THE DEDICATED RESOURCE FOR THE CRANE INDUSTRY / NOVEMBER/DECEMBER 2019
GAME CHAINGER NOBLES NEW GRADE 100 CHAIN SOLUTION
Official Media Partner
FEATURES Review of the CICA Conferene and Exhibition
Crane logisitcs: A 24/7 game of chess
How hard is your insurance working for you?
experts IN MOBILE PLANT insurance
With over 25 years’ experience, UAA prides itself on innovative insurance solutions for the mobile plant industry in Australia, New Zealand and globally. Our focus is on developing long term relationships with our customers built on mutual respect and reliability. UAA’s claim service team has extensive experience in managing claims for our customers and has access to a network of the very best industry service suppliers across Australia and New Zealand. Industrial Special Plant and ProCon underwritten by QBE Insurance (Australia) Limited. ABN 78 003 191 035, AFSL 239545. Underwriting Agencies of Australia Pty Ltd. ABN 86 003 565 302 AFS Licence 238517. Underwriting Agencies of New Zealand Limited (UAA). 4758199, NZBN: 9429040999678. J6663
Industry tailored products include: Industrial Special Plant cover – combining seven cover options in one comprehensive insurance package plus; ProCon - also streamlining five key cover options under one policy,
For more information on UAA’s Industrial Special Plant and ProCon products please contact your Insurance Broker or Agent.
IN THIS ISSUE
26
38
44
10 Nobles’ “Game Chainger” Nobles launch a new high-grade chain sling range. 12 CICA’s President Report CICA Conference and Exhibition celebrates “40 Years On” and looks to “The Next Generation” in Perth 15 CICA Hall of fame Inductees The first in a series of interviews with CICA Hall of Fame Inductees 19 CICA NSW Chairman’s report CICA NSW chair takes a look at the next 12 months 23 CICA Member Profile Debner Cranes focussing on what they do best 26 Crane Traineeship program Regional CICA member discusses the importance of trainees to their business 29 Crane logistics, a 24/7 game of chess Leading crane hire company discusses the importance of logistics
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
33 Sany announces new regional dealer Sany makes major announcement about local representation
46 New AWPs from Tadano New range of Tadano Aerial Work Platforms set to shake up the market
36 New 500t crawler for marine contractor Brady Marine and Civil adds 500t crawler to its fleet
48 Borger Cranes and Active Crane Hire – 12 months on New models help tower crane fleet keep pace with changing market demands
38 World’s longest running construction project speeds up Potain cranes help fast-track completion of Barcelona’s Basilica Sagrada Familia
52 Anti-Collision systems for tower cranes A closer look at regulations around tower crane operations compared to other global markets.
40 How hard is your insurance working for you? UAA insurance broker, Trans-West sets the bar
54 New modules for 3D planning on the go A1A Software launches new planning modules for smart phones and tablets
42 TIDD PC28 impresses in Brisbane Brisbane crane hire business confident new TIDD will impress Tier One builders 44 Removing the articulated pick and carry stigma Safety demonstration designed to reinforce increased safety features on pick and carries
57 Extended warranty from leading hoist manufacturer Kito PWB extends warranties on its range of electric hoists 58 CICA Conference and Exhibition review Highlights from the recent CICA Conference and Exhibition November 2019 CAL / 3
FROM THE EDITORIAL TEAM
WELCOME TO THE NOVEMBER/ DECEMBER ISSUE OF CRANES AND LIFTING THE RECENT CICA CONFERENCE and Exhibition is understandably a major focus for this issue. With over 350 delegates making their way to the Hunter Valley, the technical and business workshops were well attended and well received. The tone of the conference was set with the keynote address from Kurt Fearnley. The three-time Paralympic champion, who has won over 30 wheelchair marathons, spoke about self-expectation and the importance of setting challenges in every aspect of life. He described the pain and physical
exhaustion of crawling the 96km Kokoda trail; how it challenged him, his family who walked with him, and the local villagers who volunteered their time to help. Kurt’s story is truly inspirational. This CICA conference reinforced how highly the global crane industry values the Australian market. International management from major crane manufacturers shared their knowledge and experience on the Manufacturers Panel and were then available to discuss future product developments and global trends. This issue also focusses on the tower crane sector. New models have been released to meet the changing demands from a construction sector that continues to evolve. We look at the issue of “oversailing” and how its impact is shaping the makeup of tower crane fleets. We also explore the importance of safe work practices relating to tower cranes and how this is policed in other global markets. We also report on one of the world’s longest standing construction projects and how its completion is being accelerated by a fleet of tower cranes. Managing the logistics of a large crane fleet is a complex and challenging process and we speak to a logistics manager who likens his role to a 24/7 game of chess. On behalf of the Cranes and Lifting team, we hope you enjoy the read. We wish you all the best for the festive season and a healthy and happy new year. As always, before I sign off, if you think you have a story to tell (which you probably do), feel free to make contact.
Simon Gould Editor, Cranes and Lifting 4 / CAL November 2019
Published by:
11-15 Buckhurst St South Melbourne VIC 3205 T: 03 9690 8766 www.primecreativemedia.com.au CEO John Murphy E: john.murphy@primecreative.com.au Chief Operating Officer Zelda Tupicoff E: zelda.tupicoff@primecreative.com.au Publisher Christine Clancy E: christine.clancy@primecreative.com.au Group Managing Editor (Northern) Syed Shah E: syed.shah@primecreative.com.au Editor Simon Gould E: simon.gould@primecreative.com.au Business Development Manager Brad Marshall E: brad.marshall@primecreative.com.au T: 0403 993 443 Client Success Manager Justine Nardone E: justine.nardone@primecreative.com.au Design Production Manager Michelle Weston E: michelle.weston@primecreative.com.au Art Director Blake Storey Design Kerry Pert, Madeline McCarty Subscriptions Frank Rapone T:03 9690 8766 E: frank.rapone@primecreative.com.au The Publisher reserves the right to alter or omit any article or advertisement submitted and requires indemnity from the advertisers and contributors against damages or liabilities that may arise from material published. © Copyright – No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted in any means electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise without the permission of the publisher.
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
AT-300CG
Safety. Efficiency. Comfort. Made purposefully for operations needing deeper reach or negative elevation, the AT-300CG is Tadano’s largest capacity telescopic articulated Aerial Work Platform. Featuring a maximum platform height of 30.4m, load capacity of 250kg, a 7.6m telescoping fly jib with full basket rotation to 313 degrees, 4 Motion Control, and outrigger monitoring with multi-position setup, the AT-300CG is the most versatile addition to your fleet. • Automatic Elevation and Swing Speed Control • Smooth Start and Stop function • Soft End Stroke function • One-touch Automatic Fold and Unfold
tadano.com.au I 1300 823 266
Tough Ones are in full control
Brilliant mounting solutions. The new EC-B. We have enhanced the practical design of the new EC-B series to ensure any necessary handling is easier and safer during assembly and transport. Reduction of the slewing platform and jib erection weight New LiConnect quick-assembly connectors for safe and easy installation Cost-saving transport through narrower jib design Optimised pickaback system: Fewer lifts by mobile crane required for counter-jib assembly
#liftinghero www.liebherr.com/tc/EC-B
INDUSTRY NEWS NEW STANDARDS SET WITH NEXT GENERATION FACILITY Tadano presses ahead with its innovation strategy with the opening of new production facilities in Kozai, Japan. With 100 years of history, Tadano has many positive developments over the decades, but its pioneering investments stand out. This includes taking over the crane division of the German company Koichi Tadano, the president and CEO of Demag, and particularly the construction Tadano outlined the significance of the of what it calls a “next generation” next generation facility. facility in Kozai, Japan. A grand opening ceremony took place to mark the & Clean” segment which incorporates the simplification of production launch on August 29th – which is also 100 years production lines and significantly greater control of issues to the day since Tadano was first founded. such as contamination. It also involves manufacturing the A crucial aspect of the future strategy is that this new Kozai cylinders, including coating, and welding the main booms in site works in cooperation with the Shido Tadano plant to designated areas. The “Ecology” segment includes factorymanufacture primarily rough-terrain cranes and truckwide LED lighting, a high-level safety system for coating, mounted cranes in addition to cylinders and main booms. an automatically controlled oil/water separation system, Most of these – up to 80 per cent, in fact – are not for the minimised environmental risks and, before too long, even Japanese market, according to Tadano. solar systems. “Human friendly” factors in elements such as The company sets great store on its ability to respond with air conditioning systems, consistently even floors, and even exceptional flexibility to unexpected dynamics in the lifting robots that have been specially designed to offer relief from equipment market. In addition to enhancing its production physically strenuous activities. The “Synchronism” segment capacities, the company sees this as a call for lean production leads to reduced process costs, fewer machine defects and the conditions, improved diversification, enhanced agility, and digitisation of information relating to plant operation. increased quality. So, in a bid to live up to these requirements, The significance of the next generation facility for Tadano the next generation facility combines every conceivable aspect was underlined by the company’s president and CEO, Koichi of an advanced production plant while also striking what they Tadano. He delivered the opening speech in the presence of call “the perfect balance between human and machine”. 140 guests, including the governor of the Kagawa prefecture. The next generation facility in Kozai is also based on the This was followed by an opportunity for the public to take a harmonious fusion of four segments. They have a “Simple tour of the facility, which spans 47,000sqm. Tadano has many positive developments over the decades including the recent acquisition of Demag.
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
November 2019 CAL / 7
INDUSTRY NEWS
CREWSAFE WINS NATIONAL SAFETY AWARD CICA’s CrewSafe, the standardised VOC assessment tool for the crane industry, was announced the winner at the recent National Safety Awards. The beautiful Doltone House on Pyrmont Wharf was the setting of the 2019 National Safety Awards of Excellence. These awards are Australia’s premier safety awards and only independent awards, recognising outstanding work, health and safety initiatives. Through a rigorous formal judging process, The Crane Industry Council of Australia (CICA) demonstrated how CrewSafe leads to sustainable improvement in workplace behaviour/ performance process and as a result CICA was selected as a finalist and then winner at the awards ceremony on 17 October 2019.
Patrick Cran, CICA plant and operator officer and Brandon Hitch, CICA CEO, with the National Safety Award. 8 / CAL November 2019
The insufficient, generalist High Risk Work License training was a catalyst for the development of CrewSafe. After a national industry survey in 2015 CICA began discussions on how a standardised verification of competency could be created for the crane industry. Too much time was being spent getting verified by nonspecialists in crane operation to allow veteran crane operators on to site. CICA formed a Steering Committee involving Bart Sutherland, Stephen Saraullo, Rolly Dimitrovski, Patrick Cran and Brandon Hitch, who worked together to develop and test CrewSafe, so that it is now an affordable and workable resource for measuring and recording crane operator competency that will lead to safer outcomes. CrewSafe is known as the Crane Industry’s VoC because each operator is assessed using the same criteria and
by demonstrating those criteria on a specific make and model of crane, the operator’s familiarity with unique functions are confirmed. Operators are assessed by peer operator assessors who are experts in operating a specific crane. Photo and video evidence of the assessments being completed ensures impartiality and provide a frame of reference that is universally accessible by site supervisors. The criteria for assessing an operator’s competency includes roadability; performing daily inspections; crane setup; configuring the rated capacity indicator; accessing information in the operator’s manual and manoeuvring a load safely. Assessments can be then be reviewed online at the job site to confirm competency. Each operator is assessed using the crane specific criteria, and because potential operators are evaluated by proficient operators with a high level of experience and expertise, they ensure crane-specific functions of unique pieces of mobile plant are met. Impartiality is achieved using photo and video evidence of the assessment which are stored and easily accessed. CrewSafe now has over three hundred registered users and this number in consistently increasing. The day CICA won the award was also the first day of the 2019 CICA Conference which was being held in the Hunter Valley, New South Wales. This year was the 40th National Conference and a time of reflection and celebration of the collaboration and progress made in and for the crane industry. CICA would like to thank the CrewSafe Steering Committee for their dedication and contribution; the crane companies that support their operators in taking part and the Tier 1 and 2 construction companies who have adopted CrewSafe for their sites. Customers can get more information about the CrewSafe program by visiting the website at www.crewsafe.com.au or calling Patrick Cran on 0488 004 274. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
The future starts now.
Working together to push forward, innovate, and contribute to the success of our customers worldwide.
Š Tadano Ltd. 2019. Tadano and Demag are trademarks of or licensed by Tadano Ltd. or its subsidiaries.
UPFRONT / NOBLES
GAME “CHAINGER” FROM NOBLES Nobles launches its high quality Grade 100 chain lifting system, without the premium price tag. A. NOBLE & SON LIMITED (NOBLES) recently announced the launch of their new range of Grade 100 lifting and lashing chain, components and slings, NOBLE10, available for local delivery around Australia. The new NOBLE10 range of chain slings are ideally suited to the construction, mining, manufacturing and heavy engineering industries and are being offered pre-assembled or made-to-order for Nobles’ customers nationally. NOBLE10 comes in five sizes of true Grade 100 alloy chain ranging from 8 to 20mm in diameter, together with enlarged master-links, optional grab hook shorteners and a choice of self-locking or safety latch hooks. All chain and components come painted in gloss blue and are embossed with “NOBLE10” on the chain and “NOBLES” on components, in addition to batch numbering for full product traceability. NOBLE10 is designed, manufactured and rigorously tested to Australian Standards AS2321, AS3775 and AS3776 and is 100 per cent exclusively imported by Nobles, Australia’s leading lifting and rigging specialists. Unlike many other Australian suppliers, Nobles sources its “value” lifting and rigging products, 10 / CAL November 2019
including NOBLE10, directly from white-label manufacturers, conducting thorough on-site manufacturing process and quality system checks before even beginning commercial discussions. During product selection, Nobles conducted extensive inhouse engineering design reviews and local sample/batch destruction testing on all NOBLE10 chain and components individually, as well as in fully assembled slings of all sizes and configurations. This process was so exhaustive, Nobles even specified selected component design modifications to improve integrated sling performance, delaying the launch of the entire product range, to ensure 100 per cent quality and performance from day one. Furthermore, during the chain and component production process Nobles conducted multiple manufacturer visits to observe critical manufacturing stages, such as heat treatment, forging and in-line product testing before the products were even shipped. And, as is required by Australian Standard AS3775, Nobles always conducts NATA accredited proof load tests on all manufactured NOBLE10 chain slings, which are all assembled by experienced
local Nobles production teams in Australia, before despatch to customers. As a true Grade V (100) chain sling under AS3775, NOBLE10 is 25 per cent stronger than the same sized Grade T (80) chain, components and slings. While Nobles will continue to sell premium European Grade 100 and locally made Grade 80, the new NOBLE10 range will be offered to Nobles’ customers at Grade 80 equivalent pricing. Over time, the company expects that many local Grade 80 buyers will move to NOBLE10 Grade 100 and premium imported Grade 100 buyers will eventually move up to Grade 120. To enable faster customer chain sling selection and delivery, as part of the launch, Nobles have provided customers with tables of over 70 pre-configured NOBLE10 chain sling item numbers covering a wide range of chain size, leg, and length combinations. If not already available in stock pre-assembled, NOBLE10 chain slings ordered this way will be rapidly produced in any one of Nobles’ five manufacturing centres based around Australia. NOBLE10 chain, slings, and components will also be available to order directly online from Nobles website to be shipped anywhere in the country. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
NOBLE10 comes in 5 sizes of true Grade 100 alloy chain ranging from 8 to 20mm in diameter
Nobles managing director, Guy Roberts said, “Nobles is highly trusted by customers for our technical expertise and product quality, and we have gone to great lengths to source and bring them a great quality Grade 100 chain sling at a great price. We fully expect that, over time, NOBLE10 will become the benchmark for high-quality, highvalue chain slings in the Australian market. In short, we believe it really will be a game changer for the lifting and
NOBLE10 is designed, manufactured, and rigorously tested to Australian Standards AS2321, AS3775 and AS3776.
During product selection, Nobles conducted extensive in-house engineering design reviews and local sample/batch destruction testing on all NOBLE10 chain and components individually, as well as in fully assembled slings of all sizes and configurations. rigging industry”. To mark the launch of NOBLE10 in October, Nobles is giving its customers a special behind-the-scenes
look at the work their team has done over the past 12 months, to bring the product to market, via short video interviews on its website. These videos capture the experience of bringing this important new product to market from three different internal perspectives: engineering/design, sourcing/quality and operations/testing. In addition, Nobles is offering visitors to its website the chance to win a trip for two to the UK in June 2020, including flights, 3 nights’ accommodation and VIP tickets to attend The Strongman Classic at The Royal Albert Hall in London. On the day of the Strongman Classic, the competition winners are to be accompanied by NOBLE10 ambassador Jordan “Biggie” Steffens, who has competed at previous Strongman Classic events. Full NOBLE10 product specifications and an online form to enter the competition are now available at www.nobles.com.au/noble10. To enquire about a quote or place an order for NOBLE10, customers can contact Nobles via email at sales@nobles.com.au or phone 1300 711 559.
