipment with the Demag five-axle AC cranes as well as identical parts.

Moving in the opposite direction, the new AC 45 City is a compact three-axle City crane with a weight of 34t, 31.2m of main boom, compact dimensions and tight turning circle, fast set-up with flexible options to suit difficult city sites.

On the Franna front, The Terex AT40 lays claim to

Terex AT 40 pick and carry crane developed locally but incorporating Demag technology.

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April/May 2018

GROVE THE popular Grove GMK6300L has been replaced by the GMK6300L-1, which boasts a longer (80m) boom and load chart increases of around 7%.

The crane has proved popular in Australia, where it is regarded as a popular assist crane for the wind industry for construction and maintenance work on turbines. By early April, seven units had been delivered in Australia.

This included one for third generation Wagga business Riverina Crane Services, where it was a substantial increase in size on the previous 200t flagship of the fleet. It is the largest regional crane outside Sydney and Melbourne and is servicing southern NSW and northern Victoria. An increasing amount of work in the area was outside the capacity of the 200t crane.

TADANO

Riverina Crane Services’ new flagship, the Grove GMK6300L.

TADANO has new Australian spec truck cranes this year: the 60t/43m boom GT-600EL and 30t/34m boom GT-300EL. These offer a two-stage underslung fly jib with three offset positions (5°, 25° & 45°). They have a top speed of 85km/h and offer an automatic mechanical transmission and cruise control. The rear suspension with rubber mounts was developed jointly with Hendrickson.

Booms are high tensile with an AT-style curved profile for a strong lift chart. The AML-C Automatic Load Limiter detects outrigger extension and adjusts the load chart accordingly. A slow stop feature is activated as the crane nears its load limit.

The AML-C operates in conjunction with a new Smart Chart feature that provides an improved chart when the crane is operating over the rear outriggers when they are extended.

Fuel economy has received attention, with an Eco-Mode reducing fuel consumption during crane operation and Positive Control reducing fuel consumption when the crane is on standby.

Tadano’s HELLO-NET telematics system is offered for the first time on a truck crane.

Also new for this year (a busy one for Tadano) are: • ATF60-3 60t 3-axle AT machine; • GR-200EX 20t city class crane; and • GR-1100EX 110t rough terrain crane, 56m main (rounded) boom + 17m bi-fold fly jib with three offset positions (3.5°, 25° & 45°), smart chart system.

The long-awaited 600t ATF600 AT crane with triple boom has not yet been confirmed for this year.

60t Tadano GT-600 truck crane.

April/May 2018

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MANUFACTURER ROUND-UP

SENNEBOGEN, MAEDA

Sennebogen 655 duty cycle crane in dragline configuration at the Rangitata Diversion Race in NZ.

SENNEBOGEN distributor PACE Cranes reports that New Zealand has shown a liking for Sennebogen cranes. The first dragline sale, a model 655E duty cycle crane with 29m boom and 1.9m3 bucket, was made to Rangitata Diversion Race Management Limited (RDRML) to clear sand and gravel from the entrance to the storage area for a 67km canal fed by two alpine rivers.

Attendees of celebrations for PACE’s 30th anniversary would have noted that “big daddy” on display was a Sennebogen 673E tele boom crawler in the colours of Pollock Cranes. Despite the festivities, PACE staff had to be back at work in time to have the crane prepared for shipping to NZ by midday. This crane is on long-term hire to CLL Service & Solutions.

On the Maeda front, the 3t LC383 was the last of the slewing mini cranes with cabs to move from a Komatsu to a Maeda base, and is now designated the CC423 (first unit sold to Coopers Heavy Industries in Sydney). The previous series was built by Maeda using Komatsu engines, cabin and covers on a Maeda chassis and track frame. The pace of model change in the mini excavator market meant that Maeda had to redesign the mini crane with each change of Komatsu generation, imposing costs that could not be justified by the size of the mini crane market.

Other models have been redesignated following the change, with the LC785 becoming the CC985 (first unit sold to Pezzimenti Trenchless in Melbourne) and the LC1385 becoming the CC1485 (first unit sold to Keen Crib in NZ).

Link-Belt TCC_2500 in transport configuration.

LINK-BELT

LINK-BELT distributor Baden Davis Crane Connection will deliver the first 127t capacity Link-Belt TCC-1400 telescopic boom crawler crane in Australia to Melrose Cranes by the time of publication. Its capacity and 60m boom length makes it a viable alternative to an AT crane for project work where a crane remains on site for an extended period. A bi-fold lattice boom fly jib is an option where reach is required.

Its big brother, the 230t capacity TCC-2500 with 68m boom and 35.6m hydraulic luffing fly jib, was introduced in 2017. It has a transport weight of only 48.6t. US magazine Construction Equipment named it in

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its Top 100 New Products of 2017 list, unveiled early this year. While machines are working in the US, to date none have arrived in Australia.

