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Celebrate Canada’s Top 10 Under 40!
Let me introduce myself: I am Crane & Hoist Canada’s new editor. Jay, Jayson, Jace — either one works for me and I’ll happily respond to whichever you like best. Give me a shout.
I’ve been on the team for five months now and attended two conferences so far. And I must say, there is a lot to learn in the world of heavy lifting and cranes. Seriously. A lot. Nothing new to our readers, but my ‘barely-skimmed-thesurface’ crash course has included: different types of cranes and their specific roles, job-site safety, ethical hacking, cannabis on the job site, various tech trends, indigenous relationships, and lastly — obviously with no sarcasm — how fantastic and easy it is to work with millennials in 2019.
My background is not in cranes, hoists, or heavy lifting, but journalism and a short stint as an aluminum welder. Not entirely related to each other but what I learned from those two jobs was that teamwork is one of the most important parts of a successful workplace. Whether in an office, weld shop, or at a crane construction site, everybody has a role, and a really important one at that.
Which is exactly why we chose the last issue of our year to highlight 10 outstanding individuals across the country as Canada’s Top 10 Under 40 who made significant contributions to the industry before their 40th birthdays. We’ve found some of the country’s best and brightest crane operators, software developers, project managers, sales
We’ve found some of the country’s best and brightest crane operators, software developers, project managers, sales managers and trainers.
managers and trainers. We hope you celebrate with them alongside the team here at Crane and Hoist.
You’ll also find in this issue a list of the top 2019 rigging jobs of the year, the Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association’s Crane and Rigging Workshop that was held in Glendale, Ariz., a few really cool lift projects currently underway across the country, company case studies, and a lot more relevant heavy lifting content for you to sink your teeth into. Our next issue is going to be celebrating our 10th year as a publication! So please reach out to me at jkoblun@ annexbusinessmedia.com and let me know some of your favourite past articles, topics covered, or any ideas that you think might help us celebrate 10 years delivering content to you our readers.
It’s been a great last few months and I’ve really learned a lot. My biggest lesson so far — tower cranes don’t just miraculously appear overnight. There are people who do that for a living.
Do you have a story tip or a crane and hoists operation with a great story to tell? Send me an email at jkoblun@annexbusinessmedia.com.
photos of unique cranes and hoists? Email a photo and brief description to editor Jay Koblun at jkoblun@annexbusinessmedia.com.
New mobile crane simulator training pack includes tandem lift simulation
CM Labs Simulations, developer of Vortex training simulators, announced a new Training Pack that includes the industry’s only simulated mobile crane tandem lift exercise, as well as a competency demonstration exercise that provides a safe, objective tool for employers to assess crane operator skills.
Developed in response to industry demand, CM Labs’ tandem lift exercise teaches the lead crane operator how to safely and efficiently maneuver a steel pipe load in tandem with a secondary crane, operated from another simulator connected on the network.
The Mobile Crane Simulator Training Pack’s tandem lift feature can be deployed in multiple configurations, with operators working at any combination of CM Labs simulators, including the motion-enabled Vortex Advantage simulator, as well as the portable Vortex Edge Plus. Collaborative learning can be further extended with CM Labs’ Signal Person Training Station, which allows a trainee to guide the operation, within a challenging virtual
New web tools make 3D Lift Plan features available on-the-go
A1A Software LLC introduced five new web tools for task specific lift planning activities in 3D Lift Plan.
jobsite that includes power lines and job site personnel. This type of team-based training can be difficult and expensive to reproduce in real-life, but is safe and easy to set up with Vortex Simulators.
“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 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 sales people who are working with customers to identify the most cost-effective 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.
ADVERTISER CORRECTION
In the March/April and the May/June issues of Crane & Hoist Canada, Strongco ran an ad for the Grove GMK 4080-2. The lifting capacity was incorrectly stated – it is 80 metric tons. Strongco apologizes for any confusion.
