Crane business

German rental company Schuch is using Grove’s first new 300 tonne GMK6300L All Terrain crane to erect the tower sections of a 2.5 MW Enercon E82 wind turbine in Mensinghausen, near Hannover. To lift the tower sections, the GMK6300L was working with 31.5 metres main boom and its maximum counterweight of 92.5 tonnes.

While tens of thousands of new truck cranes a year are sold in China there is big news at the upper end of the lifting capacity scale. Domestic manufacturers are also increasing production capacity and stepping up efforts to distribute and manufacture abroad. Alex Dahm reports

Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) has published its Crane Accident Investigation Guide after two years of planning and preparation by the association’s Crane & Rigging Group Safety Education & Training Committee. SC&RA members typically lift and position oversize objects, often at height and to tight tolerances so the possibility for severe injury or major property damage can never be overlooked

The tower crane is an important link in the construction process. Even though the crane operator is seated in a cabin high up in the sky, he is still not able to view his entire working area. The visibility problem gets even worse as construction progresses and starts to increasingly obstruct the operator’s view.

On November 8, 2010, OSHA’s update to the Cranes & Derricks standard (1926.400) went into effect. Although some of the provisions have delayed effective dates ranging from one year to four, there are a few important updates that were effective on November 8th.

Irish based international lifting and wind power specialist McNally/Windhoist has taken delivery of a 750 tonne Liebherr LG1750 lattice boomed truck mounted crane.The new crane travelled form the manufacturers Ehingen plant this week directly to its first contract in France where it will be used to erect a number of wind turbines.

A strong risk assessment and planning, combined with a sharp operator saved a big crawler from tipping over. The crane, a 1,200 tonne Liebherr LTR11200 telescopic belonging to Karl Hartinger Kranbetrieb of Rimbeck-Warburg in Germany, was working on new wind farm being erected on moorland with a peat bog substrate.

The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) has rebuilt and enhanced its website to add valuable new features and improve popular existing ones. One noteworthy upgrade is the new Career Center, where employers and recruiters can access the most qualified talent pool with relevant work experience to fulfill staffing needs.

Singapore’s High Court has held a structural/mechanical engineer liable in a civil suit for the collapse of a tower crane that killed three people. Engineer Tan Juay Pah, who is also an authorised crane inspector, will have to pay damages to crane supplier Lee Tong Boon, who in turn has to compensate the main contractor Kimly Construction for the accident.

Link Belt will launch an all new 137 tonne/150ton lattice boomed crawler crane, the 238HSL at Conexpo in Las Vegas this March.