Link-Belt’s top of the line rough terrain crane, the 135t RTC-80150, was recently upgraded to 145t capacity, becoming the RTC-80160 Series II. Like the 100t RTC-80110 Series II and 120t RTC-80130 Series II, this crane has hydrostatic drive and a six-wheel carrier frame, which allows for smaller diameter tyres to be used compared to a two-axle crane, reducing head height for transport as well as load on each tyre.

April/May 2018

KOBELCO, ACM

KATO

AUSTRALIAN Crane & Machinery (ACM) had news of a new 300t Kobelco CKE/CKS 3000 lattice boom crawler crane at the 2017 CICA crane conference. A feature is that Standard, Heavy Lift and Super Heavy Lift configurations are offered.

In Standard configuration, the main boom length is 90m and maximum capacity is 300t at 5.5m. The heavy lift configuration has a maximum main boom of 189.8t at 8.8m, maximum boom length of 78m and maximum luffing jib combination is 60m main + 90m jib. In Super Heavy Lift configuration, these figures alter to 350t at 8m, 102m and 84m + 90m respectively.

Ease of transport and assembly is a feature, with a transport width of under 3m for all components.

A self-assembly system is available for crawlers, lower boom, carbody weights and counterweights.

ACM announced that it planned to release its own 60t truck crane, fitted to a commercial truck chassis, at the 2018 CICA conference.

FOR Kato and Sumitomo crane distributor Tutt Bryant Equipment, 2018 will be a relatively quiet year as far as equipment updates and new models go. Crane division manager Ian Eyres states that there will be a mid-year update of the 13t and 20t Kato city cranes to coincide with introduction of a Tier 4 engine. He reports that sales have been strong for both sizes of city crane for the year to date.

Without giving away details, Eyres expects that there will be big news next year on both the Kato and Sumitomo fronts.

Adelaide-based Craneworx purchased a 13t Kato early this year. The crane is currently working for Lend Lease on the Northern Connection project in Adelaide, handling the tops of piles during pile trimming.

Craneworx’s new 13t Kato CR130Ri city crane.

The Kobelco CKE/CKS 3000 has multiple boom configurations.

April/May 2018

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AWARDS

Through the glass ceiling with Load 28 Work on the D’Arenburg winery project.

SA-based company Load 28 was an entrant in both the Innovation Award and the Lifting Award <20t category of the 2017 CICA awards, being runner-up in both those categories but striking a chord with attendees of the Adelaide crane conference by being the People’s Choice in the Innovation Award, writes Greg Keane.

L

oad 28 is a specialist in glass handling, to the extent that it has a subsidiary called Australian Glass Install, with more employees in this than in the crane division.

It was this expertise that came to the fore in its entry covering the loading of façade panels onto the D’Arenburg winery project in Adelaide.

The irregular shape of the building, combined with the use of Alucobond in the panels, meant that conventional vacuum handling equipment could not be used.

Load 28 worked closely with its client to design a frame to couple to its Oktopus 1000kg capacity glass handler to: • allow the panel to be rotated for the installation; • allow lifting from the centre of the panel, so that panels could be placed directly under the eaves i.e. the frame did not project beyond the top of the panel; and

Drawings for the lift frame used on the winery project.

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• the panel could be bolted to the building before the lift frame was removed.

The complete installation involved setting up multiple locations for Load 28 cranes so that they could access all sides of distinctive cubic building.

A video of the project can be accessed at: http://bit.ly/2HxY7s3 The development of the glass business came from the level of work in the crane business for placing glass using vacuum attachments. From there, it became a natural extension to do the complete installation rather than just provide the equipment to handle the glass.

This was so successful that the glass installation business has 27 installers where there are 20 in the crane business. They work hand-in-hand, with the cranes working on the installation jobs. With its range of vacuum handling attachments, a niche has developed for hiring these around Australia when they are not

busy on Load 28/Australian Glass Install jobs.

It’s not just glass that is installed: curtain wall panels are also placed, and Load 28 even installed the largest Kaynemaile (mesh screen) in Australia in one lift at a multi-level car park in Angas Street, Adelaide.

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Mesh screen being installed on the exterior of a multi-level car park.

April/May 2018

ATTACHMENTS AND ACCESSORIES

The impact of tyres on pick and carry crane safety Pick and carry crane safety has come in for a lot of attention of recent times – both for dynamic safety on the road and safety while working on site with a load. Australasia has a long history of articulated pick and carry cranes, to the extent that there are thousands in operation. Greg Keane reports.

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f recent times, all local manufacturers of these cranes have focused on improving the safety of these machines. Some contractors have banned their use on site, and there is a need to demonstrate that new features address safety concerns in order to have these bans reconsidered or prevent them from becoming more widespread.