The new Mobile Crane Training Pack also allows trainers to fully evaluate operator readiness with an innovative Mobile Crane Skills Assessment exercise. This exercise is the only simulation-based assessment tool to cover advanced lifting techniques, such as performing a blind lift, recovering from a load pendulum, girder lifts, and more.
The system tracks all operating metrics during training exercises, and rolls them up into a single score that updates in real time. Organizations can customize this scoring system to take their most important operating criteria into consideration. This in turn gives instructors a benchmark for objectively assessing operators after every training session, in order to meet training objectives more rapidly. Thanks to its in-depth assessment capabilities and progressive learning exercises suitable for both novices and experienced operators, the Mobile Crane Training Pack is a powerful tool for every stage of the organizational workforce development cycle, from operator assessment and training to cross-skilling.
N.S. assumes liability for removal of crane toppled by Dorian
The Nova Scotia government declared a localized state of emergency in part of downtown Halifax in order to speed up removal of a construction crane blown down during post-tropical storm Dorian.
Labour Minister Labi Kousoulis said on Sept. 18 the step shifts the liability for potential damage during the crane’s removal to the province. Kousoulis said the move, which could leave taxpayers on the hook, was necessary because it was taking the building’s developer and the crane’s owner too long to get private insurance. He said the assumption of indemnity will protect the engineering firm and the crane company that will help remove the downed crane.
“Essentially we’re the insurance company for those two organizations,” Kousoulis said. He said it’s necessary to get the work done as soon as possible because some people and businesses have not been able to return to the area since the crane toppled Sept. 7.
An evacuation order for some tenants was issued by the Halifax Regional Municipality and the city’s fire service. The localized emergency covers a city block in the area of Cathedral Lane, Breton Street, Brenton Place and Spring Garden Road.
Mark Reynolds, a senior structural engineer with Harbourside Engineering Consultants Ltd., said the crane’s removal presents a challenge because almost every piece of it is damaged in some way. Reynolds said everything needs to be secured before it’s taken apart. “Taking one piece off will shift loads and could potentially cause further damage,” he said.
Source: Canadian Press
Maxim acquires Solley
Maxim Crane Works and Solley Equipment & Rigging announced Maxim Crane will acquire Solley Crane. Solley Crane is a family-owned company in the Central Tennessee and Northern Alabama regions. The combination of Solley Crane and Maxim Crane enhances Maxim Crane’s full-service, nationwide crane rental and lifting solutions platform and expands its operations in one of the nation’s key geographic regions.
With Maxim Crane’s coast-to-coast footprint, providing engineering, equipment rental, turnkey lift services, rigging and heavy haul and transportation services, Solley Crane’s team and customers will gain access to one of the largest modern fleets of full-service lifting solution equipment in the world.
Solley Crane will enhance and expand Maxim Crane’s presence in these markets through the addition of the Solley Crane fleet and the expertise of Solley Crane’s industry professionals.
“The Solley Crane merger provides access to one of the most experienced teams of crane professionals in the region,” said Bryan Carlisle, CEO of Maxim Crane. “They have an outstanding reputation and their fleet provides customers with a ‘best in class’ brand of products, parts, services and rental equipment. We are excited about this amazing combination and look forward to providing our team members and customers with the additional geographic coverage and services that Solley Crane and its team bring to our company.”
Ronnie Solley, owner of Solley Crane, said, “Solley Crane was started by my father, Ray, and the business has been the heart and soul of our family and employees for nearly 50 years. This merger will ensure that our employees, families and customers continue to enjoy the type of service, safety, and commitment that they have had in the past and guarantee that our business will continue for the next 50 years and beyond. We know the Maxim Crane Team extremely well and believe that this is a perfect combination that will allow both teams to thrive by working together toward common goals of safety, service and success.”