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
November 2019 CAL / 11
CICA PRESIDENTS REPORT
COLLABORATION THROUGH PASSION CICA Conference and Exhibition celebrates “40 Years On” and looks to “The Next Generation” in Perth. “COLLABORATION” AND “INDUSTRY PASSION” are two key CICA values on permanent display at our annual conference. This year, the crane industry came to life in NSW’s Hunter Valley region during October as the conference was hosted with a theme celebrating “40 Years On”. It was 40 years since the inaugural conference at Broadbeach on the Gold Coast in 1979. Remarkably, we were blessed with a handful of attendees in 2019 who attended way back then, and they showed just as much charisma as I’m sure they did at the very first event all those years ago. This year’s program was first class, with 420 delegates at the Crown Plaza conference centre being the perfect backdrop to keep everything and everyone close by. It’s a great convenience for our annual conferences to have a crane display so close to the event, allowing all to admire some new acquisitions by local hirers. I would like to congratulate Jeff Wilson, the NSW chair, and his conference committee, along with the CICA office and the staff of Wise Connections for delivering a fabulous event in a boutique wine region without compromising any facet of the program. The conference program opened with a keynote address, and we were all intrigued by Kurt Fearnley and particularly inspired by his determination to live such a full life, despite his physical disability. The conference hall and technical information sessions were exceptionally professional, well attended and, at times, inspirational. I would like to make particular mention to the manufacturers panel and crane owners’ panel, which have become feature conference events. And for those of you who saw the session dedicated to cyber fraud, I know you are still looking over your shoulder now as it was revealed 12 / CAL November 2019
CICA president, Tom Smith.
how our personal data and locations are constantly tracked and recorded via our smartphones. As a way of celebrating this year’s theme of “40 Years On”, the conference added a further night on the program. Traditionally, the major manufacturers would use this night as an opportunity to attract clients to an exclusive event. This year, however, we had all delegates at the perfect venue to celebrate the theme, complete with line dancing and whip cracking. I was absolutely impressed by this night and hope it is something we can build on for future conferences. For some of us, the conference began with the CICA Annual General Meeting (AGM) where we delivered a comprehensive President’s Report and CEO’s Report detailing the financial position of the association. Further information focussing on the many number of programs delivering member benefits throughout the industry, supported and funded by CICA were also presented and discussed at the AGM. For those that missed this session, the information is available on the members-only section on the CICA website under “Resources: Members Documents” in the Members Portal. If
you are missing your company’s login details, give the CICA office a call and they will be sure to help out. Annually, a portion of the board is dissolved, and nominees are called upon to form a new board with the continuing directors. Our constitution governs that every year, three or four (alternately) of the seven elected board members are up for election, as well as any board appointed directors. This year, we received four nominations for the available three board positions. With our reduced number of elected directors now at a maximum of seven, we regularly see more nominations than positions. Although it is disappointing that not all those willing to contribute will be elected, it is great for our association to have a level of competitiveness to gain a directorship role on the CICA board. I’d like to congratulate our board members who were successful in being re-elected. In alphabetical order, Andrew Esquilant, Marcus Ferrari, and myself (Tom Smith) have all retained a board position. The remainder of the board are continuing to serve the second year of their two-year terms. These directors are; Geoff Bevan (re-elected as vicepresident), Danny Black, John Gillespie and Bart Sutherland. Further, I would like to congratulate Ben Pieyre for being appointed by the board as an eighth director. Ben returns to the board after a 12-month absence overseas and is a welcome addition as we strive to further improve our industry programs. Our association is benefiting from a dedicated team of volunteers on the CICA board. There are dozens of years of experience in serving as CICA directors among the eight representatives, and all are unified in making continuous industry improvements to the benefit www.cranesandlifting.com.au
of our members. I was nominated and re-elected by the board as CICA president for the second year. It is certainly very humbling to be extended such an endorsement from the CICA board and I certainly look forward to further contributing in the role. With such an abundance of experience on our board, with two past presidents still presiding as directors, I take comfort in the resources I have around me as we all work together with our CEO, Brandon Hitch, to further develop our industry programs. Many of us still working together at CICA have witnessed the CrewSafe program develop from a board room concept to its current form. It is our vision to deliver a “safe and progressive crane industry”. This program epitomises this vision and has gained national recognition as CICA was awarded the “Best WHS Training Program” for CrewSafe at the 27th Annual National Safety Awards of Excellence. This type of recognition is well deserved as I have the utmost confidence in this program. CrewSafe is poised to deliver us a far more advanced and improved method to verify competence by holding accountable those who are licensed and claim they are competent, to prove they are competent. Finally, I’d like to mention how enjoyable and uplifting this year’s Gala Awards Dinner was. We had around 450 attendees greeted firstly with drinks and canapes on the lawn before entering the formal dining area. The atmosphere inside was very relaxing and fit perfectly with the entire feel of the conference. I’d like to congratulate our “Excellence Award” winners being Marcus Rigney, Steve Gonano and Chris Kolodziej. Thank you again for your contributions because you have all worked tirelessly to improve our industry and we are all grateful for your continued effort. And a special congratulations is reserved for this year’s inductee to the CICA “Hall of Fame”, Jeff Wilson. Jeff has contributed over many years to CICA through the NSW committee, has been www.cranesandlifting.com.au
a CICA director, and is the current NSW branch chair. Thank you, Jeff and we all welcome you alongside fine company in the Hall of Fame. Congratulations to all award winners, and again, thank you to all who pledged an entry adding to the depth of quality our industry hirers put forward annually to our marquee event. We all look forward to the WA CICA BOARD Tom Smith – President Geoff Bevan – Vice President Andrew Esquilant – Director Danny Black – Director John Gillespie – Director Bart Sutherland – Director Marcus Ferrari – Director Ben Pieyre -Director CICA OFFICE Brandon Hitch Chief Executive Officer 03 8320 0444 0428 228 048 ceo@cica.com.au Heidi Hervay CICA Administration Officer (NSW, QLD & NT Secretariat) 0403 717 626 heidi@cica.com.au John Humphries VIC/TAS Liaison Officer 03 8320 0433 0439 556 867 john@cica.com.au Alice Edwards, Project Engineer 03 8320 0440 alice@cica.com.au
conference committee delivering a fabulous conference next year in the newly constructed Perth convention centre. Goodbye for now and have a safe New Year. Tom Smith CICA President Managing Director – McKay United 0439130567 Patrick Cran Plant & Operator Assessment Officer 0488 004 274 pat@cranesafe.com.au Damien Hense Road Safety Liaison Officer 03 8320 0460 0488 007 575 damien@cica.com.au Andy Chambers Crane Traineeship Coordinator 03 8320 0420 0477 577 667 andy@cica.com.au Taylah Allan CICA Administration Officer 03 8320 0455 taylah@cranesafe.com.au Michelle Verkerk Marketing and Media Communications Officer 0410 003 759 michelle@cica.com.au 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, please visit our website or call the CICA office. November 2019 CAL / 13
Introducing Superlift Counterweight allows you to lift up to 12% heavier loads in both pick & carry and on stationary charts.
TIDD PC28
28t Capacity
2.5m Wide – No IAP
4 Section Full Power Boom
EN13000 Key Outside Cabin
Stationary and Pick & Carry Charts
Unmatched 44° Articulation
Call Now | 07 3890 8800 Designed & Manufactured by:
Scan QR code to watch the NEW TIDD PC28 product video!
For More Information or Nearest Distributor
www.trtaustralia.com.au
CICA HALL OF FAME
2016 CICA HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE, PAUL CHURCHILL Paul Churchill reflects on his career in the crane industry and discusses the key issues facing the industry today and into the future. THIS YEAR WE HAVE FOCUSSED ON THE last 40 years in the crane industry and interviewed the Life Members. In this and upcoming issues of Cranes and Lifting magazine, we will continue to talk to those who have given of their time and skills to make the industry what it is today. The CICA Hall of Fame Award recognises the significant contribution made by an individual to the crane industry either on a state or national basis. After a career over 40 years, including various roles with crane suppliers and crane hire companies, Paul Churchill, technical manager for Melrose Cranes was inducted into the Hall of Fame in 2016. “I started in the industry as a dogman and rigger, over 40 years ago. I did a few years of this before I had a pretty serious motor bike accident and knew I wouldn’t be able to continue with the physical side of the job. “I happened to get put into a crane one day and drove it for Preston Erections and thought to myself ‘this is it’ and off I went from there. I was driving cranes for about 15 years, with Prestons, some time with Sydney Cranes (owned by Men from Marrs) and then, Everyready, which was the first crane company I stayed at for a considerable period of time and then Kannabrook Cranes,” he said. Churchill moved into supervising in 1993 and his first general manager role was with Kannabrook in 1996/7. “I was there for about eight years until the company was downsized and we managed the business into Whyco. I stayed on in operations for the transition period and from there I moved to Gillespies as the operations manager. I www.cranesandlifting.com.au
Paul Churchill, CICA Hall of Fame Inductee.
was there from 2004 until 2010 and loved working for John, he’s a great guy. “I then got an opportunity to work for Tutt Bryant as a regional manager and the general manager of Muswellbrook Cranes in the Hunter Valley. This meant I was living away from my family and home. The role was a big jump, the company was three times the size of what I was used to, with a lot of guys,” said Churchill. “It was a great role, in a great company and if I hadn’t been working away from home I would have been there longer, but I decided to come back to Sydney and at the end of 2012, I was approached by
Liebherr to become the national service and parts manager. “This was a change management role to change the focus of the service business to be more customer focussed. It was another big role, a good job with lots of challenges and travel. But once the changes had been implemented it was time to move onto something different,” he said. Churchill moved back to Tutt Bryant to start off their crawler crane rental business in Sydney and then moved to DJ Adair Cranes as general manager and moved from there went to Central Cranes. “The owner of Central Cranes was November 2019 CAL / 15
CICA HALL OF FAME
Paul Churchill, operating a P&H T550 crane in 1993 – very different times back then.
contemplating backing off from the business and I thought the business presented some interesting challenges and opportunities. After a little time, he decided he realised he still had the passion for the business and, as I’ve never been one to stay when there is no need, I decided to have some time off. I did some renovations on the family home and then returned to the industry with Melrose Cranes in December 2019 where my role is to support the management with anything technical or crane industry related,” he said. Throughout his career, Churchill has taken an active role in the crane association. “My role in CICA has almost felt like a second full time job at times. I’ve always been passionate about what I do. When I first got involved in the Crane Owners Association of NSW and went along to a couple of meetings, I could see a need for somebody to get into the technical area covering roadability and safety and I found myself as the convenor of the technical sub-committee, a position I held for some 25 years. “I was working in the association for five years or so when I was elected vice president, a role I held for 8 years and then 10 years as president. During this tenure, I saw the change from the Cranes Owners Association of NSW to the 16 / CAL November 2019
Crane Industry Association of NSW to the NSW Branch of CICA. I’ve been very involved in issues relating to roadability and road reform for the industry and there wouldn’t have been too many sub committees I haven’t served on,” he said. During his career, Churchill has seen significant changes to the industry and the association. “During all my time with the association and now CICA, I’ve certainly seen a major step up in the last 10 to 15 years. We’ve become more professional, members are being heard and there’s more service and information provided to members,” he said. “The ‘One Association’ initiative has been massive for our industry and it’s something I’d pushed for a long time and the fact we are now one association around the country with access to one huge knowledge base, we are effectively fighting a battle once rather than five or six times and we will no doubt continue to refine. “As CICA continues to keep pace with the needs and changes in the industry, we will see it continue to affect change across all the states. The goal is for each state to have the same rules and regulations, but I’m not sure I’ll see this in my lifetime. The NHVR is pushing for national uniformity and that’s where we need
to be, we need to be able to travel cranes all over the country in the same configuration. We need to be confident that we can sell cranes all over the country, buy different cranes from different places and run them wherever we are. NHVR has its work cut out, but at the end of the day I think that needs to be our goal and it’s achievable, albeit in small steps,” said Churchill. Another key focus for Churchill is the succession plan for industry. “Another huge issue is the ageing demographic within the industry. Anyone that knows me knows I’m passionate about the traineeship program. I put my hand up to help get the traineeship set up the way it is, especially the content of it and we’ve got to find the ‘magic key’ to get people to put trainees on because the ageing demographic is a major industry wide issue. “The baby boomer generation is the only one to have witnessed the transition from old technology to new technology and a lot of these guys have retired and the experience, skill and information isn’t being passed on to the younger generation. The window for this to happen closes in the next five to six years,” he said. Churchill makes some interesting observations about work place safety, which is understandably the one of the most important industry issues today. “There is a massive investment in infrastructure and a number of huge projects in the pipeline. With state and federal government involvement, these projects have very high safety requirements. Each Tier One contractor seems to have their own interpretation of how things need to be done and what the safety requirements are. “I see the massive safety paperwork overload and the additional resources crane companies require to handle this, I’m not sure how sustainable this is and personally I don’t think it’s necessarily made anything safer. There’s so much detail about safe work practices etc put in front of operators these days, there’s no way they can be comprehending all of it and it’s impossible to memorise what www.cranesandlifting.com.au
rules apply to which site. In my opinion, the uptake of the CICA Traineeship and CICA CrewSafe programs needs to be increased. We as an industry, need to regulate how our people are trained and what skills they’re encouraged to develop. Common sense and the ability to adopt to changing situations needs to be reintroduced to all training regimes,” he said. Technology has been a game changer for every sector of industry, including cranes. “In terms of technology, who knows where cranes are going? One thing I have noticed is the amount of technology the ‘Mum and Dad’ companies have adopted, which you wouldn’t have seen that 20 years ago, people would have continued to do what they were comfortable doing. Today, they are not too many companies around that aren’t embracing the changes brought by
technology. Who really knows where it’s all headed?” he said. Commercial viability is another ongoing challenge for the industry, says Churchill. “Unfortunately, profitability appears to be down, and if possible, we need to bring this up. If companies are profitable, they are more inclined to train people better. I’ve been making the point for some time that we give so many things for free these days. If you hire a $120 wheel barrow, you fill in the hire company’s contract and you sign their terms and conditions. If our clients call up for a $1 million or $2 million-plus piece of equipment, we are expected to provide our labour on it, who we have to train, employ and pay and then put all the safety requirements on top of that and sign their contract. These freebies and contractual requirements are sapping into the
4
4
4
4
4
4
4 4 4
4
4 4 4
4
4
4 4
4 4
4
4
®
viability of companies and there is so much being done for nothing. “Again, it’s a difficult issue. We can all say the rates need to be lifted, but it doesn’t matter what business or industry you’re in, it’s not easy to lift your prices these days. There’s always someone who might have a different pricing strategy, they’re not necessarily trying to scoot under anyone, I just think they have a different angle on what their business model is, and they run and price differently. “I think it comes down to the industry simply charging for the service/s it provides. Don’t be ashamed of what you need to charge to make and keep your business profitable and therefore viable. If you’ve supplied it, then why not charge for it? At the end of the day, the rewards need to outweigh the heartache, otherwise why would you continue to do it?” said Churchill.
ANY LIFT, ANYWHERE, ANY TIME National Project Crane Fleet 3t – 750t Crawler Cranes 13t – 450t Hydraulic Cranes
UNIVERSAL CRANES Call 07 3907 5800
www.universalcranes.com
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
CICA STATE CHAIRMAN REPORT
ONWARDS WITH FORTITUDE In this series of reports, Cranes and Lifting speaks to each of the CICA state chairman to discuss the challenges they face over the next 12 months. The first interview is with Jeff Wilson, chairman of CICA NSW. JEFF WILSON HAS BEEN AN ACTIVE member of the crane industry for 25 years. When he first started working with the association, it was the NSW Crane Owners Association. Back then, CICA was the national organisation, and New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria had their own state branches. Then, Wilson was the vice chairman of the NSW Association for approximately 10 years. “Six years ago, we embarked on the journey to become one association. I sat on the panel as the NSW representative to work through the various processes. In early 2018, took over the chairman’s role in a caretaker capacity and have remained in the role ever since,” said Wilson. “I’m enjoying my tenure and the role very much. The key is having good people around you and, for me, that’s the executive committee. It meets before every meeting where we discuss the issues and what we need to do as an association. These really are my right-hand people who greatly assist in getting things done. “The signs for the next 12 months are a little mixed. I think the signs for our members in NSW are fairly positive, there is still a pipeline of major works to come, but a lot of this work is waiting for funding. There are developers wanting to develop but the banks aren’t readily releasing funding due to the findings of the Banking Royal Commission. This is putting pressure on the NSW construction sector and on crane companies in particular. Because there isn’t as much work, they are having to manage their financial affairs accordingly,” said Wilson. There are other challenges ahead says Wilson. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
CICA NSW Chair Jeff Wilson and recent inductee into the CICA Hall of Fame
This includes the upcoming Enterprise Bargaining Agreement (EBA) negotiations which according to Wilson is always an “interesting and challenging” process. According to Wilson, roadability is a major issue for all the states, and while it is improving, there’s still more improvement required. Part of this will include NSW members learning to participate in the National
Heavy Vehicle Regulator (NHVR) permit system which also requires councils coming on board and a better understanding of the portal’s functionality. Meetings and forums have been well attended throughout this year, but there’s still work to be done, according to Wilson. Over the next 12 months, they are focussing on the small to medium-sized crane companies that November 2019 CAL / 19
CICA STATE CHAIRMAN REPORT
play a key role in the industry and will actively look to engage and encourage far greater participation from those companies. “John March, the vice chairman and I will be calling a number of these companies and asking for their feedback in terms of what CICA is doing well for the smaller operators and what we need to be doing better. Once we understand their issues and their priorities, we can then formulate some strategy around these for the year ahead,” said Wilson. The industry’s ageing demographic is the front and central issue for NSW, as it is with all states. “Another key focus is to continue the positive work we’ve been doing on the traineeship program and we’re looking to reinforce the value of the program by implementing a trainee awards night in conjunction with a Gala Dinner/ Christmas party. The traineeship program has been bubbling along for a number of years without a high degree of up take,” said Wilson. Wilson added that more effort was put into the program in 2019 and
“I’m enjoying my tenure and the role very much. The key is having good people around you and, for me, that’s the executive committee. It meets before every meeting where we discuss the issues and what we need to do as an association. These really are my right-hand people who greatly assist in getting things done.” they had 20 trainees positioned in companies this year which he considers to be a huge success. Moving forward, they intend to build on this momentum over the coming year. They plan to develop and expand the programme because it is a key issue for the industry with the crane industry having an ageing demographic, and a lot of people are getting closer to retirement. “Like a lot of skilled labour industries, there’s a massive skills shortage and we need to invest in trainees,” he said. “The branches are here to help, and we will do whatever we can for our members. As the chairman of NSW, I think the best way to get things done is to share the workload among a team
CICA conference images by RixRyan photography
Jeff Wilson opens the CICA 2019 Conference and Exhibition.