However, there is a safety-related issue that is more readily solved and affects the safety of all pick and carry cranes, and that is the issue of correct tyre inflation. This was covered in a 2015 CICA Position Paper (Articulated Crane Operator Requirements CICA-PA-0009-B) and concluded that corrected inflated tyres are critical for stabilisation/control of articulated pick and carry cranes. A deflated tyre on one side of the crane has the same effect as soft ground or a pothole in moving the tipping line of the crane. In the absence of stabilisers and outriggers, stability of an articulated pick and carry crane is totally dependent on the suspension and tyres.

LSM Technologies (LSM) handles a range of technologies that roughly relate to Lubrication, Safety and Maintenance - the initials of the company name.

Straddling the boundary of safety and

Typical TMSystems tyre sensor.

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maintenance are the Doran Tyre Management Systems (TMSystems) that it represents and promotes. These are robust and fit for purpose, with features including: • an in-cabin monitor to alert the driver to tyre pressure/temperature issues; • heavy duty tyre sensors; • constant monitoring of tyre pressure/ temperature, whether the vehicle is moving or parked; • both visual and audible alerts for dangerous low-pressure situations; • a high pressure alert; • a high temperature alert when the tyre temperature exceeds 80°C (overheated tyres can also cause vehicle fires); and • a rapid leak alert where the pressure drops more than 3.0 psi within 12 seconds.

The effectiveness of these relies on the operator to respond to the alert. However, LSM has developed (in-house) the FSM system that combines fleet safety and maintenance reporting in a single platform, using telemetry to capture the data and providing web-based reporting. This allows a centralised overview of fleet safety and maintenance issues; and can allow contact to be made with operators if they do not respond to alerts.

Other safety monitoring systems catered for

Stability of articulated pick and carry cranes, both on the road and under load on site, has received increasing attention of recent times.

by FSM include fatigue monitoring, cabin air quality and proximity detection.

LSM’s MD Peter Woodford reports that while some high-profile users such as Lend Lease and Monodelphous are using TMSystems, there hasn’t been widespread adoption by crane users to date.

The adoption is even lower for the complementary Ride-On Tyre Protection System, which provides active protection against tyre deflation. This is a sealant/balancer formulated to prevent flats caused by punctures while also improving tyre balance, reducing operating temperature and providing protection against rim corrosion.

It is unique in being approved for high speed use, being biodegradable and having no impact on the tyre’s retread potential. The tyre sensors used for TMSystems are also compatible with the use of Ride-On. Peter believes that the bad reputation of early sealants, combined with the widely held view that tyres are a consumable, has limited adoption by commercial users, although there are some notable exceptions. However, many private users of recreational and off-road vehicles swear by the product and Peter himself uses it in his private vehicle, crediting it with at CL least four “saves”.

Some of the TMSystems display messages that can appear to warn the operator.

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April/May 2018

Impartial. Machine Specific. Peer Assessment.

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FINANCE AND INSURANCE

Covering unique risks and exposures The construction industry operates in one of the most dynamic and hazardous work environments, and while there are numerous factors behind construction site claims, cranes are involved in a number those events. Jan Arreza reports.

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he basic engineering principles used in the construction of cranes involve the full spectrum of both mechanical and structural design, and while cranes share a common goal - the lifting and lowering of loads - the types and uses of cranes fall into a wide array of applications.

These uses are subject to a number of environmental conditions and external forces, which include geographical location, terrain, wind, weather, frequency of use and the 34

operator’s experience and skill level.

According to Stan Alexandropoulos, Underwriting Agencies of Australia (UAA) Chief Operating Officer, Regional Manager East & New Zealand, the unique exposures that cranes and lifting equipment face means covering the sector is not a job for everybody.

“When there are claims with cranes, they are usually high severity claims such as high-end property damage and personal injury, so you need a very specialised product that identifies

those exposures and makes sure that they are actually being covered and the insured’s business is protected,” Alexandropoulos said.

“We’ve got a very comprehensive policy called the Industrial Special Plant (ISP) policy, which has been developed specifically for cranes and lifting equipment, and we’ve developed it over the years to cover the exposures for not only cranes, but also all other types of plant and equipment as well.”

UAA, an underwriting agency for mobile plant April/May 2018

There are a range of factors behind construction site claims but cranes are involved in a number these events.

and construction equipment, has seven sections in its ISP policy, which cover the different exposures associated with the equipment.

The first section is Damage cover, where UAA will indemnify the insured against damage to a machine that occurs within the territorial limits and during the period of insurance.

“It’s what we call an all risks policy, which pays for the crane to be repaired or replaced depending on the severity of the damage, while also covering other exposures likes theft and April/May 2018

malicious damage - basically, if it is not listed as an exclusion in our policy then it is covered,” Alexandropoulos explained.

Under Section two - Hired-in Plant cover - UAA will indemnify the insured against liability to the owner arising from damage to a machine hired by the insured that occurs within the territorial limits, during the period of insurance, during the period of hire, and while the machine is in the physical possession and control of the insured.