Source: Business Wire
Source: CM Labs
Finalists for the LEEA Awards 2019 announced
The Lifting Equipment Engineers Association (LEEA) announced the finalists for The LEEA Awards 2019. As the largest trade association in the Lifting Industry, LEEA wants to reward members who have done the most to raise standards. The shortlisted finalists are as follows:
Customer Service Award, sponsored by Certex, recognizes organizations that are leading the way in delivering exceptional service to customers in the Lifting Industry. The finalists are:
• QISC (Qatar International Safety Centre) – Hashim Mohammed
• Street CraneXpress – STEP
• A Nobles & Sons – Industry First Customer Promise
• TRE (Technical Royal Excellence Consultancy) – Customer Service Excellence
Innovative Product of the Year, sponsored by Industrial Training International (ITI), recognizes truly innovative products and services that contribute to improvement of the Lifting Equipment Industry. The finalists are:
• Checkmate – Infinity Lanyard
• Probst – Probst SH 2500 Greenline vacuum lifting device
• A Nobles & Sons – Australian Defence Force Lightweight Recovery and Lifting Blocks
• William Hackett Lifting Products – SS-L5 QP – specialist lever hoist
• Straightpoint UK– HHP App and Bluetooth product range
• Liftal – Dynamic Test Device for motor-driven hoists and winches
• IMES International – Bespoke design by James McEvoy
The Kevin Holmes Award has been developed to honour the memory of the late Kevin Holmes, previous chairman of LEEA’s Learning and Development Committee. This award recognizes excellence in developing people in the Lifting Equipment Industry. The finalists are:
• Street CraneXpress
• Ranger Lifting
• GEO Taylor
• Certex
• LEEA – Apprenticeship Trailblazer
• LEEA / Guy Harris of LHI magazine
• Straightpoint
• Carl Wright Training / MHI Vestas (NM)
• Simples Lifting
• Cookes NZ
The Safety Award, sponsored by Rigging Services, recognizes organizations that demonstrate products and/or services that provide innovative protection to people from the risk of injury. The finalists are:
• Lloyds British a Speedy Business – Height Safety
• Probst – Transmobil Carrier
• Straightpoint – Know the Load
• Briggs Defence – Mental Health
• Tollmans – KPIs
• Reflex Marine – Storm Work
Sustainable Solution of the Year, sponsored by Straightpoint, celebrates organizations committed to maintaining profitability while considering the impact on the environment. The finalists are:
• Checkmate – CheckBack
• Guy Harris of LHI magazine – Think Lifting
• LEEA – Apprenticeship Trailblazer
The winners of the following awards will be announced at the Awards Dinner:
Manager of the Year, recognizes the outstanding achievements of managers who are shaping the future of our industry.
Apprentice of the Year, sponsored by Bridger Howes, is aimed at LEEA members who want to recognize the contribution and individual effort made by an apprentice in the academic year 2018/19.
The Unsung Hero Award, sponsored by LHI magazine, is aimed at LEEA members who want to recognize those individuals whose support, hard work, dedication and commitment often goes unnoticed.
All the winners will be announced and presented with their awards during the LiftEx 2019 Awards Dinner by guest speaker, TV presenter Rachel Riley.
The 2nd Annual LEEA Awards take place during LiftEx 2019 on the evening of Nov. 13, 2019 at the DoubleTree by Hilton, Milton Keynes.
For more information on attending the LEEA Awards 2019, visit leeaint.com.
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Local company gives Amazon HQ Vancouver a lift
continued from cover All photos: Allied Crane
“They’re JASO 380PAs,” says Allied Crane president Derek Kasa. “They’re erected with 60-metre booms, and they’re set up on a thing called grillage, so they’re actually sitting on the roof of the existing building. It’s a heritage building. They’re saving the bulk of the building and then constructing two towers starting from the bottom of the buildings.”
Allied Crane recently finished erecting the fourth tower crane.
“We’re down to erecting the fourth crane. We put that up in actual working hours. We probably erected that entire crane up in two days. But in actual working hours in about 12 hours,” Kasa says.
All four tower cranes were erected with the help of a 550ton (USt) Grove GMK7550 mobile telescopic crane. After the first JASO 380PA tower crane was in place, it assisted the Grove GMK7550 with the erection of the remaining three tower cranes.