20 / CAL November 2019
of volunteers rather than ‘load up’ one or two individuals. This way, the association work gets done without detracting too much from our day jobs. We’ve also pushed some of the workload back to CICA which has full time employees who are there to help us as well. “It’s been a wonderful collaboration between the branch and CICA, Heidi does a phenomenal job in terms of rallying the troops and getting members to meetings. We will continue to build member participation and initiatives can be as simple as asking members to ‘bring a buddy’ who might be interested in what’s going on,” said Wilson. “The executive is made up of crane owners and also marketers to the crane industry. The main objective is for there to be more communication about our activities including the meetings which will total between six and eight throughout the year,” he added. “We are especially pleased with with the regional meetings and what was generated in Newcastle – $40,000 plus for charity was phenomenal,” said Wilson. Meetings in Sydney are evening events and take place on the first Wednesday of the month. The regional meeting is a full day event where they invite several guest speakers. The day is followed by a dinner and a charity auction. The regional meeting rotates from area to area and has been held in places like Bathurst, Canberra and Newcastle. “We generally choose regional centres where we think most regional members are likely to attend,” said Wilson. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
48m boom
MAXbase Equipped
LONGER, STRONGER, AND MORE COMPACT. The NEW GMK3060L delivers excellent reach with its 48 m main boom, best taxi load charts and the most compact carrier design in the 3-axle class. • • • • • •
Reach further and safer with longer 48m boom and 15m hydraulic luffing fly Reduced transport costs due to outstanding 12t per axle loadcharts Access tight building sites, city centers and indoors with unmatched compactness Increased safety and flexibility with MAXbase variable outrigger positioning Lower fuel consumption through latest Cummins engines with ECO Mode Faster, intuitive set-up with CCS (Crane Control System)
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
LEVEL ACCESS
3
NEW GMK3060L • Capacity: 60 t • Main boom: 48 m • Maximum jib: 15 m (0°-40° luff) • Maximum tip height: 65 m • Engine: Cummins QSL9-C350 Manitowoc Australia Tel: 02 8822 4000; infoANZ@Manitowoc.com www.manitowoc.com Western & South Australia WATM Crane Sales & Service Tel: 13WATM (13 92 86); info@watm.com.au Queensland TRT Australia Tel: 07 3890 8800 trt@trtaust.com.au
New Zealand TRT NZ Tel: +64 7 849 4839 trt@trt.co.nz
a1asoftware.com | 904-430-0355
Your Data, Your Way
The Leader in 3D Lift Planning Now bringing you more business tools for the unique needs of the crane industry. iCraneTrax
Plug & Play Telematics
3D Lift Plan
Sales & CRM Tools
GPS Tracking
Realistic 3D, Animation, Import Google Earth or CAD
GPS, Telematics & Maintenance Info
Maintenance Scheduling
Dispatch & Documentation
Faults/Alerts NotiďŹ cations
Detailed Rigging Plans
Detailed Reports
Usage Data
Largest Database of Cranes
Outrigger & Crawler Loads
CICA LIFE MEMBER
Ari and Marie Debner have had their ups and downs in the crane industry.
PLAYING TO YOUR STRENGTHS It might have taken “crane personality couple” Ari and Marie Debner a few goes, but focussing on what they do best turned their business into the success it is today. AFTER ALMOST 50 YEARS IN THE CRANE industry, Ari Debner from Debner Cranes has seen almost everything the industry can offer including tough recessions, immense changes in technology and increasing demands from clients. Today, his business is focused and excels at what it does best. Debner started in the crane industry in 1972 and by 1980 he and his wife Marie mustered enough finance to buy their first crane, a single steer 20t Kato 20B. Debner started by subbing to a couple of crane yards in Sydney. “We started our own crane company in 1980 subcontracting to crane companies in Sydney. I always wanted to work for myself, I think I got that flame from my father. It wasn’t because I could see an opportunity to make a lot of money, it was more about rewarding myself. If I did a good job I’d succeed and if I didn’t, it would be back to the drawing board,” said Debner. “I’d been driving cranes for other companies, but the rewards weren’t as good as I thought they’d be. I realised if I made a success of my own business, I www.cranesandlifting.com.au
could pay myself accordingly,” he said. It didn’t quite go according the script. “We kick off in 1980 and two years later we’re in a recession and there were hard times all round. It was a struggle for a number of years, the company I was contracted to asked me to move to another crane company, which I did, and it was difficult to make ends meet for a few years,” said Debner. He traded the Kato for a 28t Tadano TL251 thinking the new crane would be good for business, but it was still a struggle. “Then around 1986 the industry started to come good, everyone had work and being a subbie, I was able to take on my own jobs. But the crane company controlled the amount of work they gave me which was the downfall of being my own boss. On one hand, I was in control but on the other I really wasn’t. “They were telling me what to do and paying me what they wanted. When it came to work it would often be the case that the subbie was the last one left in
the yard and the first back in. I knew I had to get away from this scenario, but it took a while to do so,” he said. “In 1988, we bought our second new crane, a 50t Kato, which was a really nice piece of gear. It cost $570,000 at the time which was a lot of money. It was a larger crane than the ‘run of the mill’ cranes at the time,” said Debner. “In 1991, I left the second crane yard with this crane and started running the business from our home in Castlereagh. Then the recession ‘we had to have’ hit and it hit us hard. I had always had a passion for flying and I’d had a licence since the mid 1980s, so I sold the crane and flew commercially for about eight months. I quickly realised there was no money in flying and went back to the crane industry,’ he said. Debner had to start again with another secondhand crane, this time with a Kato 20B. The recession had hurt but not as much as it did others, some people in the industry had lost everything. By the mid 1990s the industry had turned around. According to Debner, progress for November 2019 CAL / 23
CICA LIFE MEMBER
the business was deliberately slow. “We moved very slowly and nervously because we had just about been put through the ringer, but Marie had stood by me and we survived. We chipped away, a bit at a time and by 1996 we were ready to buy another crane. By then, we had three or four cranes parked at our Castlereagh home and realised that was too many, and in 1998 we bought the yard here in Penrith and moved the cranes and associated equipment into the yard,” he said. Throughout the 1990s, the work wasn’t anything special – Debner wasn’t specialised like he is today. Back then, any job was a good job, that’s how he grew the business, he didn’t pick and choose who he worked for and what he did, as long as he was paid, he was happy. “In 2003, we bought our first Franna, pick and carries were popular, and everyone had them, but I wasn’t a big fan. However, we bought one and it turned out to be a good decision. We were doing a lot of work for Meriton and other work which suited the Franna,” he said. Although he didn’t know it at the time, Debner was headed towards a fork in the road. “In the early 2000s, we had 20 plus people working for us and I found myself doing all the work. My son Clint, who is now in the business was too young back then. Even though Marie was working full time in the office I could see we needed another allocator and I also needed a guy on the road looking for work. I was running around ragged doing it all and at times I thought I was going to have a heart attack. My phone would ring at five in the morning with problems, as is the nature of the crane industry,” he said. “I sat down with Marie and we decided enough was enough; we had to make our fleet the most effective fleet we could, with the best cranes we could possibly have. Our fleet has stayed at around seven to eight cranes and I get to remain in control of every aspect of the business. Our strategy was not to 24 / CAL November 2019
Debners recently lifting a Cola roof for a school.
increase the size of the cranes, but to upgrade to the latest technology with the latest models,” said Debner. Today, Debner runs seven cranes and six trucks which are all new. The company has invested in a special trailer from TRT to transport their big crane, a 220t Liebherr. The smallest crane in the fleet is a new Maeda 405 4t mini crane. The fleet also includes three Frannas, two Super Lift Frannas, a 90t and 95t Liebherr. There’s also specialised lifting gear which is available for hire. “We are focussed on having the best quality equipment designed for specialised and complex lifts. We are specialised in what we do,” said Debner. “We have customers requiring tiltup panel work, machine installations and we also do lots of work around air conditioning and cooling towers which is high rise, long reach work which suits our cranes.” “We work a fairly broad geographical area. Katoomba is as far west as we like to go, and we’ll work from Palm Beach to Cronulla. That said, we had a client that wanted us to go to the Gold Coast in a Franna and to Ulladulla a few times, which is 250 kilometres south of Sydney. In one instance, we found the job site was only 500 metres from the yard of a local crane company,” said Debner.
“These were specialist jobs in modular building, which is a very popular way of construction these days, and there is a real need for crane expertise in this area. Clients pay us to travel long distances because we understand the construction process. For them, the return is a quick turnaround; we conduct the lifts and the cranes, trailers and trucks are gone and the builders are in the next day. Lifting in the modular building market is an important part of our business,” he said. “For us, the planning of the jobs is the most important issue. We don’t just focus on our lift planning capabilities; we plan the whole job in detail. We look at the critical factors for each job; the logistics involved on getting the crane to site; what the site looks like; which crane is best suited for the job; the right crew for the job, and we try to factor in every scenario,” he said. “You’d be surprised at how well a small crane can manage a big job. That’s where my son and myself come into it, we go out and thoroughly plan the job and our clients are happy because of this. “The other day we lifted a Cola roof for a school, and we were the only crane company to quote on the lift. It was a complicated but, for us that speaks volumes, we enjoy the excitement of
completing complex and challenging jobs. Clients recognise our ability to carefully plan and implement the most difficult lifts,” said Debner. “We’ve been around a long time in a very competitive market. We are so grateful that our customers have recognised our abilities for 39 years and we thank them for their support,” said Debner. Ari and Marie have always taken active roles in the NSW Crane Owners Association (firstly) and now in CICA. “We went to our first crane conference in Perth close to 30 years ago and we’ve missed one conference in all that time. Marie and I are a good team and we started attending NSW meetings just to be involved, really. It seemed the committee always needed more help, so Marie put her hand up and has been involved in a range of different issues
®
and she has taken on a number of projects over the years,” said Debner. “The disappointing issue for us is the lack of representation on the committee from crane owners. There are so many crane companies in Sydney, yet very few get involved with the committee. CICA and the state committees are there for the overall good of the industry, especially the crane owners, and we’re focused on getting everyone’s cranes on the road. “We’re all time poor, but we make the effort to attend the meetings because it’s important to the industry and it’s equally important to be able to have a say as to the direction the industry’s heading. Today, we have a terrific National CEO and Brandon is doing a fine job; the association does need to be working on a coordinated, national basis,” he said.
“Ideally, we need some of the younger generation to step up and have their say by volunteering to work on some of the CICA initiatives for the benefit of all in the long run. The regular meetings provide ideal forums for everyone to have their say and we can all learn from our collective experiences,” said Debner. “Our son, Clint, has been working in the business for some time and he has three cranes of his own. He will be taking over the business in the long term, so we have a succession plan. “He loves the work which is the most important thing and we’re very proud of what he’s doing and I back him 100 per cent. It took him a long time to find the passion for the industry and if he hadn’t been interested in the family business, we would have probably shut the yard gates some time ago,” he said.
CICA TRAINING
EMBRACING THE CRANE TRAINEE PROGRAM As the industry faces the challenges of an ageing demographic, Coff City Cranes is proactively closing the generational gap. AFTER 15 YEARS OF RUNNING CRANE hire businesses for other people, Phil Makinson and his wife Jenny decided to do things for themselves and established Coffs City Cranes in 1999. The business remains family owned and operated to this day. Operations manager, Emma Makinson, spoke to Cranes and Lifting recently. “I was working in the construction sector, but I also looked after the safety and commercial paperwork for the family business. In 2012, the business was facing further growth opportunities and in 2013, my sister Sandra, returned from working in the Middle East. She took over the running of accounts, human resources and administration and I manage the
allocating, client relations and contract negotiations,” said Makinson. “By 2013, there was opportunity to expand our capabilities even further and we purchased two 20t Frannas, six months later a MAC 28t and six months after that, a 110t Tadano, Dolly and B Double, HIAB rigid. We purchased a second-hand 20t Franna and these were added to the existing fleet which included a Tadano 25t truck crane, 15t Franna, 50t Tadano truck crane, 20t Humma and 80t Grove,” she said. “Today, we work for companies like CPB, Lend Lease and Vision Stream. We work on network tower infrastructure, civil infrastructure, local road works and Pacific Highway upgrade work. There’s also local and general hire work,
Australian Rail Track Corporation work, contracts for the RMS, precast and tilt up panel work and all this happens from Ballina down to Port Macquarie,” she said. For some time, the Makinsons have been aware of the importance of closing the generational gap in both the business and the industry, and they appreciate the value of training younger people in the correct and safe way. “We knew there was a generational gap in the industry and also in our business. We have a number of employees facing retirement and when jobs become available, we have attracted younger people, but they don’t know our industry. In some cases, they have their tickets through working in the mines, but they don’t have general hire or civil Coffs City Cranes trainees – Simon Edwards, Darrin McGilvery, Douglas Collins, Sam Russo.
26 / CAL November 2019
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
construction experience,” she said. “When I first came back to the business, I tried to set up an employee traineeship program to upskill our dogmen to get their crane and rigger tickets, but at the time, Coffs Harbour TAFE weren’t prepared to buy the module. We spent six to eight months trying get other companies, existing employees and young people on board, but to no avail.” “We were approached by a local high school who had students with difficulties who didn’t want to be at school. We decided to take them on, two days a week, for work experience. Then, during last years’ CICA Conference in Melbourne, we were talking about the Crane Traineeship Program and I jumped at it believing it would be the best and right way to train people about the industry,” said Makinson. Makinson soon learned that other CICA members had already adopted the program. “Danny Adair mentioned he had people working in the program and I spoke to John March, the vice chair of CICA NSW, who said we needed 14 people signed up to the program before December; this was in October. I said I’d get the required signups and so I rang 15 crane companies and other people I knew. Between us alone, we recruited eight trainees, and with the other numbers generated elsewhere, the program was up and running” she said. According to Makinson, there are numerous positives to the Traineeship program. “Traineeships are a great way of combining employment and training to develop someone’s skills leading to a Certified Qualification and ongoing employment and they provide business owners with not only competent and employable candidates, but developed individuals with skills, experience and commitment to the industry,” she said. “As a partnership between employers, trainees and the Registered Training Organisation, individuals are able to earn money, learn skills and gain accredited qualifications at the same time. “The program provides companies www.cranesandlifting.com.au
like ours with the opportunity to give something back to others with the confidence trainees are being taught the right behaviors and are gaining valuable experience in real work and industry environments. Hopefully, this provides a head start and a pathway to a lifelong career in the crane sector,” said Makinson. The program ensures trainees are taught the latest knowledge and skills from qualified operators, riggers, doggers and associated trades, in the industries with federal government
when it’s complicated like lifting tilt up panels, but after three days the client will be shaking the trainees hand impressed with their contribution and professionalism,” said Makinson. “It’s also good for the older guys in our crew as they are encouraged to go back to basics as they teach the trainees. We find the senior guys can get a bit complacent when they’ve been doing a certain job a certain way for a long time. When they stop and explain what they are doing and why, it’s a good reminder for them.
The family behind Coff City Cranes – Emma, Phil, Jenny and Sandra Makinson.
incentives available to assist throughout the course of the traineeship (eligibility criteria applies). Trainees finish with a nationally recognised qualification which will provide a competitive difference in the job market while learning in the workplace. Since starting the traineeship program, Coff City Cranes has taken on trainees and they haven’t looked back. “The program is exceeding our expectations. The kids love it, they are doing something they really enjoy, they’re enthusiastic and want to learn. They listen and the program is excellent in terms of learning the ‘right way’ regarding safe work practices. Some of our clients have been apprehensive learning a trainee will be working on their project, especially
“I think it is a very positive process for anyone in our industry. We’ve currently got four trainees in our program. We would have had five, but one was too young to start this year. He’s started his diesel mechanics apprenticeship and starts his crane traineeship next year,” she said. “We’re happy with the way the program works. We’ve got one trainee who enjoys working in the office on the lift planning and spread sheets. The others are very motivated, and we don’t need to worry about their attitude, and they love the work. At the end of the day, it’s all about managing your employees as individuals. The program is working for us and our trainees are getting hands experience of our industry,” said Makinson. November 2019 CAL / 27
EXCEEDING YOUR EXPECTATIONS
500 TONNE
www.melrosecranes.com.au R
ISO 9001:2015
REGISTERED COMPANY Certificate No. AUP1279CA
Contact details
The Melrose “Evolution”
Gregg Melrose Managing Director gregg@melrosecranes.com.au +61 418 299 800
Available with either of the 50m or 84m main boom options; this 500 Tonne Liebherr LTM1500-8.1 is extremely versatile & quick to erect.