“If the insured hires equipment in from an equipment hire company, we will cover it even though they don’t own it, because these places require them to have some sort of insurance cover in place when their equipment is hired,” Alexandropoulos said.

“In most cases, equipment hire companies will try and sell their own insurance cover (damage waiver), which can be quite basic and highly priced. What we do is offer an option for our clients to take out their own insurance cover, which usually ends up costing considerably less than what these hire companies try to charge for a broader cover. We also have the ability to offer an annual blanket hired-in plant coverage which removes the need for the insured to notify their broker every time they hire something therefore reducing any gaps in cover.”

The third section, Additional Benefits cover, covers things like damage to lifted goods, multiple crane operations, recovery costs and extra costs of reinstatement, new vehicle replacement, employee’s property damage and emergency service charges, to name few.

Turning to section four, Financial Protection cover, UAA indemnifies the insured against consequential loss that occurs during the indemnity period if damage to or breakdown damage (if breakdown section is taken) in a machine occurs within the territorial limits and if it causes interruption during the period of insurance.

“We cover things like loss of revenue associated with a piece of equipment in the event that the piece of equipment is damaged and the client loses revenue because they are not working,” Alexandropoulos detailed.

“We can also cover exposures such as additional increased costs of working in the event of a claim, like the costs associated with hiring another piece of equipment in to do the job. That is costing the insured more money so we will cover those costs for them.

“A lot of the equipment we insure is expensive, which usually means that the equipment is financed, so we will also cover their monthly finance costs in the event of a claim while it is not working.”

Section five is Breakdown cover, which is where the insurer will indemnify the insured against breakdown damage that occurs in a machine within the territorial limits and during the period of the insurance.

Meanwhile, in section six, Road Risk cover, UAA will indemnify the insured against legal liability for personal injury or property damage first occurring during the period of insurance, and caused by an occurrence within the territorial limits arising from using, operating or towing a road vehicle primarily as a vehicle in connection with the business.

Finally, in section seven - Broadform Liability cover - the insurer will indemnify the insured against legal liability for personal injury, property damage or advertising injury first occurring during the period of insurance, and caused by an occurrence in connection with the business.

“It’s a public liability policy that covers the declared activities of our client, and that is the full business activities of our clients, not exposures and claims associated with the cranes and machinery only,” Alexandropoulos said.

“For example, if the cranes were to fall over on a building and our insured was deemed to be negligent, we will cover the damages to the building, as well as any third party personal injuries that may occur in the incident.”

Alexandropoulos also noted that the claims they deal with the most are more often than not related to human error.

“Cranes these days, particularly the newer ones, are all very high tech - they’ve all got sophisticated safety mechanisms such as alarms and cut-off switches, which pretty much protects them from most situations, so we still find human error to be the most common cause of a claim,” Alexandropoulos said, adding that while mistakes do happen, the number of incidences have reduced as crane operators and the industry in general are more professional and companies are increasingly training and hiring more qualified and experienced operators. Either way, UAA has your back.

“We have very specialised local claims teams who are experienced in crane accidents and when a crane does fall over or there is an issue with a crane, we’re quick to appoint the right assessor and repairer, which is very important,” he said.

“We don’t have in-house assessors or repairers, they are all third party, but we go out and recruit them based on competency on different types of equipment. They are specialists in these pieces of equipment.”

Alexandropoulos also stressed the importance of appointing the right assessor and repairer right off the bat in order to get the process off to the best start possible, so that the crane can get back up and operating and making money for the owner as soon as possible.

“So, it is really worthwhile for our clients to have the right coverage, the right service and expertise, and get their crane repaired properly and have it up and running and making money as soon as possible,” Alexandropoulos concludes.

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FINANCE AND INSURANCE

Financing as the tide turns There is general consensus here and globally that retirement criteria for a crane and the major inspection during its lifetime should not solely be based on the years since it was manufactured. A great many number of factors impact a machine’s lifespan and perhaps more importantly, its inspection and maintenance cycles, writes Jacqueline Ong.

T

here’s been quite a bit of movement over the last 16 years when it comes to major inspections in Australia.

It all began in 2002, when a 10year threshold was implemented on major inspections, moving away from the 1993 Australian Standard where these inspections were akin to periodic third-party inspections.

Standards in 2011 and 2016 then superseded those set in 2002. Along the way, what was forgotten were recommendations by the 36

manufacturer and a crane’s design life - its end usually set by the manufacturer.

President of The Crane Industry Council of Australia (CICA) and Terex Australia general manager, Danny Black, said that while “10 years” is not the right terminology and that it should have been simply left as “major inspection”, he acknowledged that the reason authorities set a timeline was because record keeping around a machine’s utilisation was hardly consistent and largely lacking.