“With each crane we put up, it went faster and faster,” Kasa says, adding that controlling traffic required significant planning. “It was a big deal, we had to shut down an entire street – Homer Street for two cranes and Hamilton Street for the other two cranes.”
While setting up the mobile crane, the street was entirely shut down with traffic management.
“The mobile came in Friday evening and they started setting up over the Friday evening,” Kasa explains. “Then we had the mobile crane first thing Saturday morning. And then they came in between noon and two o’clock on Sunday to disassemble the mobile crane. Then Monday it was business as usual.”
Kasa says his company had no issues with the general public during the erection of the cranes.
“They were pretty well behaved,” he says.
Ensuring safe operations
Vancouver typically has similar weather systems to Seattle, which is only about an hour’s drive away. The company had to shut down during the erection of the second tower crane due to high winds. That same weather pattern was
responsible for the recent collapse of a crane in Seattle that claimed the lives of four people.
To help ensure the safe operation of the tower cranes in prohibited overflight zones, PCL invested in DCS 60 devices from AMCS technologies for two of the JASO cranes. ACMS technologies’ DCS 60 operates in real time and in three dimensions to calculate the distances between each crane component as well as movement speed. The company states that the DCS system “applies a security envelope around the jib in proportion to the speed of slewing of the crane as well as around the cable in proportion to the speed of movement of the trolley.”
The technology allows for the two cranes to safely operate face-to-face increasing productivity at the jobsite.
“It seems to be working pretty good for them,” Kasa says. The tower cranes are also outfitted with Orlaco cameramonitor systems to assist the crane operators.
“They’re never working blind,” Kasa says. “Being that they’re sitting on top of the existing building, and they’ve probably taking away 50 per cent of the structure of that building, there would be a lot of blind lifts without a camera.”
Kasa says his company was aware of the all the potential challenges of erecting the cranes and planned accordingly, so everything ran smoothly.
“Challenges yes, but disasters and problems, no. This is what we do. This isn’t our first rodeo. The challenges with working on a high-profile job with PCL, you can imagine the paperwork. Everything has got to be planned out right, from every piece of rigging and everything else,” Kasa says.
“The PCL people themselves were absolutely instrumental in helping solve these issues. They have some great experienced operators. The whole management team was extremely helpful in pulling this project off.”
High lifting capacities and long boom system
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Plans include replacing the steel girders and deck, rehabilitating the piers, and reconstructing new abutments. The bridge deck will be widened slightly and will include 1.5-metre shoulders on each side. The project, slated for completion in 2024, will ultimately see the bridge length extended by 4.8 metres to accommodate the abutments.
Because the bridge spans the Bay of Quinte, Aecon Construction, the general contractor, has brought in barges to accommodate two large crawler cranes doing the heaviest lifting.
Can-Pick Crane Rental of St. Catharines, Ont., is supplying one of the crawlers, a 200-tonne American Hoist (Terex) A1500HC crawler, as well as an operator, while Sterling Crane is supplying the second crane, a 200-ton Kobelco CK-2000-II.
The two cranes have matching specifications and are being used to handle the heavy materials.
Can-Pick co-owner Rob Mewhinney said the A1500HC has a 180-foot boom and a counterweight designed to minimize the machine’s overall footprint while extending its reach and increasing its lifting capacity.
While the lifts vary in size, the two cranes often work in tandem, each grabbing an end of whatever is being brought down or hoisted up.
Mewhinney singled out the tandem lifts as particularly challenging because they’re being done from separate floating vessels.
“With a two-crane lift, it’s very important that both cranes move together while performing the lift,” Mewhinney said. “And, when operating on a barge, the barges move so you are not on what you would call firm, solid ground.”
While the tandem lifts are particularly challenging, the initial issue was getting the two crawlers to site. The A1500HC was delivered in sections on seven flatbed trucks and assembled with help from a 110-ton Manitowoc 1100 crane Aecon retained to assist with the project. “It will selferect, but that’s only if you need to,” Mewhinney explained, pointing to jacks located on the crawler’s underside. Once assembled, crews walked the crawlers onto their respective barges, which were waiting at a pier on-site.