Ryan Melrose General Manager ryan@melrosecranes.com.au +61 428 299 800
This is a complete crane with every Liebherr design configuration to meet all possible lifting requirements in its class.
R
ISO 45001:2018 & AS/NZS 4801:2001
REGISTERED COMPANY Certificate No. AUP1279HS
The crane has 6m-63m hydraulic offset fixed fly + 21-91m luffing fly options along with its Y-shaped guying system attachment.
IN FOCUS / CRANE LOGISTICS
CRANE FLEET LOGISTICS, A 24/7 GAME OF CHESS With a crew of 100, each needing 10-15 major inductions, and up to 14 trailers required for a fully dressed 450t or 500t crane, planning is critical. Welcome to another day of logistics management at Melrose Cranes. Cranes and Lifting finds out more. BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT MANAGER, Mick Melrose and logistics manager, Shaun Russell, have worked for Melrose Cranes for the same 11 years and their roles are indelibly linked. While Melrose organises lifting solutions for clients, Russell has to ensure the right cranes, crews and associated equipment is available, all day every day. After an extensive career building luxury housing in Australia and overseas, Melrose moved into construction management on multi residential sites where he had various roles including site foreman and site manager. “My brothers kept asking me to move into the family business and I kept saying no, mainly because the timing wasn’t right. Eventually, they asked again saying ‘this was the last time they’d ask’, and I figured OK, I’ll give it a go,” he said. “I started as a project manager which quickly moved into senior project management. The role has always included work around tender contracts, chasing work and then managing the contracts. MCR’s major clients include CPB and Lend Lease so projects like Barangaroo and the North West Rail Link have essentially been under my management. “It’s only recently that my role has changed to focus more on business development which means I spend less time on site. The business has essentially grown through the work of other project managers working under me. “Projects start with relevant contacts being chased down to ensure we get the opportunity to tender. We speak to them and get involved as part of the tender www.cranesandlifting.com.au
process, put the tender together and submit it. It’s then a case of attending the relevant meetings and managing the negotiations through to contract approval,” he said. “With Barangaroo for example, I was the lead project manager on site. I became the main point of contact day to day for all the craneage requirements and lift study planning. My job was to become part of the client’s team without being part of it. I ran Barangaroo on my own for the first couple of years and as the project grew, a couple of team members joined me onsite. It took four years to complete Stage One and now we’re on Stage Two, we’re in a different situation. I put in the work to ensure we were awarded the contract, and now the project is the responsibility of two of my managers and I help them when required,” said Melrose. The Melrose business has grown and flourished during Melrose’s tenure. “The first nine years of my life at Melrose Cranes was all about building our position and relationships with the Tier One builders in the infrastructure sector and construction markets. It’s important to have relationships with Tier One builders and to have repeat business. “I have to be in a position where I’m talking to our clients about the capabilities of Melrose Cranes, the capabilities of our fleet and our people, and the tailored solutions we are able to provide. Obviously, we are doing everything we can to ensure our fleet meets the clients requirements or to find ways to make it fit their requirements. Part of the reason we’ve been successful in doing that is, as I’ve said before, you
have to become part of their team without being part of it. It helps if a client looks at you as a trusted extension to what they are doing every day and that’s where my background and building knowledge has helped,” said Melrose. “I have been able to help client’s engineers with craneage solutions, but from the building perspective rather than just a crane perspective, and this gave them trust in me, mainly because I understand the challenges they face. In many instances, my role is to advise the client on the various lift solutions available for their particular application, because every site and every application is different, they can’t be expected to know what the best solution and crane combination looks like. That’s my job. My role is to help them find the right solution, the most cost effective and productive solution for the task they have and that can be a three-hour job, a one-day job or a job that runs for six weeks,” he said. Melrose confirms how fundamental the logistics role is to the business. “During my time here, a very important part of my role is to constantly working with Shaun (Russell) and his logistics team. On a day to day basis, we discuss crane bookings, make changes to bookings, logistics, trucks, truck movements and the planning. I will relay the planning that I need from him, be it through verbal communication or lift planning, and he runs the day to day logistics of the fleet and all associated equipment and labour, etc. The client is often capable of changing their mind numerous times a day, which November 2019 CAL / 29
IN FOCUS / CRANE LOGISTICS
can make it tough. You spend a lot of time communicating externally and internally when you are in the project management role. There are so many variables associated with construction and infrastructure programs, which I certainly understand,” he said. Shaun Russell first joined Melrose Cranes just over 10 years ago. His initial years were under the watchful eye of an industry legend. “I was mentored by Steve Smith who is a legend in this company, the allocators world and the crane world in general. His way of mentoring was fairly tough. His approach was to ‘listen, don’t speak, watch and learn the way I do everything’. He was real old school and you had to learn quickly; it was sink or swim. I ended up working under Steve for close to five years until his unexpected and very sudden death,” said Russell. “Although there is a team of people involved, on a day to day basis I am responsible for the general running of Melrose Cranes. This involves the allocation of cranes, the crew’s work in the yard, inductions for the crew, organising crane training, the day to day organisation of everything from a logistical perspective. “Typically, I get to the yard at five in the morning and make sure everyone is on time and the cranes are running. My day is then spent planning the next few days to a week out. I chase client requirements,
I liaise with Luke Holland our fleet manager, to ensure the fleet is up to date and the cranes are in good working order. I’m also responsible for the crew’s fatigue requirements and holiday allocations. Each major site has its own requirements. The most critical element of my role is around plant inspection/approval, crew inductions and VOC requirements. Prior to sending the crane, I need to ensure the paperwork is up to date for the crane, the crew and any support vehicles, trucks and trailers. It’s all part of the allocation process and knowing that A goes with B and C with D,” he said. According to Russell, managing the logistics of a large crane fleet, crew and associated equipment is like a game of chess. “Sometimes, it can be a constant juggling act. If an issue of any kind arises, I have to assess my available moves to resolve the problem. If a client’s job is postponed, what do I do to cover it? I ask myself, ‘OK that crane is spare, so we’ll move it over there, but is it the same model crane?’ The move may affect other clients so I have to consult with the project managers because a revised lift study change may be required,” he said. “It could be something as simple as a crew member calling in sick. I have to ensure his/her replacement not only has the ability to operate the crane, but also ticks every box and is approved to do so
Shawn Russell, Melrose Cranes and Rigging, logistics manager (seated) and Mick Melrose, business development manager. 30 / CAL November 2019
per the site requirements, inductions and VOC’s etc. “These are the biggest planning issues we face. Although I understand why, from when I started to now, the increase in compliance and the resulting administrative paperwork is unprecedented. When I started there was no ‘prior’ induction required compared to today where we have a crew of 100, each needing 10-15 major inductions, some of which involve medicals and one to two days of induction attendance prior to arriving on site. If we have one operator sick, I might have to make 10 moves to cover the guy who called in sick at four in the morning, to ensure everyone has the right inductions for the various jobs,” said Russell. “It’s generally easier when the job involves one of the cranes in our ‘grunt range’ (as managing director, Gregg Melrose calls it), we can cover it with another, but when it comes to the big cranes there’s a lot of planning involved to ensure we have the right men on the job and the right trucks and trailers are available and locked away. You could have up to 14 trailers required for a fully dressed 450t or 500t crane so that takes a lot of planning because it impacts on your day to day manpower and the availability of equipment etc.,” he said. For all this to work efficiently, Russell needs a good team around him, and the implementation of technology helps. “I couldn’t do this without an outstanding team around me. For the past two years I’ve had an excellent logistics coordinator, Wilson Cheah in my team and he’s great and we recently added Kevin Meng as our afternoon shift coordinator. “We also implemented Visual Dispatch as our crane management software several years ago, prior to this it was all paper based. Visual Dispatch helps by displaying the relevant information relating to inductions, for example. But I don’t necessarily have Visual Dispatch open to me at one in the morning when I get the call from one of the crew calling in sick, that’s when the ‘game of chess’ starts,” said Russell. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
LEADERS IN CRANE SAFETY
SPECIALISING IN THE FOLLOWING APPLICATIONS:
- RATED CAPACITY INDICATORS - INTEGRATED CRANE CONTROLS - CAMERA SYSTEMS - WIND MONITORING - ATEX AND IECEX SYSTEMS - REMOTE TELEMATICS - DATALOGGING AND DWP ANALYSIS
WE DEVELOP & MANUFACTURE PREMIUM SAFETY SOLUTIONS FOR THE OEM AND RETROFIT MARKETS WORLDWIDE
32 WEST THEBARTON ROAD, THEBARTON SA 5031 AUSTRALIA TEL: +61 8 8238 3500 EMAIL: SALES@ROBWAY.COM
WWW.ROBWAY.COM
IN FOCUS / SANY
RONCO GROUP APPOINTED REGIONAL DEALER FOR SANY CRANES Ronco Group, specialising in construction equipment and engineering, was recently appointed as the regional dealer for Sany cranes. Cranes and Lifting magazine spoke to Ronco managing director, Robert Smith, about the development. RONCO HAS BEEN OPERATING FOR over 25 years and was recognised for manufacturing its own crane the Ronco R6000. The company was originally founded by Ron Downie and in 2011 Robert Smith, Ronco’s then general manager, purchased the company from Downie. “When we first purchased Ronco, it was a family business with a small facility in Midland that featured three maintenance bays and a wash bay. We quickly grew the business and moved to a 4000 sqm site including a large workshop but it wasn’t big enough to receive large pieces of equipment such as full crawler cranes with booms for assembly, so four years ago we moved to the current facility in Maddington,” said Smith. “This is a much better facility in terms of its ability to service cranes. We have a 12,000 sqm facility with a 4000 sqm storage facility in the same street and we are equipped with twin overhead cranes, a 100t press, sand blasting facilities, EPA wash down and more equipment and appliances to ensure we meet customer’s needs,” he said. Smith discusses the recent appointment as the regional dealer for Sany cranes. “Currently, our distribution foot-print is understandably focused in Western Australia. The recent CICA conference provided an ideal opportunity to present our plans to the industry and we expect to make announcements in the near future,” said Smith. “Sany product has been on the Australian market for approximately 10 years and the focus has been on crawler. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
Mark Turner, Ronco’s operations manager and managing director, Rob Smith, at the recent CICA Conference and Exhibition
Eight years ago, Sany had a strong relationship with James Equipment, which became part of the Boom Logistics Group,” said Smith. “Back then I was the service and parts manager for James Equipment and we mainly sold crawler cranes. James Equipment was also handling the Tadano product and the Sany crawler cranes filled the gap in the range that we had. Through this relationship, units were delivered to customers like Tutt Bryant, Boom Logistics and various others,” he said. The management at Ronco has been working very closely with the Sany factories to ensure specification of the cranes and the manufacturing processes will meet the demands of the Australian market. “Mark Turner, Ronco operations
manager and Neil Holroyd, Ronco service manager, have just arrived back from the factories in China where they have been measuring up the all terrains and inspecting some of the models that are currently on their way to us. Some units be will arriving before Christmas and some just after,” said Smith. “We will be bringing in a range of crawler cranes with capacities from 55t to 650t and also a range of telescopic crawler cranes with models from 55t and 80t. There’s also a range of rough terrains from 25t to 120t and from there we will move steadily and in stages. Mark Turner and Neil Holroyd talk about their experiences during the recent factory visit. “We measured two of the all terrains, the more popular sizes in the market, a 5 axle 130t all terrain and a 5 axle 220t. November 2019 CAL / 33
IN FOCUS / SANY
The 220t was overweight on its axles for Australian roads, fine for Europe and China but just not compliant with Australian requirements and the 130t and 300t met Australian requirements. The all terrain range goes up to over 1000t,” said Turner. “We have learnt from the errors made by other distributors over the years in terms of getting product here and then realising it isn’t roadable. We want it to come from the factory ready to go. “We’ve established that the 110t and 130t all terrain will be fine and they’re the first two we’ve measured and confirmed. They come on the 20.5’s and they’ll be within the road regulations for West Australia at the moment. At this stage, we haven’t looked in depth at all the other states. That’s the next stage of the development,” he said. Sany’s brief is very clear, they’re here for the long term, they want it right with Ronco right from the very beginning and into the future. According to Smith, this strategic approach allows time to research the Sany range to ensure the right models arrive. “We will be checking every machine one by one and it may be that we can’t bring in some models from a range, but others might be fine. We will literally measure and weigh every crane because Australian requirements are stringent,” said Smith. “We will also bring in Sany truck cranes probably the 25t and the 60t models to start with. We are starting slowly, we’re not going to swamp the market by bringing in the huge Sany range of machines, we are under strict instructions to approach and ensure our approach to the market is right,” he said. Smith is aware that a certain stigma is still attached to the manufacture of Chinese products but argues the Sany production line is what he sees as world class and in the same class as other leading manufacturers. “The Sany production lines are as good as any I’ve seen around the world. The factories employ 3,500 workers, all componentry is checked 34 / CAL November 2019
prior to production, the production lines are automated with every step of the manufacturing process carefully checked. They use robotic welding technology wherever possible. Simply put, the quality of Sany product is as good as its competitors and in some cases better. “The main slogan for Sany is ‘Quality Changes the World’, and the president of Sany believes he will change the world’s perception of China by producing top quality equipment,” he said. According to service manager, Neil Holroyd, the Sany factories are technologically advanced and producing very good quality equipment. “I’ve been to four of the factories and all are very similar in terms of concept and execution. They are using a ‘rolling road assembly’ method where they assemble all the major components prior to assembly and put together the finished machine on a rolling road which takes a very short period of time to assemble a machine. “We’ve been through the welding and fabrication areas which feature robotic welding systems. I deliberately spent time watching each station and as soon as the welding was finished, the engineers were there with appropriate measuring appliances, checking right angles and checking and measuring for straightness after the weld. Sany is doing it right, there are no short cuts, they’re putting serious quality control into every product manufactured,” said Holroyd. “Every station in the production process is timed and large LCD screens highlights the progress of each machine down the assembly line. Each station has a team and they have goals to meet and they are meeting them,” he said. Sany has implemented leading edge and intelligent manufacturing processes throughout its factories ensuring a high quality, finished product. Automated processes include: •S any was the first in Asia to introduce 3000t bending machines. •K ey welding joints on the boom, slewing
platform, frame and other structures are 100 per cent robotically processed. • CNC equipment features in a multifunction machining centre. • Welding quality is managed in a simulated control network. • Automatic paint systems feature electrostatic coating and electrophoresis technology enhancing anti-corrosion capabilities. • Assembly lines are digitally controlled with manufacturing process completed in a single line. • Assembly is mechanised with high precision sensors managing processes including the automatic tightening of U-axle bolts. Smith confirms Sany is not only investing in the best manufacturing technology, but also the best crane people from around the world.
SANY SRC series rough terrains are on their way. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
“When it comes to the attention to detail and general presentation, the Sany manufacturing facilities are right up there. All crew members on the production line are dressed as you would expect from a world class manufacturer, they all have the same uniform, safety glasses, hard hats etc. when you watch the Sany factory operating it’s not far off watching a world-class industrialised western facility. It’s a very developed company compared to Chinese manufacturers of the past,” he said. “Last year, Stephen and I toured the crawler crane factory with a prospective customer, and we were focussing on the SCC2600A. The customer inspected the whole production process of the crawler, including the assembly and welding processes and the crane was presented to him for a test with the full boom and full
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
luffing fly. The crane’s performance was effortless and faultless, and the customer commented on how reassured he was to see overseas people in the factory, with a wealth of experience in the product. The chap overseeing the boom and fly construction was from the US. “I worked with Sany equipment here in Australia a number of years ago, and the equipment was purchased by a number of major Australian based crane companies. We’re currently working on the imminent delivery of a number of products including a 300t all terrain, a 90t rough terrain, a couple of 260t crawlers and a number of material handlers. There’s no doubting the quality and the durability of Sany products but I think a lack of support and back up has let the product down in the past.
“Our role, with Sany’s management team, is to change this perception, to put in place a national footprint of partners that understand cranes, clearly understand after service and support and reflect the true quality of the Sany product and what the brand stands for,” said Smith. “In the next month or so, we will have cranes here in stock which will include a 35t rough terrain and a 55t telescopic boom crawler crane. The equipment is well priced to keep the accountant smiling and supported by the Sany mandate of ‘Quality Products with First Class After Service,’” he said. If prospective customers are in the market for a new crane of any style, they can visit www.ronco.com.au, email sany@ronco.com.au or call 1800 CRANES.
November 2019 CAL / 35
IN FOCUS / LIEBHERR
The Liebherr LR1500 features a maximum load capacity of 500t, hoist height of 164m with a radius of 144m.
LIEBHERR 500T CRAWLER TO MARINE CONSTRUCTION SPECIALIST Marine contracting requires a specialised crane fleet. Brady Marine & Civil discuss the reasons behind the purchase of new 500t crawler crane.