Additionally, a lot of routine maintenance that should have been performed, hadn’t been.

The problem, however, is that 10 years is a design life criteria for crane mechanisms and has resulted in setting theoretical lifespans of machines and when they are due for an inspection based on assumptions around load cycles and spectrums, as well as environmental conditions - all of which are conditional and circumstantial.

“Realistically, you’re talking about April/May 2018

mechanical components with a finite fatigue life, like winches and gearboxes, which can’t be readily visually inspected… and they’re really based on a theoretical lifecycle of so many hours of utilisation at a certain state of loading,” Black said.

Jeff Wilson, equipment finance broker, speciality- cranes and construction at Finlease, an equipment finance expert, added: ”Any major inspection should be similar to that of the aviation industry in that it is based on the usage of the machine and the records that are kept for it, rather than just at a point in time the inspection is due.”

Things are a-changing In July last year, CICA released a guidance note on major inspections, putting forward two recommended approaches.

The first - condition monitoring approach is a combination of condition monitoring and the manufacturer’s recommendations. It is a method that requires crane owners to follow the recommended maintenance regime laid out by the manufacturer. At the same time, crane owners need to maintain detailed records of operation, service and maintenance.

The transition to this approach could be a smooth one, with advancements in CICA’s

April/May 2018

CraneSafe assessment forms assisting in consistent record keeping during a CraneSafe inspection. Additionally, putting on his Terex Australia general manager hat, Black told Cranes and Lifting that most new machines now come with recording devices to document the utilisation of components, giving owners a much clearer picture of how their machines have been used.

The second recommendation is a utilisation/ time-based approach but instead of the arbitrary 10-year period, this approach is based on crane operation cabin engine hours.

At the moment, Black pointed to Queensland as the state with the most prescriptive code of practice but this code is currently under review.

“CICA is participating in that review and we are trying to further an outcome that would be more aligned to the approaches [we’ve recommended],” Black said, adding “that is how we’re going about it [sector-wide, with CICA’s recommended approaches].”

The financing scenario The 10-year major inspection is a hugely expensive undertaking, costing tens of thousands, in some cases even upwards of $100,000, because of the need to strip down and repair or replace critical parts of the crane.

Then, there’s the rebuild of the crane after the fact.

Finlease specialises in crane finance and is in the business of doing all of the leg work to make it easy for their clients and, of course, their crane finance solutions to cover the major inspections and rebuilds. It is something that has been done for a number of years and will continue to be done while there is a need.

Wilson noted an example of some six years ago where an 80t all-terrain crane in good working order with good history would have its major inspection completed at an average cost of some $60,000 to $70,000. Today, that same crane would cost on average some $40,000 to $45,000.

Ultimately, and in the not too distant future, what financing will look like, including what boxes companies such as Finlease want ticked to proceed with financing, may start to depend more on the factors that determine when a crane should undergo a major inspection. While this could be a turning point for the value of the machine, Black does not think it should be.

“Major inspections should be treated as part of the ongoing maintenance of the machine, based on actual utilisation, and not a step function of cost after a 10-year calendar period CL of time,” he said.

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WIND SPEED The crane nicknamed ‘Big Blue’ collapsed while lifting a section of the retractable roof for the Milwaukee Brewers new stadium at Miller Park, with three deaths and five injuries.

The effects of wind on crane operation Although it can’t be seen directly, wind can have a massive effect on the safe operation of cranes.

In this article, we will look at some issues relating to cranes and wind, writes Stuart Edwards.

Permissible wind speed

EXAMPLE

The safe wind speed to operate a crane can be subject to much conjecture and discussion, especially when there is undue “pressure” to complete a job. However, determining a safe wind speed can be broken down to three simple things.

Firstly, the wind speed at which the crew feels safe operating. This should be judged by experience and risk assessment. The risk assessment may include how much a load may move about (and therefore increased risk of injury), the ability to control the load by tag lines, site restrictions and other factors. It is

very important the decision of the crane crew is respected. There are a number of high profile incidents where this is reportedly the cause of catastrophic failure.

Secondly, the load chart wind speed that the crane manufacturer specifies as the maximum wind speed. The default load

A SHIPPING CONTAINER: Surface area: 22m2 Weight: 5t Load chart wind speed: 9m/s

Alternatively, you can simply refer to the following simplified tables (example from above circled in red):

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April/May 2018

chart wind speed is often cited as 10m/s but typical values vary from 9-20m/s and can be as higher. The load chart wind speed may vary by configuration, boom length, sequence, etc. or may be a set wind speed for the entire chart. Some manufacturers may allow a higher load chart wind speed if the lifting capacity is reduced.

Thirdly, the permissible wind speed may need to be reduced below the load chart wind speed due to the surface area of the load. In this article, we will focus on the requirements detailed in AS 1418.5 and EN 13000, as this is the standard/load chart generally adopted for mobile cranes in Australia. For this standard, loads that have a surface area greater than 1.2m2/tonne (including drag coefficient) require the permissible wind speed to be reduced.

