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TIDD to Broken Hill Baden Davis Crane Connection delivers a TIDD PC28 to Broken Hill fabricator
CHOOSING A TIDD FOR MINING APPLICATIONS
Lawrence Engineering recently chose a TIDD PC28 for working on mining shutdowns and its fabrication business in Broken Hill. Cranes and Lifting explains.
Lawrence Engineering saw the TIDD PC 28 at the Ben Davis Crane Connection yard and decided to purchase it right there and then.
LAWRENCE ENGINEERING is an engineering company located in Broken Hill serving the mining industry, water infrastructure, wind energy and the rural sector with a range of services and a strong focus on quality workmanship and customer satisfaction. The company recently took delivery of a new TIDD PC28 to support its work in the local mines.
Nigel Lawrence, owner and managing director of Lawrence Engineering confirms the business is predominantly a steel fabrication business with the added ability of machining, fitting, mechanical services, surface protection including blasting and painting.
“A big part of the business is maintenance including mine shutdowns and almost anything across the engineering sector. Our customers are mainly in the mining sector and recently we’ve been involved in some water infrastructure projects and we’re looking to ramp up that area with water being such a critical commodity these days.
“We run three cranes with the TIDD PC28 being the latest addition, we’ve also got a Franna AT 18, an 18t machine and a Tadano GT600 truck crane. The cranes are really there to support our engineering sector, we’re not really a general crane hire business although we do offer that service on occasions and there is quite a bit of that work, but first and foremost our cranes are there to support our engineering capabilities,” Lawrence said.
“Our business is a combination of projects commissioned by our customers and also maintenance which covers all aspects of steel fabrication including hoppers, conveyors also a lot of guards and handrailing and also repair and maintenance because some of these areas in mining are high corrosive areas and we conduct structural steel replacement and repairs. We also service the underground sector of mining as well,” he said.
Lawrence explains the background that led to the addition of the TIDD PC 28.
“Mine shutdowns like changing out liners, wear liners are a fairly big part of what we do and around all this work we conduct there’s a lot of crane work. We recognised the business was in a position where we could justify two pick and carry cranes and we’d decided we needed something bigger than the existing crane.
“We were looking at the 25t Franna as well as the 35t Humma and at the time we were also looking at the 25t TIDD and also mini cranes as an option. Working through this assessment process, we’d received some quotes and decided a trip to examine these cranes, in both Melbourne and Sydney, would be beneficial. During the planning we were advised the TIDD PC 28 was going to be released and for us, this raised the stakes even higher. I was leaning towards the TIDD anyway because I was especially impressed with all aspects of its design and capabilities and when they announced the release of a 28t machine it closed that gap further,” he said.
“We still went on the road and we test drove the Humma, we’d already had a look at the 25t Franna beforehand, and then we went to the launch of the TIDD PC 28 at the Baden Davis Crane Connection yard in Sydney in May last year. We saw that machine unveiled and went back the next day to look at it up close and personal and actually operated it, it was a no brainer, we decided right there and then that we’d purchase it,” Lawrence said.
The TIDD PC28 features improved operational function designed to help operators work more efficiently and comfortably on construction sites and also on the road. Increased lift capacity and greater manoeuvrability, in smaller work areas, are key benefits of the new
Safety features include the Dynamic LMI with a deadlock switch inside the cabin and the LMI bridging switch outside the cabin. Slew Safe is an optional safety addition for the TIDD PC28, and has been included on Lawrence Engineering’s new crane.
crane. The TIDD PC28 is constructed using the highest quality components with safety a m ajor focus with every element of its design.
Safety features include the Dynamic LMI with a deadlock switch inside the cabin and the LMI bridging switch outside the cabin. Slew Safe is an optional safety addition for the TIDD PC28, and has been included on Lawrence Engineering’s new crane.
Slew Safe is designed to prevent rollovers and works with a number of features including audible alarms, LMI warnings and power steering is restricted to 15 per cent to reduce further slewing. Slew Safe cannot be over-ridden but will operate normally in the safe direction. According to Stephen Dance, TRT’s country manager in Australia, the TIDD PC28 is the only pick and carry crane with this level of safety.
The TIDD PC28 has also been designed with operator comfort in mind.
Many of the key features have been designed based on industry feedback during the TIDD PC28’s development. These features include: • European standard automotive finish; • shortest forward projection in its class; • an outstanding turning radius, articulating 44° on either side; • 2.3t roadable counterweight; • Mercedes Benz DM906 six-cylinder, turbo charged intercooled 205kW diesel engine; • 6.12-18.65 high tensile boom; • Allison 3000 series automatic transmission, 6 speeds forward; • Kessler high-speed planetary axles with diff lock on front axle; • Meritor transfer case; • two stage engine and exhaust brake; • 410 litre tank with locking cap; • automatically activated emergency hydraulic steering; • dual line airbrakes on all wheels with ABS; • pneumatically released spring applied emergency/park brake on all wheels; • Ergonomic ROPs cabin; • 150kg rated suspension seats; • 3 point integrated safety belts. The optional features include: • Slew Safe; • traction air tyre pressure management – maintaining 130 PSI at all times; • 1.1t superlift counterweight.
The new 18.65m high tensile full power boom features a 75 per cent stationary chart for the heavy lifts and 66 per cent pick and carry chart. The boom’s telescope Sections 1 and 2 are fully synchronised and provide hook compensation. Telescope Section 3 is independently operated with its own hydraulic cylinder.
The TIDD PC28 features a 28t maximum lift on the lug and 27.6t on the hook block, delivering lifting capacities for improved efficiency and greater lift Increased lift capacity and greater manoeuvrability, in smaller work areas, are key benefits of the new crane. options and setting a new benchmark in the industry.
Moving from the stationary chart to the pick and carry chart is as simple as turning off the hold brake.
“We took delivery of our machine in mid-August. It then had to go through the process of being accredited for the mine sites and gain site approvals, we also had it painted in our company colours, stickers made, and it was ready to go. Training was also a big part of it.
The support from the Baden David Crane Connection has been fantastic. Anthony Davis has been really good he rings just to see how the machine is operating and performing. He’s a good bloke and good to deal with and hopefully we’ll get to deal with him again in the future,” said Lawrence.
Lawrence mentioned that the Slew Safe system was a decision on their end as well given th at the TIDD PC28 will spend a lot of time operating on mine sites.
“We see this is going to provide a big advantage as we are the only company in this region to have the safest pick and carry crane on the market and probably the world, and we knew the mining industry will find this very attractive. In promoting the machine to our customers, we’ve really promoted the Slew Safe technology as a feature, and the response has been terrific. It’s worked really well, and the mines understand that with the TIDD the chances of incidents, compared to other pick and carries on the market, are minimal,” he said.
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