BRADY MARINE & CIVIL SPECIALISE IN the construction of wharves, jetties, offshore pipelines, bridges over water and other marine based complex structures. The company owns a fleet of specialised plant and equipment and recently added a Liebherr LR1500, 500t capacity crawler crane. Paul Brady is the company’s owner and executive director. Brady has been in construction for 35 years and for the last 25, he has been purely focussed on marine work. “Of the last 30 years, half of it has been spent working in my own business and the other half working for multinational companies managing major projects with most of that being in marine works. When I turned 40, I was given the opportunity to start a business and create my own future with a business partner. 36 / CAL November 2019
“I’ve been in business now the last 15 years. I think my major project beginnings engrained in me a ‘big picture’ outlook so I haven’t been scared by big projects and large-scale marine works. “It took a while to get our feet on the ground and gain traction but it’s a good niche. There’s plenty of competition but all of the players in our area have their own strengths and weaknesses,” he said. Brady explains the various focusses for the business. “Marine works includes anything over water, and we divide it into four areas. Wharves and jetties are our core work. Bridge construction over water uses much the same equipment as wharf and jetty works, so we have applied ourselves to that also in the right circumstances. The third area is marine infrastructure including ferry terminals, pedestrian and bikeways over water, navigation beacons, re-builds of wharves, those sorts of projects. The final area is near-shore sub-sea pipelines including sewage outfalls, cooling water outfalls and desal intakes. Those areas generally use similar principles and similar sets of equipment and we just apply it to slightly different situations,” said Brady.
Brady is a civil engineer and his business has a very strong engineering focus. They have an inhouse engineering design team and, according to Brady, that’s not the norm for the market these days. “We believe it’s important for all the planning that goes into marine works with associated temporary works and engineering associated with barge work. Marine works also lend themselves to alternative designs, as the methodology tends to drive the most efficient design. Historically, successful marine contractors have had inhouse engineering departments and that’s something that has died off. It’s an area in which we want to differentiate ourselves,” he said. “We currently have a payroll of 80 with half our staff white collar and the other half, blue collar. There’s 15 or so in the office, including the engineering team, accounts and some senior managers and the remainder are out on various sites. We’re currently running five sites, including one in Sydney, one on the Gold Coast and two in Brisbane, so we’re often travelling for projects. “Generally speaking, most of the work we undertake includes activities categorised as high risk, so we maintain a work force that is highly skilled. Most www.cranesandlifting.com.au
of our employees hold more than one license and are able to undertake a number of different tasks. The skilling of our workforce is very much a priority for the business. “The biggest project we’ve completed had a value of $60 million, and we’re working on a $75m contract at the moment. We’ve also undertaken contracts around the million mark. Complex marine projects are sometimes below the radar of the multinationals and certainly above the capabilities of the smaller contractors, so this is an area we like to target” he said. Brady Marine and Civil has a crane fleet reflecting the specialist nature of the work. “We currently own 6 cranes, all crawlers, with a 300t, Liebherr LR1300 the largest, until now. Innovation drives our industry as it does many others. Each year piles get longer, larger and heavier, as do the piling hammers
take us to the next level has been on the agenda for a while,” said Brady. “We’re not a crane hire company, we are a marine contractor, so our focus when shopping for a major crane is different from many crane-buying customers. Besides lift capacity and crane footprint, minimum radius and tail swing are priority considerations for a crane on a barge, while issues such as track pressures, assembly costs and transport weights are of lesser importance. The LR1500 purchase was the culmination of almost a year of market research and technical studies into what would suit us best. “The new LR1500 will replace the LR1300 on our largest barge Rebecca Lily at the new Brisbane International Cruise Terminal, where it will be used to drive 4.3m diameter marine monopiles using a piling hammer assembly from Europe with a total lift of 163 tonnes. Interestingly this puts us back above
Paul Brady, executive director Brady Marine and Civil with Bryce O’Brien, Liebherr sales manager QLD/NT/PNG.
required to install them. Precast concrete elements also keep increasing in size. As an example, our largest barge was used to install 180t precast concrete girders 30m above the Clarence River on a bridge job last year. Our LR1300 has been working above 80 per cent capacity for many lifts and on its last two projects, so a larger crane that will www.cranesandlifting.com.au
80 per cent capacity, so we might have to start thinking about an even bigger crane,” he jokes. The Brady fleet ranges from 135t to the new 500t and the brands include Kobelco, Liebherr and IHI. The three large cranes operate on big barges and the other two on load out jetties and associated work.
“Having the crawlers enables us to swap and change. If a job needs a different size crane on a barge, we can take one off and put another one on, that way we can vary the way the combinations work to suit different projects. Also, we sometimes use what we call a temporary bridge or a ‘falsework bridge’ for projects in mud flats or where there’s a sea state where a crane barge is not practical,” said Brady. “We build a ‘falsework bridge’ out from the shore and we do that with crawler cranes as well. The ‘falsework bridge’ can be installed parallel to the alignment of a new bridge or a subsea pipeline, or we sometimes use it as a load out jetty to service a project such as Harwood Bridge, where we were last year. “Everything in our game is getting heavier and longer and further away and it’s not just our market, it’s the market generally. Innovation is seeing projects completed quicker by having heavier lifts and less of them. The 300t was getting on jobs where we were having trouble making it work in terms of capacity, and a year ago we identified the need to take the next step and looked through the market to see what was available around that 400t to 500t size,” said Brady. “Cranes on barges have different drivers with lift capacity, crane footprint, minimum radius and tail swing being priorities; the Liebherr LR 1500 really excelled in all areas. We also bought the super lift which opens up possibilities to be able to do a lot more with it further down the track. “I have been impressed by Liebherr and the engineering they put into the product. That’s not to say the other manufacturers don’t, it’s just that Liebherr do it a bit differently. Crane work on barges is also different because of the way the barge moves as lifts are carried out. Based on the performance of the 300t and the support provided by Liebherr, we had every confidence in the 500t and, so far, we are really stoked with the choice, it’s a great unit,” said Brady. November 2019 CAL / 37
IN FOCUS / POTAIN
BRINGING A VISION TO LIFE Potain cranes help realise Gaudi’s130 year old vision with the imminent completion of Barcelona’s Basilica Sagrada Familia. ONE OF EUROPE’S MOST FAMOUS construction sites, Barcelona’s Basilica Sagrada Familia, is the focus of unprecedented construction activity in a bid to complete the vision of the original architect, Antoni Gaudi. More than 130 years after the first stone was laid, the end is within sight for Barcelona’s Basilica Sagrada Familia. Thanks to an influx of funding, striking innovations, old fashioned craftsmanship and four Potain tower cranes, the famously unfinished church is now on schedule to be completed in 2026. This coincides with the 100th anniversary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudi. Millions of travellers visit Barcelona each year and this has meant salvation for the Sagrada Familia foundation. The church currently sees roughly four million
tourists a year, each paying an entry fee ranging from $24 to $64, meaning the foundation, which is overseeing the basilica, has enough money to finish the main nave, a soaring expanse of treelike pillars and multicoloured stainedglass. The nave was consecrated by Pope Benedict in 2010. Today, more than two dozen architects are working on the project - most of them local Catalans - and 200 workers in total are involved in the construction. A construction site as unique and monumental as the Basilica of the Sagrada Família requires a carefully selected range of cranes to help complete the construction process. Potain tower cranes have been on site since 1998, and before that the only crane on the job site was a Richier crane, part of
Construction of the unfinished church is now on schedule to be completed in 2026, coinciding with the 100th anniversary of the death of its architect, Antoni Gaudi
38 / CAL November 2019
the Potain Group through the BoileauPotain-Richier (BPR) brand. This crane had been on site since the late 60’s. Currently, there are four Potain cranes operating on the construction site: MD 175B – MD 238 – MD 125B and the MD 560 B. The construction site team call the MD 560 B the ‘Mother of All Cranes’ because it feeds work to the other cranes. The cranes only play a part in accelerating the construction process; changes to the way key components are manufactured is also key. As the know-how and financing fell into place, the Sagrada Familia foundation began to study what it would take to actually finish the church. Enter British structural engineer Tristram Carfrae, the deputy chairman of Arup, the design and engineering firm that built the Sydney Opera House. He found himself walking out of a meeting in 2014 with the foundation thinking, “Did that really happen? Do we really have the opportunity to work on the most fantastic project in the world?” The challenge was how to speed up the rate of construction by a factor of 10 and complete the project by 2026. Part of the answer lies at Galera, a sprawling work site 90 minutes north of Barcelona. Here a small crane is used to slide multi kilo ‘anchor blocks’ onto an interlocking row of granite stones that will be fixed to a steel plate and bound together into panels. Because the anchor has holes through which steel rods will be inserted, there is a tiny margin for error. The panels are Arup’s solution to the complex problem of building the Sagrada Familia’s towers. To make them light enough, the engineers could have built a steel frame and clad its surface with stone. “That didn’t fit with our notion of quality – from the inside it would have looked like a Hollywood set,” says www.cranesandlifting.com.au
Carfrae. Instead, they make the panels entirely of stone-albeit blocks only 300mm thick, rather than a cathedral’s more typical one to 2 m. Carfrae and the Arup construction team were also faced with the challenge of building 10 more towers, among them the 172m Jesus tower which will be the tallest structure in town. Questions needing answers included, “How do we account for the fact that as you complete the church, the available area on site for assembling things diminishes? And how do we do all this with the quality the church and Gaudi’s vision demands?” In 2012 there were five cranes involved in building the Sagrada Familia. When faced with beginning construction on the tallest towers (the central towers of the evangelists, the Virgin Mary and Jesus Christ), it was necessary to reconsider which cranes should continue serving the Temple and which would have to be acquired to meet future needs. The method using the pre-assembled pieces designed to build these towers required a much larger crane with enough power to lift these heavy new pieces. In addition to the needs of this approach, there was also the possibility of having a machine that could be used for maintenance tasks on the other cranes. With these two premises in mind, the conclusion was reached that the best solution would be to have a new crane that was much larger. So, in 2012, the site acquired a Potain MD 560 B, a 25t crane in the company’s successful MD tower crane range. The Potain MD 560 B has a 550 tonne-meter rating and is available in 25t or 40t versions. The MD 560 B has been installed over the crossing of the Basilica at 67m above ground level. The jib can cover almost all of the diameter of the Temple, lift up to 25t (more than twice the previous load) and reach 180m. This crane has the latest technology, including a camera that controls the difficult movements between the towers, millimetre by millimetre. In late 2019, the jib is expected to move up to its top height of 180m to build the tallest tower, the tower of www.cranesandlifting.com.au
The MD 560 B can cover almost all of the diameter of the Temple, lift up to 25t and reach 180m.
Jesus Christ, which should stand at 172.5m in 2022. When fully extended at 177.72 meters, it will be higher than Montjuïc Castle, the highest peak of Barcelona’s skyline. The MD 560 B was chosen for its attributes in terms of practical utility. The main one is that it is controlled remotely and has sensors that help compensate for the difficulties crane operators experience in accurately visualising the movements of their load. These sensors help operators put the pre-assembled pieces in place and fit them together precisely. Other highly useful features include a black box which monitors every movement of the crane and a toilet in the operating cabin, which is highly practical for the operator. Potain also made a number of modifications to the MD 560 B which included changes to the cable drum. The original model has less than 1 km of cable and for the Sagrada Familia, a longer cable was needed which meant the cable drum was also made larger. A more powerful motor was also installed because the lifting and placement of the heavy prefabricated pieces required more horse power.
The MD 560 B is strategically located and if it stays in place until the Temple is completed, its current location ensures that there will be no danger of hitting the towers or damaging any other part of the building. Plus, the length of the jib makes it capable of suppling the other cranes being used at the Temple, so no additional, external cranes are necessary for maintenance and the ultimate dismantle of the three cranes. The role of feeding the other tower cranes led to the MD 560 B being named the ‘Mother of All Cranes”. Using this crane, and introducing the pre-assembly method, has made construction of the Sagrada Família a faster, more effective and simpler process. For example, it only takes six and a half hours of work to assemble an eight-faced level on the towers of the evangelists, much less than with other less innovative methods. The MD 560 B saves time and has made a method normally used for other large, tall buildings a viable option for Gaudí’s emblematic building. Credit: Elements of this article first appeared in Time Magazine published on July 8th 2019. November 2019 CAL / 39
IN FOCUS / UAA
HOW HARD IS YOUR INSURANCE WORKING FOR YOU? Insurance, like most other aspects of the crane industry, is based on traditional business values. It makes a difference when you have a proactive and experienced insurance broker working on your behalf with the right insurance underwriter. AS A CRANE OWNER, YOU WILL understand the need for various levels of cover, but do you have an insurance broker that’s focussed on responsiveness and treats every claim as if it were their own? And does your underwriter really understand the nuances of the crane industry, offering you right the levels of cover in the right areas? Cranes and Lifting spoke to Sam Sofi, managing director, Trans-West Insurance Brokers and George Grasso chief services officer, UAA, to discuss these and other issues relating to the insurance of cranes.
Trans West Insurance Brokers was founded in 1975 by Sam Sofi who remains the Managing Director and sole shareholder. Sofi was raised in a family of farmers and primary producers and grew up amongst machinery and learning how to fix it on your own. He knows insurance; he started calling door to door with the AMP selling life insurance, but his upbringing was to shape his approach to the insurance industry. “If the machinery failed, there was none of this we’ll call the mechanic up the road, you had to fix it yourself. As a young
Sam Sofi, MD of Trans-West and avid reader of Cranes and Lifting, with George Grasso, chief services officer, UAA.
40 / CAL November 2019
boy, I learnt to weld, you learn everything you need to do to get the job done and if my father promised a neighbour that his tractor would be fixed and on the paddock at 6am the next morning that tractor was on the paddock. What happened in the background to make this happen might have been another story? To a large extent, my father’s integrity and honour has flowed throughout our family, if we promise something you do your very best to deliver,” said Sofi. This approach has help set Sofi and Trans West apart from other insurance brokers. “We have found a lot of the issues relate to brokers over promising and under delivering and that can be a real issue. It’s relatively easy for me in the ‘crane world’ because I understand the machinery, I understand that when you have a million dollar plus piece of gear driving out of your yard you are hoping it comes back later that day intact. I also understand what the impact of a claim does to a business. The larger the business the less impact it has, but when you are a small operation with four or five units, one unit can be more that 20 per cent of your business. A specific crane can be generating 40 per cent of your income with the other pieces of gear are playing a supporting role. You have to make sure that crane has the right level of cover,” he said. Sofi speaks about his relationship with UAA. “There are a lot of the positives about UAA. They have an experienced and pro-active team that understands cranes. But like all relationships there are ups www.cranesandlifting.com.au
and downs. There are times when UAA has responded brilliantly and times where it’s been difficult for them to deliver the required level of service, that’s when I call George and let him know we’re not getting the responses we need. He’ll say, ‘we know and we’re onto it’ and the issue gets resolved. Our association with UAA is a co-partnership, and I treat it that way because we have a very large book of cranes and we need to understand where they are at as an underwriter. Like every underwriter, they have masters, it’s called QBE in this case as UAA’s security. I need to understand what George and his team are dealing with so I can deliver the promise to my client,” he said. Accountability in business relationships is a key issue for Sofi. “Many years ago, I received a phone call from Gerhard Baden, from Baden Services and we started a relationship regarding crane repair. At the time, I had a couple of cranes companies and we’d experienced some major losses with them, but Gerhard performed and with his typical German attitude of we’ll fix it, I’ll get that right and every crane that came out of his workshop looked as good as the day it was bought. We went on to develop a tripartite relationship involving Gerhard, myself and loss adjuster Paul Kiem. There are good loss adjusters, but Paul is one of the best adjusters that you can work with,” he said. “Paul is a CICA Crane Safe assessor and he also works exclusively with UAA as a crane expert and loss adjuster. Over the years, we’d had tricky claims which were problematic even within the policy wording. You need a loss adjuster who is prepared to work with you and the client and not to the detriment of the insurer, because it’s not about that. We had a crane with a slew ring which had to have some work done on it. The slew ring wasn’t damaged but all the bolts around the slew ring needed replacing. Technically speaking, UAA didn’t have to pay for that but on Paul’s recommendation they did and did it happily. The cost of the bolts was around $10K on that part of the claim and that gesture sustained that client to this day and that’s been www.cranesandlifting.com.au
There are a lot of the positives about UAA. They have an experienced and pro-active team that understands cranes.
something like 15 years,” said Sofi. According to Grasso, UAA will look favourably on claims if clients do the right thing. “There’s a quote from Rupert Murdoch that I use, “I don’t mind if you lose some of my money but if you lose my reputation, I’ll be ruthless,” and we take the same approach with our clients. If you’ve got a long-term client who is reputable and paying $250,000 in premiums per annum and they’re not frequent claimants and using insurance for maintenance, don’t squabble over a few thousand dollars,” said Grasso. “In our opinion, you’re better off having the conversation with the client and the broker and saying technically our obligation is not really there to cover this particular component, our obligation is only related to the claim but if it’s a bit grey we don’t want to squabble either, as Sam rightly points out, some circumstances are not black and white and we always look at claims from a commercial perspective,” he said. “The client then knows that you know what you are talking about. We’re not an insurance company that accepts the wool puuled over our eyes, the broker and client understand and respect that as well. That way, the broker can have the one on one conversation with the client, the client knows we respect them and in return they have respect for the Broker and Insurer. As Sam demonstrated, the client with the bolts has stuck with Trans West and UAA for 15 years because of the levels of respect and understanding,” said Grasso. Sofi explains how insurance, like most other aspects of the crane industry, is based on traditional business values. “Loyalty in business is honoured less and less but in UAA’s case I think it’s appreciated. We deal with UAA because we have flexibility in our relationship, we know the parameters within which
we can and can’t operate and UAA know they can trust my word. If I’ve made a mistake, I’ll put my hand up and say I’ve made the mistake and I’ll get on the phone to George and explain that our intent was always there and these are the reasons why, can you do something? My staff know that if they’ve made a mistake, they are to tell me immediately and not try to hide it. You have to live with your integrity,” said Sofi. “Trust and integrity is paramount in all business relationships, particuarly in our business,’ said Grasso. “As Sam has said, there are other underwriters in the market but UAA is the pioneer in mobile plant and machinery with a product that has been developed since 1972, and the competitors have looked at our product and literally copied and pasted the wording from our contracts. We realise nobody re-invents the wheel and we are quite flattered that our competitors hold our policy in such high regard. As Sam highlighted, it’s not just about the wording, it is about the services provided from the underwriting perspective, the support of our business development managers and underwriters offer and their ability for them to do a deal. They’re not just coffee drinkers out there talking to brokers with products to sell, they actually have underwriting capabilities and authority,” said Grasso. “Our claims services team means our claims are actually serviced here in Australia. Competitors have a very limited scope to manage claims in some cases up to $50,000 or $100,000 at maximum. Anything greater and it needs to go to their security which, in most cases, is based in London. At UAA, we understand how the industry operates and we work hard to support the industry as much as we can. This is a fundamental difference between UAA and the other competitive underwriters,” he said. November 2019 CAL / 41
IN FOCUS / TRT TIDD
BRISBANE CRANE HIRE BUSINESS ADDS NEW TIDD TO FLEET A Brisbane crane hire business is confident the purchase of a TIDD PC28 will provide a significant advantage with Tier One builders and the major construction sites where safety is a major focus.