In concept, let’s say you can just hold onto a kite that has a surface area of 1m2 in 10m/s wind. If you double the size of the kite to 2m2, you wouldn’t be able to still hold onto it at the same wind speed. But if you reduced the wind speed to the right level, you would still be able to hold onto the larger kite.

The same applies to cranes. The load chart wind speed acting on the load chart allowable surface area equates to a certain allowable force on the crane. If the surface area is greater than the load chart allowable surface area, a lower wind speed is required to produce the same or lesser force on the crane.

April/May 2018

The calculation for permissible wind speed is simply based on three things: the load mass, the load chart wind speed and the surface area of the load. These three variables are entered into the formula below to determine the permissible wind speed.

We will cover in detail the calculation of surface area and drag coefficient in the next article. However, when in doubt request this information from the supplier of the load or, if this is not available, contact a competent person to perform this calculation for you.

Measuring wind speed Wind speed increases with height above the ground so it is recommended that a wind speed meter be fitted to the tip of the boom for real time monitoring.

Gust versus average wind speed The load chart wind speed and permissible wind speed are based on the instantaneous maximum wind speed inclusive of any gusts.

This is the so called “three second gust” measured at the highest point of the boom system, and not the average wind speed measured at a 10m elevation over a time period of 10 minutes as given by most weather stations. The three second gust wind speed can easily be higher by a factor of two and more i.e. taking into account the average wind speed at 10m elevation may significantly underestimate the real conditions.

Lay down / weather vaning Consideration should be given to weather vaning and/or requirements to lay down the boom. Laying down the boom also gives a good opportunity to inspect the boom tip. Where the boom cannot be laid down, consideration can be given to boom rests or other control measures.

Outrigger / track loads Outrigger and track loads provided by most manufacturers are based on static loads only; and do not account for dynamics from crane motions and/or wind. FEM 5.016 Guideline “Safety Issues in Wind Turbine Installation and Transportation” indicates that up to 35% should be added to outrigger loads due to wind.

Productivity One potentially overlooked area relating to wind speed is calculating the potential productivity for a project in advance; and selecting a crane based on this. The example below, based on real wind speed data from a site over a period of just over a year, shows a massive 342% increase in available crane time by selecting a crane with a 20m/sec load chart wind speed versus a 12m/ sec load chart wind speed. Whilst the cost of the more capable crane may be greater, the cost savings on a project may be massive.

Stuart Edwards is principal of specialist engineering consultancy, Edwards Heavy Lift CL and a Cranes and Lifting columnist.

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ATTACHMENTS AND ACCESSORIES

Specialist trailers increase crane set-up efficiency

This trailer is fully decked and fitted with rails for easy and safe access.

Corner brackets position these fabricated steel outrigger pads securely, in a location that optimises weight distribution.

Skeleton B-double counterweight trailer the load can be secured from ground level.

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The large foot area of the landing legs on the TRT trailers provide solid footing on less than perfect surfaces.

The high tensile steel construction and skeleton design of this trailer minimises tare weight for transporting wing weight and jib sections.

April/May 2018

For many crane owners, the investment in a large crane doesn’t end with the crane itself: the investment in support trailers and the prime movers to tow them can also be quite substantial. Large cranes can require five to 10 support trailers, or even more for the largest cranes, writes Greg Keane.

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he options of using external carriers or buying and modifying a standard trailer are increasingly unattractive for the specialised needs of having ancillary equipment (outrigger pads, base plate, hook, counterweights, jib sections) arrive in an order that suits the crane set-up procedures, and maximising the payload and payload distribution without overloading, while at the same time providing a safe work environment.

Easy accessibility to sites has also become important, given the volume of work in urban areas with limited space for loading and unloading counterweights.

Enter the specialist trailer builders, with NZ-based company TRT having considerable recent success in both New Zealand and Australia.

TRT designs trailer models to meet the specific requirements of individual crane brands and models and their set-up procedures, while also ensuring that safety requirements and specific operator requirements are met.

Trailers solutions have been provided for crane brands such as Manitowoc, Grove, Potain, Liebherr, Kato and Demag.

The TRT range covers semi-trailers and B-doubles, with both skeletal and decked designs available. All have specifically-designed mounting modules to locate counterweights, pads and hooks in a location that optimises legal weight distribution, and then secures them in place.

Decking and/or platforms are provided where operators need to access the trailer for tying down or hooking up, with handrail protection provided in all these areas.

High tensile steel construction keeps the tare weight low without compromising strength; and is critical to meeting the requirements to carry a 30t payload under the Mass Management rule.