Joe Cherrie and his wife Lisa, who handles the administration for the business.
TINGALPA CRANE HIRE PROVIDES general lifting services to everything from small building projects and major construction work to servicing the mining sector. The company’s fleet includes small mobile cranes through to large slewing cranes. A new TIDD PC28 was recently added to its fleet. Joe Cherrie owns and runs Tingalpa Crane Hire. Having worked in positions with businesses like Boom Logistics and other large companies, he moved to work with his father seven years ago and, due to a few health issues, ended up fully taking over the company five and a half years ago. “The business started off with one truck mounted crane which was used to service a lot of town housing projects and small building construction work. But over the last decade, we’ve consistently bought a crane each year and we’re running 10 cranes at the 42 / CAL November 2019
moment,” said Cherrie. “The most recent acquisition is the TIDD PC28. Before the arrival of this crane we’d been operating a full range of Frannas including a 14t, 20t and 25t machines. We’ve been working for a number of high-profile construction sites which were becoming increasingly safety orientated. We heard about the TIDD and we had wanted to increase the capacity of the fleet with a larger pick and carry with a super lift, and that’s when we decided we would give the TIDD a try. “As far as the safety aspect of the crane goes, it’s been really well received on our road work sites and running alongside this has been the increase in lifting capacity provided by the TIDD which has been brilliant. On chart and next to our 25t Franna, the TIDD really gives it a run for its money, especially on flatter sites and where you need a bigger lift,” he said.
“We operate a mixed fleet which starts with 2.9t mini crane and includes a 10t city crane, a 25t truck mounted crane, 55t and 60t all terrains and we also range of telehandlers, forklifts and other equipment. We try to run a ‘set of cranes’ which includes Terex, Tadano, Liebherr and now the TIDD. We try all types of brands, it’s more about the versatility of the fleet and the capabilities we are able to offer with the cranes,” said Cherrie. “We’re fairly confident the new TIDD will provide us with an advantage with some of the Tier One builders and the major construction sites where there’s such a major focus on safety. It’s proved to be quite a talking point during conversations I’ve already had with safety supervisors on site. A number want to see different load reductions on lifting specific loads like safety barriers or on lifts they feel require more of a safety factor. They are comfortable with the restrictions that are built into the TIDD. They are certainly more comfortable with it because it does give you more capacity when you are stationery and it restricts capacity if you are in a tighter operating area where you might need to articulate a lot more or if your operating on a side slope with high aberrations. We’ve found the machine has performed perfectly to expectation as far as that’s concerned,” he said. The TIDD PC28 features improved operational features 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 crane. The TIDD PC28 is constructed www.cranesandlifting.com.au
Cherrie is confident the new TIDD will provide advantages with Tier One builders and major construction sites.
using the highest quality components with safety a major focus with every element of its design. Safety features include Dynamic LMI with a deadlock switch inside the cabin and the LMI bridging switch outside the cabin. Slew Safe is a key safety feature on the TIDD PC28. TRT has developed a significant new safety feature called Slew Safe. It 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 prevent further slewing. According to Stephen Dance, TRT’s Country Manager, the TIDD PC28 is the only pick and carry crane with this level of safety. Slew Safe is an effective system to restrict the driver from operating off the chart. With audible and visual alarms along with steering restriction in the unsafe direction when overloaded. Slew Safe cannot be over-ridden but will operate normally in the safe direction. The TIDD PC28 has also been designed with operator comfort in mind. “The ergonomically designed forward mounted ROPS cabin, with two-door configuration and ducted air conditioning, 150kg rated air suspension seats and 3-point safety belts, means comfort over long hours, helping to reduce operator fatigue,” said Dance. Many of the key features are designed on industry feedback and include: www.cranesandlifting.com.au
• European standard automotive finish; • Shortest forward projection in its class; • An outstanding turning radius, articulating 44° either side; • 2.3t roadable, front and rear counterweight; • Mercedes Benz DM906 six-cylinder, turbo charged intercooled 205kW diesel engine; • 6.12-18.64 high steel boom tensile with four telescopic sections; • 28t capacity on fixed tug (stationary) 27.6t capacity on running rope; • 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; • 410l tank with locking cap; • Automatically activated emergency hydraulic steering; • Duel line airbrakes on all wheels with ABS; • Pneumatically released spring applied emergency/park brake on all wheels. 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 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’ve ordered the counterweight which will provide us with the full set up. When it was first ordered, TRT were in the preliminary charts and testing for this but I understand this has now been completed, so we should have the full kit on the crane before the end of the year,” said Cherrie. “We first heard about the TIDD PC28 through Troy Hand from the TRT Brisbane operation, whom I’ve known for many years. The relationship dates back about 10 years and we’ve been using him consistently since then. Some time ago, Troy mentioned the 25t TIDD which wasn’t exactly what we were after at the time, mainly because it had a manual extension to extend the boom but, with the PC28, it’s automatic. “Price wise, it’s about the same as the Franna but we really wanted a different product with different propositions and that’s what the TIDD provides. It has a better turning circle, it’s a slimmer crane, just about the same width as a 20t Franna, so all those features including the charts appealed to us. I’ve taken one of our operators out of the Franna and put him in the TIDD and it was an easy transition for him,” he said. “The Slew Safe system provides a really good set up which takes a bit of getting used to if you’re not used to a crane with those types of restrictions, but it’s great because it will prevent driver error and that’s the major issue for us. As an organisation, we want to take as much responsibility for the safe operation of our equipment as possible. We don’t want to put people in a position where they just want to get the job done, without considering the consequences. The major construction sites are striving towards zero error in terms lost time, injuries and damage to machinery and it’s much easier if they don’t have to think about that,” said Cherrie. November 2019 CAL / 43
IN FOCUS / PICK & CARRY SAFETY
MELROSE HOST PICK AND CARRY SAFETY DAY Melrose Cranes recently hosted a safety and awareness open day, designed to highlight the latest developments in safety features and technology for articulated, pick and carry cranes. The Dynamic Load Moment Indicator (DLMI) automatically de-rates the crane when moving from a flat surface to a side slope which is simulated by the steel plates
OPENING ITS YARD TO SENIOR SAFETY representatives from many of the major construction companies and infrastructure joint ventures around Sydney, Melrose Cranes demonstrated the latest features of the 28t capacity TIDD PC28, the recently released articulated pick and carry crane from TRT. Through an impressive setup of in vehicle cameras and display screens, visitors were able to watch the benefits 44 / CAL November 2019
of the key safety feature on the crane, the Slew Safe system, in real time and from the operator’s perspective. Ryan Melrose, general manager, Melrose Cranes spoke about the reasoning behind the safety open day. “We recognised that areas of the construction and infrastructure sector have degrees of negativity towards articulated pick and carry cranes. Obviously, there have been a number of
incidents over the years involving this type of crane including roll overs. “Today’s pick and carries are built with a number of safety features that aim to limit or even prevent the operator from putting the machine into a position that may result in an incident or accident. We feel one of the leading safety-systems is Slew Safe, developed by TRT,” he said. Slew Safe is an effective system www.cranesandlifting.com.au
to restrict the driver from operating off the chart. With audible and visual alarms, along with steering restrictions in the unsafe direction when overloaded. Slew Safe cannot be over-ridden but will operate normally in the safe direction. “We’ve had Slew Safe fitted to all the TIDD machines that we operate. It’s an engineering control which makes for a safer machine. The machine knows what you are trying to do and, in effect, limits your ability to do it. This is a big positive when it comes to minimising the risks of accidents in the future,” said Melrose. According to Melrose, it’s important to change the current perceptions associated with pick and carries. “We wanted to show some of our most important clients the latest articulated, pick and carry technology up close and in real time, giving them a feel for the machine. A lot of the attendees were not especially ‘crane specialists ‘. “Our client’s senior safety members cover a diverse field of subcontractors and they can’t possibly be aware of every safety feature in every machine. It is understandable that they might have
nothing to do with articulated, pick and carries until something negative or unfortunate happens,” he said. “We wanted to get on the front foot and show them how the industry is positively moving towards safer use of these machines. We were able to demonstrate how these cranes can be used in the right way, and our hope is those attending left more educated, so if potential internal conversations turn to the possible exclusion of articulated, pick and carry cranes from sites, they are in a better position to discuss the positive benefits and features. Considering pick and carries are such a flexible tool, they are very common around infrastructure projects, where they constantly move culverts, pipes and complete work underground in the tunnels etc; we hope they benefitted from the day,” said Melrose. The demonstration not only included Slew Safe’s function in various situations, but the Dynamic Load Moment Indicator (or DLMI) featured in every make and model of 25t & 28t class crane in the Melrose fleet. The TIDD PC28 is the latest model from TRT. It features Slew Safe and
DLMI which automatically de-rates the machine on side slopes. The real time demonstration illustrated functionality and how the DLMI can be de-rated to any percentage a site wants. “A safety parameter of 75-85 per cent of the chart is common with most of the bigger clients, and the operator has the functionality to be able to do this, setting minds at ease that the crane is working well and truly under its capacity and to the client’s requirements. This makes operations even safer,” said Melrose. “We invited plant managers, senior safety managers, site managers, site engineers and even CEO’s from a broad range of large infrastructure clients and major companies we work for, including CPB, Lendlease, John Holland, Multiplex, Mirvac and Hutchinson. We had people attend who make a difference and are capable of setting trends in the industry. We also had smaller clients that use pick and carries in their factories. The feed-back was very positive with some attendees having no idea the machine had so many safety features. Our project managers have received nothing but positive feedback from clients,” he said.
(left to right) Gregg Melrose, Managing Director, Tony Melrose, CFO and Mick Melrose Business Development Manager, Melrose Cranes. Phil Chadwick, Crane Sales manager, TRT Australia, Bruce Carden, Company Director, Tidd Ross Todd (TRT) Ltd and Ryan Melrose, General Manager, Melrose Cranes. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
November 2019 CAL / 45
IN FOCUS / TADANO
Safety features of Tadano AWPs include Smooth Start & Stop, a function which improves the controlled movement of the basket or platform
BRINGING COMFORT AND SAFETY TO A NEW HIGH Tadano sets new benchmark for Aerial Work Platforms. Cranes and Lifting finds out more. THE ARRIVAL OF THE TADANO AERIAL Work Platform range in Australia is set to bring new levels of comfort, efficiency and safety to local aerial operators. Leading lifting-technology company Tadano Oceania Pty Ltd (TOP) is set to revolutionise aerial work in Australia with the local roll-out of the highly advanced Tadano Aerial Work Platform (AWP) range. Three members of the Tadano AWP range – the AT-200S Super Deck, the AT-300CG and the AT-157CG – have recently been released on the local market, with other sophisticated platforms to follow in 2020. Known for their advanced features, high levels of operator comfort and industry-leading efficiency, the work platforms will be backed in Australia by a comprehensive spare parts and support service provided by TOP. 46 / CAL November 2019
“We’re very excited to be able to provide local industries with our line-up of aerial work platforms,” said Tadano Oceania managing director, Anthony Grosser. “Tadano’s vision is to be the world leader for lifting equipment. In Australia, our aim is to provide customers with a complete onestop shop for all Tadano products, all backed by factory-trained support and original parts.” STAGED ROLLOUT BEGINS NOW The first three Tadano AWPs released on the local market have been handpicked to appeal to customers including dry-hire rental companies, tree maintenance companies, mining contractors, shires and councils, and various service providers requiring height access. A standout model in the range is
the AT-200S Super Deck, which has the largest working deck available in Australia (4.2m x 1.9m with a huge load capacity of 1000kg to a maximum elevation of 19.7m). This impressive work platform is suitable for mining applications, with a team of up to four people and maintenance equipment able to be accommodated in the basket at one time. The articulating AT-300CG has a 250kg load capacity, a 30.4m elevation and a 7.6m telescoping fly jib with full basket rotation to 313°. These attributes make it ideal for accessing tight and limited spaces, and to go over and under bridges. The AT-157CG, meanwhile, is suitable for smaller jobs and can hold two people (or 200kg) to work at a height of up to 17.2m. All models are available with the www.cranesandlifting.com.au
truck or can be mounted onto one under Tadano supervision. A wider rollout of additional Tadano AWP models will commence in Australia during 2020.
pack away an AWP. Meanwhile, Tadano anti-collision software stops the basket and boom system from colliding with any part of the truck that the platform is mounted on.
TECHNOLOGY-LED SAFETY ADVANTAGES Tadano AWPs have built an enviable reputation, due to many in-built technologies designed to improve operator safety and ease. These include one-touch functions to maximise efficiency, and unique features to allow operation in tight and limited spaces. One of these is Variable Outrigger Configuration, which allows the AWP’s stabiliser legs to be placed at different widths in narrow corridors without any loss of stability. “Australia has extremely high safety standards for this type of machine, which is why our product is industryleading,” said Grosser. “It delivers above and beyond Australia’s robust safety requirements. Tadano has consistently proven itself to be one of the safest lifting equipment brands in the market.” One key safety feature is automatic stowing and unstowing, whereby it takes just one button to fold up and
NEW 4 MOTION CONTROL TECHNOLOGY A unique feature of 2019 Tadano AWPs is 4 Motion Control technology, which is a significant advance for work performed along the vertical face of a structure, such as running wiring from the ground upwards. 4 Motion Control maintains the horizontal and vertical plain of the basket in a single movement and with one lever operation. This puts an end to constant adjustment and readjustment of the boom to try and stay parallel to a structure. This significantly reduces time spent on vertical jobs and importantly reduces the chances of colliding with the AWP, the truck or structure your team is working on. SMOOTH START & STOP FUNCTIONS A key safety feature of Tadano AWPs is Smooth Start & Stop, a function which improves the controlled movement of the basket or platform and is suitable
A key feature is the Variable Outrigger Configuration, which allows the AWP’s stabiliser legs to be placed at different widths in narrow corridors without any loss of stability.
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
for operators of all levels. Tadano AWP users report this safety feature slows the movement of the basket making it predictable and eliminating the unsettling “whipping” motion that can sometimes throw workers against the basket or platform guard rail. This also prevents the risk of striking the structure your team is working on. A LOADER CRANE FOR EVERY APPLICATION Meanwhile, TOP is also making available five premium Tadano Loader Crane models featuring various boom lengths, with a major expansion in the range underway. These are suitable for lifting work across many industries, including transportation, construction and infrastructure, a host of mining applications, landscaping, irrigation, salvage and recycling and lumber. “Tadano cargo cranes have a great reputation built on decades of supply and operation in a range of industries across Australia and the Oceania region,” said Grosser. “These are strong, dependable units that are popular because of their reputation for safety and easy operation.” Tadano will be stocking machines with boom lengths ranging from 8 to 16m and mostly with a maximum lift of 3000kg but also a 550-series machine with 5000kg maximum capacity. These are suitable for mounting on truck chassis with a GVM from 4.5-25t. Tadano cranes features include the Outrigger Interlock System, which ensures the outriggers are deployed before the crane is unfolded for use. They also come with a unique hightensile-steel heptagonal boom with internal cables and sheaves, meaning reduced boom weight and smooth boom operation without any reduction in lifting capacity. The Hook-In system, meanwhile, enhances efficiency by automatically stowing the boom and hook. And a handheld remote control with colour LCD display is designed to improve safety during crane work and travel. November 2019 CAL / 47
IN FOCUS / MANITOWOC WITH BORGER & BACHMANN
The Potain MCT 325 is designed to deliver easier transport and assembly, plus high efficiency and reliability on construction projects.