User experiences Borger Cranes and Rigging (Borgers) was one of the first companies in Australia to buy

TRT trailers, taking delivery in 2010 to support its first 500t Liebherr AT crane. They’ve worked so well that around 50 of the 90 support trailers that Borgers operates have been built by TRT and Shawn Borger regards it as a matter of course that when a new crane is bought, TRT trailers are bought to go with them.

He sees their use of high tensile steel as producing a trailer that is lighter and stronger than its competition, and he also has high regard for the BPW axles used on the trailers, but perhaps Shawn’s biggest compliment is that TRT knows and understands cranes.

This understanding translates to significantly less time spent setting up and pulling down a crane, to the extent that target times can often be bettered.

He sees benefits in not using chains and dogs to secure a load, with pins used instead. Some loads can be secured from ground level but where it is necessary to work from the trailer, the required deck, rails and access ladder are provided.

Ancillary equipment for a Grove GMK4100 loaded on a Borger’s trailer.

April/May 2018

41

ATTACHMENTS AND ACCESSORIES

A further benefit it that with dedicated trailers, the counterweight can be left on the trailer between jobs, and the counterweight can be removed in sections to suit the slot on the trailer, rather than as individual elements.

Shawn appreciates being able to have input into the trailer design to suit the business and having full access to drawings. He sees TRT as being ahead of the game in terms of quality, flexibility and just being easy to deal with, saying that this also applies to the family behind the TRT company.

Brian Taylor of Valley Cranes credits Shawn Borger with introducing him to TRT trailers 7-8 years ago, when he was looking for a trailer for a 130t crane. With the recent purchase of a refurbished 300t AT crane to spearhead the fleet, Brian again turned to TRT and bought four trailers – the first to carry 22t of counterweight and bog mats, the second to carry 28t of counterweight, the third to carry the maximum permissible 30t load and the fourth a step deck with ramps that is used to carry two 10t wing weights but can also be used for other purposes such as transporting Frannas and machinery.

Working under Mass Management rules, it is important to Brian to carry the maximum permissible load and distribute it without overloading the trailers, and the TRT trailers make this easy to do.

CL

42

Valley Cranes’ Grove GMK6300 unloading its own counterweight from a TRT trailer.

Loaded equipment trailer for Valley Cranes’ 300t Grove.

April/May 2018

INSIDECONSTRUCTION.COM.AU

AWARDS First Lift of the Year win - the Adelaide Oval light tower project.

Taking the risk out of lift planning

Mark Gilbert

Those who have a long history of attendance at CICA national crane conferences will most like associate names Mark Gilbert and Aztec Analysis with high level lift planning, writes Greg Keane.

T

he first official (and winning) Lift of the Year entry was for the removal and replacement of light towers at Adelaide Oval. Aztec Analysis undertook lift planning for Brambles Industrial Services, which in turn was engaged by principal contractor Baulderstone Hornibrook to provide lifting services.

An existing telescopic tower had locked in position and needed to be removed and replaced (along with the other light towers there).

Complicating this were: • the weight of the tower was not known exactly; • there were no cranes in Adelaide capable of lifting the tower on their own; • space was limited, as the oval could not be used for set-up; and • the work had to be done around scheduled football games.

An equalising bracket was designed to allow two local 140t cranes to dual lift the tower, avoiding the need to bring a 400t crane from Sydney. However, the thing that impressed many attendees at the conference was the methodical way in which the unknown factors were addressed, with actions planned to meet every contingency.

While the seized light tower added greatly to the complexity of the lift program at the Adelaide Oval, the entry covered the full program of removing and replacing four light towers, and it was necessary to bring the 400t crane to Adelaide for lifts of the 19t light fittings at the top of the new towers. However, the lift program was organised so that all removal work and erection of tower sections could be undertaken with local cranes, and the light fitting erections could be undertaken with a single short-term visit by the 400t crane.

This entry fits comfortably with Gilbert’s

44

belief that the job of the lift planner is to systematically design the risk out of a lift, and this has been his counter to those who have asked him why he takes on the “risky jobs”.

In looking back over his career to date in lift planning (he has taken a step back from management at Aztec Analysis but remains involved in lift planning), Gilbert has noticed many changes.

Coming from the offshore oil industry in Scotland, Gilbert immediately noticed a vast difference in the size of cranes available for lifts in Australia. Gilbert and partner Geoff Wallbridge started engineering consultancy Wallbridge and Gilbert in 1982, at which time the largest crane in Adelaide was a 140t Liebherr owned by Nicholls.

In contrast, the smallest of the 80 cranes available for the offshore industry in Scotland was a Manitowoc 4100 crawler - something that was at the upper end of crawler cranes based in Australia.

Complexity was added to lift planning in Australia by the need to use available cranes, often requiring multi-crane lifts with their attendant capacity derating under lift standards.

Ingenuity was required to provide safe but costeffective solutions.

At the start, the lift planning side of the business traded as Aztec Analysis as it took on large projects while Wallbridge and Gilbert was a modest business of five people, engineering largely for the housing market. Things have changed dramatically, with these businesses amalgamated as WGA (Wallbridge Gilbert Aztec) in 2017. This has a national presence, employs around 250 people and now encompasses civil, infrastructure and defence engineering.

The 2001 entry was not Aztec’s first Gilbert confessed to Cranes and Lifting that he read about the Lift of the Year awards in

the crane feature of the now closed magazine Construction Contractor (which initiated the awards). He could find no reference to industry body affiliation requirements for entrants and nominated in 2000 with an entry based on lifts for the Timor Sea Buffalo Field Oil Platform.

Gilbert recalls receiving a phone call from SA industry stalwart Bob Way saying that while the judges were impressed, the entry didn’t meet the criteria of being a member of CICA, and Aztec Analysis should join up ASAP. This happened, and the entry was Highly Commended. Times have changed - WGA manager industrial Rodger Weste is the current president of the SA crane association.

Times have also changed in other ways, as Gilbert notes. There are now large cranes available in most parts of the country where heavy lifts can take place, so the need to use multiple cranes has diminished.

Aztec Analysis went on to win awards in 2003 for lift planning on a project to remove a disused dock crane at Whyalla, in 2004 for lift planning on a project to remove three vessels and a single buoy mooring from the water at the Mobil oil refinery at Port Stanvac (SA), and in 2005 for the design and lift analysis for a 70m steel communication spire atop the Riparian Plaza building in Brisbane.

These entries reflect the diversity of work that can form part of a lift plan. The structural integrity and balance of the dock crane had to be taken into account in the 2003 project, along with the poor state of the wharf that provided access to the crane.

The 2005 project was the first entry to be taken by a tower crane, which remained in place after the building was completed so that it could erect the communication spire before being dismantled.

Gilbert credits the Lift of the Year awards April/May 2018

Engineered lift lug on a vessel being removed at Port Stanvac (2004 winner).

in their early years with having helped raise standards in the industry, to the extent that he questions whether they have now passed their â&#x20AC;&#x153;use byâ&#x20AC;? date, with all entries ticking the boxes to the extent that choosing a winner can be as

April/May 2018

2003 winner - removal of a disused dock crane at Whyalla.

much subjective as objective.

The introduction of independent certified reviews of lift plans has added another level of assurance for lift planning. However, Gilbert has concerns that regulation may have gone too far,

feeling that some regulation is now misguided.

Regardless, Gilbertâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s passion for lift planning remains undimmed by the years, and he is enjoying being able to concentrate on this as he CL plans his transition into retirement.

45

EQUIPMENT NEWS

Ronco announces availability of Scheuerle SPMT Light in Australia SPMT Light - 176t on four-axle lines.

Ronco is the national distributor of Scheuerle specialist heavy transport vehicles, as well as other brands from the TII Group such as Nicolas and Kamag. It recently announced the availability of the Scheuerle SPMT Light in Australia. Greg Keane reports.

SPMT E-Light - an electric variant of the two-axle line SPMT Light.

W

hile Self Propelled Modular Transporters (SPMTs) are not new to Australia, the SPMT Light range adds a new dimension in providing self-contained high capacity trailers for applications such as carrying large precast elements or fabricated components.

The SPMT Light is available in two- and four-axle line variants, and has a diesel engine integrated into the chassis, in contrast to conventional modular SMPTs that have an external Power Pack Unit. There is electric drive to the wheels, which are offered with either solid polyfill tyres or pneumatic tyres.

The absence of the external power pack means that the SPMT Light has advantages over a conventional SPMT in manoeuvrability and accessing tight locations.

46

This also gives the SPMT Light good approach and departure angles, as it eliminates the overhang of a conventional external power pack.

The two-axle line model has a capacity of 86t and deck area of 6000mm x 2430mm, while the four-axle line model has a capacity of 176t and deck area of 9030mm x 2430mm.

The deck height is 1500mm +/- 350mm i.e. the hydraulic suspension has 700mm of total travel. In some applications, this suspension can be used to pick up and place loads, without the need for cranes.

The SPMT Light range offers the same multi-directional steering capabilities as the conventional SPMT range and is operated by remote control.

The transporters can be coupled side by side

using lateral cross-coupling elements and spacers or in a line with electronic linkage. The latter mode allows an SPMT Light to be positioned at either end of a long load, with electronic coordination of the steering of the two units.

The limited number of axle lines on the SPMT Light models, and consequent high load per wheel, means that this needs to be taken into account when evaluating the SPMT Light for an application.

However, the SPMT Light can be an economical solution in the right application, with two SPMT Lights able to be purchased for little more than the price of a single conventional SPMT. There is a fully electric variant of the two-axle line model, the SPMT E-Light. It is suitable for both indoor and outdoor work, has zero CL emissions and is virtually silent.

April/May 2018

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