BORGER CRANES AND ACTIVE CRANE HIRE – 12 MONTHS ON Cranes and Lifting recently sat down with directors Shawn Borger and Hermann Buchberger to discuss their venture and the current state of the tower crane market. IT’S BEEN 12 MONTHS SINCE BORGER Cranes took a 50 per cent stake in Active Crane Hire and Hermann Buchberger was upfront in saying that the tower crane market has changed a bit over the last 12 months but was feeling optimistic about the future. “It’s come down a gear or two, but that doesn’t mean we won’t be back at full throttle again in 12 to 18 months,” said Buchberger. “The market has pulled back providing us with a chance to reposition our fleet. It’s fair to say we have to change and evolve to meet the challenges of the market. Up to six months ago, we needed every available hook in the air, now we can talk about possible trade-ins, maybe sell some of our older cranes and reinvest in what the market is asking for now,” he said. Shawn Borger recognises the changing demands of the market needs to be 48 / CAL November 2019
reflected in the mix of cranes in the fleet. “Over the last five to six years, you could have any type of crane in the fleet and it was always busy. But markets change and we have to ensure our fleet changes to meet new demands. Take the hydraulic electric luffing cranes in the fleet for example. Hydraulic electric luffers are a relatively new breed of tower crane to the market and they are flat out, whilst the utilisation of some of the more traditional cranes in the fleet is starting to slow down. “It’s the same with our mobile crane business. We have 25 Frannas in the fleet and it has quietened down in the 20t market, but for the 25t, and now the 40t machines, the demand has really taken off and they are flat out. The market responds to the different types of available technology,” he said. According to Buchberger, Borgers and Active saw the opportunities presented by
the luffing crane technology before other crane hire businesses. “At the moment, we are the only crane hire business operating hydraulic electric luffers but the followers are coming. It always happens, we saw the advantages presented by the technology and caught the first wave, but there’s always someone riding the wave after and it’s our job to ensure we continue to remain ahead of the pack,” he said. Borgers and Active Crane Hire recently ordered three units of the new Potain MCT 325 topless crane and Borger sees these as a positive addition to the fleet. “The hydraulic electric luffers have been a very good decision, and I think this 325 class will be perfect because it’s not a big heavy crane to erect, it’s easily transported and it’s a natural progression. We’re not out of our comfort zone with this model – it very much fits our fleet. We see it as a ‘beefed www.cranesandlifting.com.au
up’ version of the MCT 205 and we’ve got 15 of those models in the fleet. The weights are different with this model, but the rigging sequence is the same and it’s a crane that enables us to quote on any job,” he said. “I’ve always been a fan of ‘one crane does all’ because only one hook is needed. If the construction site has a large footprint and you are able to cover it using one hook on a crane with a 75m boom, it’s not going to be that expensive for the client. The MCT 325 is a good construction crane well suited for land projects, long bridges and applications like that, it’s going to be a good crane for us,” Borger said. According to Buchberger, the market for the larger crane class is competitive. “There are a number of companies representing various manufacturers and many of the crane hire businesses focus on crane labour as the main income stream. There’s not too much
accordingly. If we do fluctuate on our rates, its only by a little and that’s always been our strength,” said Buchberger. The expertise in the teams running the Borger and Active crane fleets help differentiate the businesses. “Our aim is to completely immerse our teams in the business to the extent that when a crane operator isn’t working, they are working on, and servicing the crane. Understanding the machines means they can trouble shoot and fix issues on site compared to operators who see a light flicker and immediately call out the service engineer,” said Borger. “The first 12 months for Borgers and Active has been excellent. We’ve found some positive initiatives in the Active business which we’ve initiated in ours and some of the changes we’ve made in the Active business have been driven from the Borger business. As we said earlier, labour is starting to come into the mix a little more and we’re now
Hermann Buchberger, MD, Active Crane Hire.
consideration given to where the crane comes from and you see sub-hire, from various outlets, subsidising the ‘real’ crane rental rate with ‘increased’ margins on labour. “We provide a ‘real’ labour price and a ‘real’ crane price,” he said. “Our principle from day one has been to understand what we require from the crane and setting the rental rate www.cranesandlifting.com.au
able to offer a bit more of a package to the right customers. The luffing cranes weren’t really anything to do with the Borger Cranes, but we can see it was a really smart move to bring them into the market and so far, they’ve been going great guns,” he said. Buchberger looks to other global markets to understand what challenges could emerge on the domestic market.
“The success of the luffing cranes has been fuelled by the same issues relating to over sail, the same issues we witnessed in the UK. Over sail can put the hand break on other tower crane models and when you tell a customer we can solve your problem with a luffing crane, for an extra $500 a week, they are going to take it. “In the current market, we are able to reposition ourselves and I’d like to see some of the resources tied up in our older cranes put into more luffing cranes. In a slightly corrected and more demanding market, customers will make decisions based on the quality, the efficiency and the diversification of the product,” he said. Borger confirms the shape and size of the crane fleet is under continual review. We need to be sure that our fleet is contemporary and we’re always asking questions about the make-up of the fleet like ‘Do we need 25 Frannas or do we actually need less pick and carries and more speciality cranes?’,” he said. “The luffing cranes have filled a gap in the market, and with the 325 model we can shift into another gear. In busy times, you can hire pretty much anything, but in quieter times you have to be a bit more specialised. We are asking the market to think about the lifting requirement on their sites. It may be the case that a smaller crane can manage a project and when there’s a requirement for an extra lift, you can bring in a mobile crane. This will keep costs down. Unfortunately, many clients think they know what should be done and try to solve the problem without asking people who deal with cranes every day. “Over the last 12 months, both companies have learnt a lot and the relationship is improving all the time. With our combined capabilities we are in a position to capture the complete job where we can provide a tower crane and also a supplementary mobile crane where required. Between both companies, we’ll be able to provide the right solution at the right price. This was our vision when we bought Active Crane Hire and Borger Cranes together,” Borger said. November 2019 CAL / 49
HEAVY LIFTING FOR YOUR BUSINESS – SORTED MEGATRANS.COM.AU
SU PP O RT I NG S PO NS O R S
CO N FE R E N C E S P O N S O R S
1 ST - 3 R D A P R I L 2 02 0 M E L B O UR N E CO N V E N T I O N & EXHIBITION CENTRE
ASS OC I AT I ON PA RT N ER S
IN FOCUS / CRANE ANTI-COLLISION SYSTEMS
THE REAL AND HIDDEN COSTS OF TOWER CRANE ANTI-COLLISION SYSTEMS Tower cranes remain a constant presence on the skylines of major cities. Cranes and Lifting examines the real and hidden costs of adopting anti-collision systems. SHOULD THERE BE MORE REGULATION around the operation of tower cranes, especially when multiple units are operating on the one site? And with many tower crane operators sceptical, do anti-collision systems enhance or hinder the safety and performance of tower crane operations? Anti-collision systems are not mandated in Australia but in countries like France, they have been mandatory on all tower crane installations, under a Ministry of Labour directive issued in 1987. During a recent conversation, a local construction manager told Cranes and Lifting that, despite having multiple towers working together, he’d chosen not to use any anti-collision systems, as it caused unnecessary stoppages and would slow down his work schedule. In the UK, prominent tower crane operators have expressed doubts about anti-collision systems, saying that they won’t actually stop cranes hitting each other. French companies still use anticollision systems, even in countries where they are not required to, believing the total cost analysis of using anticollision systems is positive. The high-rise residential boom has seen Australia’s eastern coast host more cranes than the entirety of North America. Tower cranes are integral apparatus for high-rise construction, yet they can pose dangers to site personnel and adjoining properties. Legal cases relating to airspace 52 / CAL November 2019
rights and crane oversail have been increasingly subject to media coverage and scrutiny. With prolific crane use, crane safety must be of paramount importance. In 2016 WorkSafe ACT recorded a number of concerning incidents involving tower cranes which had potential for serious injury or death. Of significant concern to WorkSafe in the first half of 2016 was the recording of a number of notifiable incidents involving tower cranes over an eight-week period. The first incident involved the slewing jib of one tower crane coming into contact with the hoisting ropes of a second tower crane located on the site. A second incident on another site involved two tower cranes colliding due to a lack of communication between the crane operators. Another incident, which occurred on a different site, involved the jib of a single tower crane being struck by the raised boom of a concrete placement truck. Again, lack of communication and collision avoidance systems were the main contributing factors to these incidents. Other notified incidents involving tower cranes were due to: • a system failure with manufacturer’s instructions when installing a luffing cable on a jib; and • a qualified electrician working on a heater in a tower crane cabin receiving a serious electrical shock and electrical burns.
In response, the ACT Work Safety Commissioner issued a Crane Safety Alert followed by a well-publicised audit of all ACT construction sites that had a tower crane in operation. In all, 21 cranes on 17 sites were comprehensively inspected from July to October 2016. The inspections covered both the physical aspects of the crane as well as checking all appropriate paperwork associated with crane set-up and operations. Overall, compliance was found to be poor as a number of key safety areas were not being appropriately addressed on many sites, including: •n on-compliant operation of zoning and anti-collision systems or failure to have a back-up form of communication; • f ailure to verify electrical supply and wiring connections in accordance with AS/NZ 3000:2007 Electrical Installations; • i nadequate Safe Work Method Statements (SWMS) including the failure to have a site-specific risk assessment; and • i nadequate or non-existent emergency rescue procedures in terms of lack of documentation, no testing of procedures and a lack of trained crew to undertake rescue procedures. Crane failures, in Sydney in 2017 included the collapse of a tower crane operating on a high-rise apartment block at Wolli Creek due to a mechanical/engineering fault. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
Worryingly, the crane fell onto an adjoining high-rise residential building. Given incidents such as these, it is evident that crane failures have a very real possibility of damaging adjoining property and the potential to harm residents and the public. The latest European tower crane safety harmonisation, EN14439:2006, requires that tower crane manufacturers wishing to sell their products in the EU make it possible for users to install anticollision systems. In practical terms, this means that users should be able to fit sensors to slewing rings, hook carriages and luffing jibs, connect the whole system to a power cable, and have a machine interface access the crane’s braking system. The harmonisation echoes the requirements of the 1998 UK interpretation of the Machinery Directive, which states, in clause 4.1.2.6 b, that: “Where several fixed or rail-mounted machines can be manoeuvred simultaneously in the same place, with risks of collision, such machines must be so designed and constructed as to make it possible to fit systems enabling these risks to be avoided.� This requirement to ensure anticollision systems can be fitted reflects a deeper commitment to their use in many neighbouring countries of the region. In one country, France, the devices have been mandatory on all tower crane installations, under a Ministry of Labour directive issued in 1987. This 20-year requirement to make use of the systems has meant that French companies such as AGS, SK Group, SMIE and Ascorel have come to dominate the market for the manufacture of third-party anticollision systems. There are two types of anti-collision systems; one is a crane to crane where the cranes have to communicate their positions with each other, the other is Restricted Slew Zone where cranes are prevented from either hitting other cranes, buildings or oversailing areas like schools, powerlines, railways and private properties. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
One of the big issues in Australia is some tower crane fleet owners will buy a SMIE, others Ascorelor or an AMCS system and none will
cross communicate. This means the prime contractor will want to use whatever equipment they have, and subcontractors have to fall in line.
Anti-collision systems are not mandated in Australia, but in France, they have been mandatory on all tower crane installations since 1987.
November 2019 CAL / 53
UP FRONT / 3D LIFT PLANNING
3D LIFT PLANNING ON THE GO A1A Software recently launched a suite of web tools which enable 3D lift planning for on-the-go decision making. New web tools from A1A Software make 3D lift planning available on the go
NEW WEB TOOLS FROM A1A SOFTWARE make 3D lift planning available on the go. The new features are designed to provide accurate information for “in the field” decision making. Software LLC has introduced five new web tools for task specific lift planning activities in 3D Lift Plan. “These tools enable users to input or gather important lift planning information without creating a full lift plan,” explained Tawnia Weiss, president. For on-the-go, in-the-field decision making, these web tools provide quick, accurate information accessible from a tablet or other mobile device, that can later be integrated into a full lift plan. Sketch Pad allows estimators, project managers or others involved in initial job bidding or lift planning to draw on screen using their finger. After entering an address, a Google Map displays as background. On this aerial view, it is possible to note the lift location, crane 54 / CAL November 2019
setup location, and other site-specific information. “This is a great tool for gathering initial information for a job estimate,” said Weiss. The sketch can be saved to 3D Lift Plan and will auto-create a lift plan for the user, which reduces steps and streamlines documentation. Crane Comparison allows users to compare up to 10 crane load charts at a time. “Information displays graphically, for an easy visual reference of the capacities at various working ranges,” explained Weiss. The tool is ideal for salespeople who are working with customers to identify the most costeffective option that can get the job done. Load Chart Viewer takes information in traditional load charts and presents them in a visual infographic presentation. This graphical representation overlays load chart data, such as capacity at various lift radii, into a range diagram with capacities. “If you’ve heard the phrase,
a picture is worth a thousand words… the load chart viewer is exactly that – a visual representation of load chart data,” said Weiss. Crane Loads Calculator allows users to determine maximum outrigger loads for the specific crane configuration without creating a full 3D Lift Plan. Simply choose the crane, the load chart, boom length, load weight, and radius, and the Crane Loads Calculator will present you with critical setup information. Mat Calculator, which will likely be used in conjunction with the Crane Loads Calculator, allows users to select the appropriate outrigger pads or crane pads for the allowable ground bearing pressure. This is a mobile variation on the feature integrated into 3D Lift Plan in 2017, which provides data for engineered outrigger pad products, such as DICA’s FiberMax or SafetyTech pads, steel mats, or timber mats, into 3D Lift Plan. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
MELBOURNE
1-3 APRIL 2020
Australasia’s largest dedicated bulk handling conference & exhibition
CLAW AHEAD OF THE COMPETITION B U LKHAN DLI NG EXPO.COM.AU
IN CONJUNCTION WITH
Scan the code to get more details about exhibiting opportunities.
Platinum Sponsor
Supporting Sponsor
Media Partners AUSTRALIA
MHD REVIEW
Association Partner
AUSTRALIA
Supply Chain Solutions REVIEW
& INFRASTRUCTURE
IN FOCUS / TOWER CRANE MARKET
TOWER CRANE UTILISATION REMAINS SOLID RLB Crane Index confirms demand residential demand for tower cranes has eased with commercial and infrastructure construction taking up the slack. ACCORDING TO THE RIDER LEVETT Bucknall (RLB) Q3 2019 Crane Index, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane’s innercity cranes have risen from 44 to 48 per cent over the past six months. The RLB Crane Index has maintained its level of 173 (excluding Wollongong‘s inclusion) for the past three editions which is in line with the FY 2019 lift of 4.9 per cent in building work done across the country. Both residential and non-residential work done rose by 1.3 and 12.2 per cent respectively on a chain volume measure. There were no cities within the index that recorded crane falls in the double digits, a sign that the industry has not yet entered into the economic cycle of falling demand as predicted by some. During the past six months, 416 cranes were erected on sites around Australia, representing 54 per cent of all cranes in the current count. One hundred per cent of cranes removed from completed developments were placed back into the industry on new developments. The residential sector suffered the greatest number of removals with a loss of 19 cranes, but off-setting these losses were new cranes erected within the commercial and mixed-use sectors. Rider Levett Bucknall Oceania director of research and development, Domenic Schiafone, said the ongoing changes in government infrastructure spending and planning schemes is evident as the location of cranes gravitate along key transportationcorridors and activity centres. “Crane numbers in Sydney increased by 9 to 319, up from 310 previously. What is key is that 189 cranes were added to 56 / CAL November 2019
sites around Sydney indicating a strong to rise to 178. forward workflow for the next 12 months. The residential index across the 180 cranes were removed from completed country has also maintained its level developments in the past 6 months,” above the 160 mark. Wollongong Schiafone said. residential cranes have made an impact Melbourne suffered its first fall in with the full index falling to 166 in lieu of crane numbers (nine) for six editions of 164 on a like for like basis to the previous the index over the last three years. Sydney edition. offset these losses by increasing by a Strong growth in non-residential similar number. sectors has seen the index rise to its The index now welcomes a new highest level since commencement. The region into the count, Wollongong. rise of 11 per cent on a like for like basis The index reflects the addition of has resulted from commercial, mixed use Wollongong by highlighting the impact and civil crane commencements across the Wollongong crane numbers has on the country. index as a whole. This edition highlights a movement of crane numbers from the outer suburbs of the three largest index cities, Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane. Inner city crane numbers over the past six months have risen from 44 to 48 per cent currently. The ongoing changes in government’s infrastructure spending and planning schemes is evident as the location of cranes gravitate along key city transportation corridors and activity centres. This is most evident in Sydney along the Pacific Highway and the Dandenong rail corridor in Melbourne. The RLB Crane Index has maintained its level at 173 for the past three editions. With the addition of Wollongong for this publication, their cranes have caused the index Pic 1: Rider Levett Bucknall (RLB) Q3 2019 Crane Index www.cranesandlifting.com.au
IN FOCUS / KITO PWB
EXTENDED PEACE OF MIND Kito PWB increases its warranty on hoists. Cranes and Lifting finds out more. HOIST AND LIFTING SPECIALIST KITO PWB recently announced it was extending warranties on a number of its Kito hoist products. Kito PWB, formerly PWB Anchor Limited, is a Melbourne-based manufacturer of quality lifting, marine, proof coil and specialised chains, ranging in sizes from 6mm-24mm. It also has a dedicated hoist assembly shop where Japanese manufactured Kito 3-phase and single-phase electric hoists, and manual chain hoists and blocks are tailored to match our customers specific lifting requirements. Kito PWB also supply a wide range of high-quality lifting and materials handling fittings and equipment. Kito PWB has been manufacturing chain in Australia since 1923 and for that time have been well known and regarded in industry as a supplier of consistently high-quality products. It supplies to key industries including mining, construction, manufacturing, materials handling, agriculture, defence, fabrication, marine and aquaculture. Kito PWB has a national footprint, with its manufacturing plant, warehouse and head office in Melbourne, as well as sales offices and warehouses in Sydney, Brisbane and Perth. Kito PWB extends warranty offer on hoists.
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
Kito PWB’s export and marketing executive, Andrew Betts, recently announced it was adding an additional one and two-year warranty on selected Kito hoist products. “When you purchase a Kito hoist product, you have the peace of mind in knowing that your product is covered by the Kito standard manufacturers’ one-year warranty. This entitles you to have the goods repaired or replaced if the goods fail to be of acceptable quality,” he said. “The benefits given by this warranty are in addition to other rights and remedies which you may have under Australian and New Zealand consumer law in relation to the goods or services to which this warranty relates. All Kito Hoist products sold by Kito PWB come with a free one-year warranty as standard which covers parts and labour. On top of these, Kito PWB is offering to extend the standard manufacturers’ warranty on selected Kito Hoist products to the Australian market,” said Betts. Kito is extending the standard one-year warranty on the ER2 Series for an additional one year, free of charge, thus increasing the period of warranty to a total of two years from the original date of purchase, subject to the
terms and conditions of the standard warranty conditions. Customers are automatically qualified for the warranty from the day of the purchase. This promotion applies to qualifying products purchased in the Australia during the promotional period. These promotional warranty conditions are additional to, and complement, the standard warranty conditions. If there is an inconsistency between any of the provisions of these promotional warranty conditions and the standard warranty conditions, the provisions of the standard warranty conditions will apply. “At Kito, as well as providing lifting solutions to enhance our customer’s day to day working life, we take pride in the quality and durability of our products,” said Betts. “When customers purchase a Kito hoist product, they have the peace of mind in knowing that their product is covered by the Kito standard manufacturers’ one-year warranty. We also know that reliability and confidence matter to our customers, that’s why we’ve introduced an exclusive two-year warranty on ER2 Series and three-year warranty on M3 and L5 series,” he said. Kito PWB warranty details include: • Purchase any Kito hoist product and receive a one-year/two-year/three-year warranty; • Warranty is automatically valid from the date of purchase without any registration; • The purchase invoice and commissioning record will have to be provided to make a claim under the warranty offer; • Offer only valid for products originally purchase from Kito PWB (Australia); • Under the Kito warranty, parts and labour costs will be covered by Kito PWB; • Promotion subject to change and/or cancellation without notice; • Warranty is non-transferable. November 2019 CAL / 57
CICA CONFERENCE REVIEW
2019 CICA CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION REVIEW Crane industry gets right behind this year’s CICA Conference and Exhibition, and there were plenty of highlights. THE ROLLING HILLS OF THE HUNTER Valley provided a beautiful backdrop for the 2019 CICA Conference, attended by more than 400 delegates associated with the crane industry. Thanks to the New South Wales Conference Committee and Sponsors, the conference was once again a resounding success and consistently proves to be a must-attend event on the Australian crane industry calendar. In the opening plenary, Kurt Fearnley three-time Paralympic and two-time Commonwealth Games gold medallist, gave an engaging keynote presentation highlighting how grit, perseverance and key people have contributed to his successes and willingness to tackle harsh challenges. This was followed by an address by Marco Burgmer from Platinum Sponsor Sennebogen Asia Pacific who, in collaboration with Pace Cranes demonstrated the features of their cranes, some of which made up the crane display. A key theme of the six technical and business workshops was opportunities for the future, demonstrating ways to overcome potential challenges in safety, competency, industrial relations and road access. The numerous speakers provided lessons from their own fields of expertise and highlighted opportunities for the crane industry in Australia to control, eliminate or minimise risks within their own businesses. The 2019 CICA Conference once again provided a networking focal point for crane industry associates with the opportunity to meet suppliers and colleagues during Thursday night’s Networking Dinner sponsored by Manitowoc Cranes. The stunning Hunter Valley, the crane display and a balmy spring evening served as a perfect setting 58 / CAL November 2019
for making new acquaintances and catching up with old ones, over a glass of locally produced wine and fresh seafood. Networking and information sharing were also a highlight of the three-day trade exhibition featuring over 45 trade stands. Delegates donning flannel shirts and boots had a “whip crackin’” celebration at Ben Ean Winery, commemorating industry forebears and 40 years of progress in the crane industry. The CICA Gala Dinner delivered on its reputation as the crane industry’s premier event with captivating entertainment and the Awards presentation. Congratulations to the winner of this year’s awards, that acknowledge crane industry excellence and rewarded commitment and effort. Winners of this year’s awards were: Project of the Year: Field Engineers and WALZ Construction Group Innovation Award: John Holland, Edwards Heavy Lift and RUD Australia Lift of the Year > 20 Tonne: MAX Cranes Excellence Award: Steve Gonano, Chris Kolodziej and Marcus Rigney Hall of Fame: Jeff Wilson
2019 CICA CONFERENCE SPONSORS CICA would like to acknowledge the sponsors because without their support, this event would not be possible. These were: Strategic Sponsor: Destination N.S.W. Platinum Sponsor: Sennebogen Pace Cranes Networking Dinner Sponsor: Manitowoc Cranes Gold Sponsors: Schaeffler, Tadano and UAA Silver Sponsors: Assignar, Finlease, Liebherr Conference Satchel Sponsors: Franna Bronze Sponsors: 365 Software and Crane Connection / Link-belt Lanyard Sponsor: Hummer Cranes by DRA Engineering Delegate Handbook Sponsor: Maeda Mini-Cranes General Sponsor: Sarens Lift of the Year Awards Sponsor: Cranes and Lifting Magazine THANKS CICA thanks the NSW Conference Committee, Conference MC – Marianne Van Dorslar for keeping the conference proceedings on time, and Susan Ryman-Kiernan and her team from Wise Connections for another exceptionally organised conference. 2020 CICA CONFERENCE Planning is now underway for the 2020 CICA Conference, which will be held from 21-23 October 2020 at the Perth Convention Centre. Tadano have been announced as the Platinum Sponsor for this event, and the CICA team looks forward to seeing you in beautiful Western Australia. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
FRANNA SHOWCASE AT40 AND REBRANDING Dermot McCracken, marketing manager of Franna, reflects on a successful event. “With over 400 delegates including crane owners, operators and industry professionals, the CICA Conference and Exhibition provided us with the perfect platform to relaunch the iconic Franna brand and showcase our new AT 40. The decision to bring back the Franna name has proven to be very popular with our customers and dealers and we are absolutely delighted with the feedback we received for the AT 40 throughout the event,” he said. “While the crane display area was the most popular area for our customers to visit, we had a steady flow of visitors to the indoor stand. We received a number of quality enquiries for our new AT 40 and were fortunate enough to secure a sale for one at CICA (Halifax Crane Hire, WA).
Our aftersales teams also received enquiries generated by the latest machine options available on the MAC 25-4 & AT 40. The MAC 25 spreader bar prototype was very popular,” said McCracken. “This was my first CICA Conference & Exhibition and I thought it was a fantastic event from start to finish. It provided a great opportunity to catch
BÖCKER LAUNCHES NEW MINI CRANES AT CICA CONFERENCE AND EXHIBITION Böcker is committed to developing innovations in the field of lifting technology. It has remained a family owned business for almost 40 years. Bocker products offer customers a reliable and adaptable solution wherever there is a need to safely and efficiently lift large and bulky loads to significant heights. Bocker was the first company to invent, design and manufacture
the mobile truck-mounted crane in a lightweight aluminium design. Böcker crane technology. Besides having extension lengths of up to 52 metres and payloads of up to 12t, the truck-mounted cranes, trailer cranes and tracked cranes are characterised by extremely high safety standards, a comparatively low weight and compact dimensions. Michael Kobilk, director of Specialised Lifting and Machinery, the national distributor for Bocker, spoke about
Michael Kobilke, Specialised Lifting Equipment & Machinery, and Alexander Bocker, president of the company.
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
up with our customers from all over Australia and educate ourselves with the latest advancements in the crane industry. We were also joined by our dealer from Indonesia as well as our President and International Sales Manager who both made the long trip from Ireland to attend the event, which speaks volumes about the significance of this event to Terex,” he said.
Franna’s principal engineers, Clayton McPherson and Mike Atherden.
the launch of the mini cranes at the conference and exhibition. “I thought the CICA Conference and Exhibition was a genuine success. The location was great because it kept the delegates together in a great setting. The event was well planned, well organised and well executed. Plenty of people visited our booth inside and also the outdoor exhibit. There was plenty of interest in the Bocker mini crane as it was the first time, we have been able to present the product to the Australian market. We received a number of good enquiries and I am positive that we will convert at least 40 per cent of them into actual sales,” he said. “The Bocker president, Alexander Bocker, was here for the event and he was also impressed. He thought the conference and exhibition were well planned with good speakers, and the outdoor display area was perfectly located on the golf course. The weather helped with people enjoying being outside viewing the equipment,” he said. November 2019 CAL / 59
CICA CONFERENCE REVIEW
TADANO LAUNCH AERIAL WORK PLATFORM RANGE Tadano Oceania Pty Ltd (TOP) is set to revolutionise aerial work in Australia with the local roll-out of the highly advanced Tadano Aerial Work Platform (AWP) range. Three members of the Tadano AWP range – the AT-200S Super Deck, the AT-300CG and the AT-157CG – have
recently been released on the local market, with other sophisticated platforms to follow in 2020. Known for their advanced features, high levels of operator comfort and industry-leading efficiency, the work platforms will be backed in Australia by a comprehensive spare parts and support service provided by TOP. According to Stephen Lazenby, Tadano, AWP product specialist, the
CICA Conference and Exhibition was a great success. “I thought the whole event was great, really enjoyable. We saw a good cross section of people from various areas of the industry. It also provided a great opportunity to reconnect with many customers. “We had a diverse range of customers came by to check out our new offerings across our product lines and many were genuinely were impressed with new ranges,” Lazenby said. “We saw some existing AWP customers who expressed satisfaction with their older Tadano AWP products, and many were planning future updates to new machines. We are hopeful they will be updating to our latest products in the near future. “We all agreed the success of the CICA conference and exhibition was the result of the choice of location as it kept everyone together, and great planning. It’s always good to see the industry come together and CICA Conference is a must attend event for the crane industry as it highlights the key components of the crane and lifting world. It’s always a pleasure attending,” said Lazenby.
The GMK 5150L arrived in late 2018 and there are over 30 cranes operating with customers or on the water. With the weight targets of 11.8t per axle, the
machines have been well received even in Queensland, which was typically the hardest of states to get a boom over the front five-axle machine on the road.
Stephen Lazenby, Tadano, AWP product specialist.
NEW GROVE 150T ALL TERRAIN ON DISPLAY Brian Taylor, managing director of Valley Cranes took delivery a “new generation” Grove all terrain, the fiveaxle GMK5150L. This model is a direct replacement for the GMK5130L-2 and introduces a new class of crane at 150t. Launched in late 2018, the GMK5150-L was a brand-new crane from the tyres up. With improved capacity, it has a 15 to 20 per cent better load chart with the same counterweight, the single engine design and a little less overall gross vehicle weight. “We’re getting 150t capacity from the same package with 15 per cent to 20 per cent better load charts by maximising the weight saving and strength features,” Taylor said. 60 / CAL November 2019
Brian Taylor, managing director, Valley Cranes took delivery a “new generation” Grove all terrain, the five-axle GMK5150L.
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
PASSING ON MANITOWOC WASN’T EASY The Manitowoc stand was one of the most popular during the exhibition. With the ongoing Rugby World Cup very much in focus then, visitors were encouraged to demonstrate their skills by passing rugby balls through holes which had numerical values. A successful pass from 3m received the score of the hole, and this was doubled if successful from 5m. The three sessions averaged 37 competitors with one winner named per session. The winners went on to compete in the final which was on Saturday afternoon.
Manitowoc had promised “come one, come all, with everyone is welcome to participate”. They honoured the promise even though it must have
PACE CRANES DELIVER MINI CRANE TO MEMBREY Pace Cranes and Sennebogen were the Platinum Sponsor for this year’s CICA Conference and Exhibition. The Pace Cranes team welcomed a special visitor to their outdoor exhibit, Craig Membrey from Membrey’s Transport and Crane Hire was checking out the latest addition to his fleet, the new MAEDA spider crane, the MC285C-3. “This model is the next generation in the highly successful MC285C series of spider cranes. The lifting capacity of the dash 3 is 2.82t and the series has a number of key features including the multi pivot settings on the outriggers and the slew zone safety system which will be a major benefit to our
customers,” said Anthony Heeks. “The system works on the basis that if the load moves outside the riggers its detected via a series of sensors and the machine stops automatically, it’s very intelligent. The Series 3 also features an outrigger interlocker system and a seven-inch display interface. There’s also a radio remote so you can operate the crane remotely. “The display unit highlights an outrigger interlock system and a safety level bubble. When the crane is operating safely the lights remain green and there are automatic warnings if the operation is outside of the safety restrictions,” he said, “these new features also enable slew restrictions. Typically, applications for the crane will be high-rise construction and
with the retractable legs, the Series 3 is ideal for operating in confined areas. “As a standard, there’s a radio remote control system, non-marking tracks are optional and an as option there’s an electric motor for zero emissions and environmentally sensitive applications. This motor is detachable, and the inbuilt wheels make it easy to detach and move as required,” he said.
GREAT OUTCOME FOR SANY AND RONCO According to Robert Smith, managing director of Ronco Group, the newly appointed regional dealer for Sany cranes the conference and exhibition worked well. “The CICA Conference and Exhibition worked out to be a really great outcome for Sany/Ronco as an exhibitor. The Sany/Ronco stand generated the best attendance from potential customers, much better in comparison to the previous year we have exhibited. “We are happy to report we had lots
of enquiries. These were mainly price based and we were able to talk about SANY’s commitment to a national network and the back-up of parts. All of this will be in place within the next few months, under the guidance of Nitin Khanna, general manager of Sany Australia and New Zealand,” said Smith. “The event was a great success for Sany/Ronco and it provided a great platform to relaunch the Sany products and the right environment to discuss the future plans of a quality brand. The highlight of the conference was the
return to an outdoor display, with crane booms held high, as they should be displayed,” he said.
www.cranesandlifting.com.au
been hard to watch Neil Webb, from Cranserco, the Indonesian Franna dealer, take out the top prize and Liebherr’s David Griffith third.
John Stewart, VP & GM, Manitowoc ANZ, congratulates the prize winners: 1st place, Neil Webb, Cranserco, 2nd place Steve Holmes, GTK Training and 3rd place, David Griffiths, Liebherr.
Shiro Nakazawa and Mirei Kim from the Maeda factory, Craig Membrey, Anthony and Paul Heeks from Pace Cranes.
The Sany/Ronco Group team – George Fan, Sany and Olga Kolyasnikova, Robert Smith and Mark Turner from Ronco.
November 2019 CAL / 61
CICA CONFERENCE REVIEW
Bill Stramer, Link Belt’s senior vice president marketing, Anthony Davis, Baden Davis Crane Connection, Roy Burger, manager, Link-Belt’s International Sales and Ben Baden, Baden Davis Crane Connection.
INTERNATIONAL VISITORS FOR BADEN DAVIS CRANE CONNECTION “I thought the venue worked extremely well because it kept everyone together with the social and networking events attended by the whole delegation. The
exhibition probably didn’t work as well as we would have liked. There were two areas and our hall didn’t attract as much traffic and we didn’t get as many delegates to our stand as would have hoped. “That said, we did speak to interested
UAA HOST SINGAPORE CRANES ASSOCIATION UAA invited the Chairman of the Singapore Cranes Association Jimmy Chua and his colleague Akbar Kader to attend the CICA Conference and Exhibition. “We thought Jimmy would benefit from learning a bit more about how the Australian crane industry works. Akbar Kader is a director of Nan Guan
Constructions and he also has a lot of dealings with the Ministry of Manpower which is a very influential government body in Singapore,” said George Grasso, Chief Services Officer, UAA. In Singapore, regular crane inspections are compulsory but there is also a requirement for a crane to be inspected before it moves onto a major project or construction site. “In most cases these inspections are
Brandon Hitch, CICA CEO and George Grasso, UAA Chief Services Officer, welcome Jimmy Chau and the delegation from Singapore
62 / CAL November 2019
people and we have sent a couple of quotes which is promising. Being the NSW distributor, we were really happy with the TIDD presence at the conference. The TIDD profile is much bigger than it’s ever been before and there’s genuine momentum and a heap of interest around it. Customers are coming to us asking about the product rather than us having to chase them, which makes a huge difference,” said Davis. The Baden Davis Crane Connection welcomed Bill Stramer, senior vice president marketing and Roy Burger, manager, International Sales from the Link-Belt Cranes, Lexington, Kentucky factory. “Although the exchange rate is hurting us at the moment, it was good to see the guys at the conference. Even though we’re not selling many cranes at the moment, we are always grateful for the support afforded to us by the factory,” said Davis.
conducted by engineers and not those with hand on expertise with cranes as we do here in Australia, and after the conference, Jimmy and Akbar were able to meet with CICA CEO Brandon Hitch, who presented how the CraneSafe and CrewSafe programs work. “They were extremely impressed, especially with the point that all inspections are conducted by certified crane assessors and they have taken a number of ideas back to Singapore, if adopted in Singapore, it will be create enormous efficiency gains in the industry as well as greater detail on the inspections reports and further endorsing safety ” said Grasso. “We thought the CICA conference was excellent. The program was well thought out and the quality of speakers meant the various sessions and workshops were well attended. As always, the event provided UAA with the opportunity to reinforce its commitment to the crane industry and it was great to catch with up with many familiar faces,” he said. www.cranesandlifting.com.au