For the next five years, as each bridge section proceeds, crews will use the cranes to demolish and remove portions needing replacement. The two crawlers will then retrieve
replacement components from shore and facilitate their erection.
The bridge’s girders were the heaviest loads handled, with the old ones weighing roughly 50 tonnes and the new ones registering 62.5957 tonnes.
All major lifts are pre-engineered, with the tandem loads requiring particular attention and co-operation, including planning meetings beforehand.
“Both operators and everybody who’s involved goes over what’s going to happen step-by-step,” Mewhinney explained. “One person is in charge of doing all the signalling and controlling the cranes. The most important thing when the cranes work together is that both operators can see each other and their load.”
The sectional steel barges have engine controls and skim the surface with relative ease, travelling from the piers to wherever they’re needed at the bridge. But working from water requires measures to curb movement. Crews drop spud legs to the bottom of the bay to serve as anchors.
“They don’t prevent the barge from going up or down, they just hold the barge – in a perfect world – in one spot,” Mewhinney said. “It still rocks and sways a bit, so there’s a little bit of motion.”
Still, there are moments that give pause. The work area is restricted territory and signed to deter boats from disturbing the barges with their wakes. Still, Mewhinney recalled one large pleasure craft missing or ignoring the signs and leaving a wake big enough to rock one of the barges and send the crane’s boom swinging. Thankfully, the cranes were inactive. Crews captured the boat’s registration plates and notified police patrols.
“It could have been bad if it was during a big lift or something and they caused [the crane] to lose it,” Mewhinney said.
High winds can also rock the barges, so crews shut down when winds exceed 30 kilometres an hour or the weather otherwise turns cranky. “When you work on a barge you need conditions where the barge is stable and not rocking,” Mewhinney said, noting that even minor movements can be awkward because the bridge 100 feet overhead is rigidly in place.
Crews use wind meters to monitor conditions, and when lifts are underway they communicate by radio to ensure safety and co-ordination all-round.
For the next five years, as each bridge section proceeds, crews will use the cranes to demolish and remove portions needing replacement.
While precautions are taken for all lifts, the tandem ones are the most demanding even though they boost efficiency and even enhance control over lifts. “With a single crane, you’ve got to have tag lines and whatnot to hold the girder or whatever you’re lifting, to keep it stable so the wind doesn’t get ahold of it,” said Angelo Cornacchia, a senior superintendent with Aecon. “This never happens with two cranes holding it. The wind will get ahold of it [a load] but it would never swing and hit the boom.”
E.S. Fox Limited, a Niagara Falls-based constructor Aecon retained to install the new girders, is nominated for a 2019 Canadian Institute of Steel Construction Ontario Steel Design Award of Excellence in the bridges category, and the company’s entry form illustrated multiple challenges. Crews dealt with winds, waves and fluctuating water levels, and had
Two crawler cranes working from barges on a five-year, $63 million rehabilitation of the Bay of Quinte Skyway Bridge in Ontario.
The two cranes have matching specifications and are being used to handle the heavy materials.
to work carefully when using the Manitowoc 1100, which was positioned on dry land, to position the girders so the two cranes on barges could hoist in tandem.
“While the girders were all erected in pairs they still needed to be hoisted onto the barge one at a time and assembled with bracing and diaphragms,” the constructor’s submission explained. “Thus, consideration was needed for unevenly loading the barge when it only had one girder on it at time. While the waves and current weren’t as severe near the shore, as compared to being out in the middle of the waterway, there was still some heaving to contend with.”
Another factor affecting the project has been winter. The bay freezes over, so work generally shuts down by Christmas and resumes in late March or early April. The barges park at a nearby dock, and the Cranes stay-cation on-shore.
Quinn Mieske, a contract services administrator with MTO, said a single lane will remain open throughout construction, and the Ministry intends to maintain the full two lanes for traffic during the winter months in order to complete snow clearing. “That really dictates what Aecon can and can’t do during the winter months,” Mieske explained.
While motorists face some summertime delays waiting for the single lane to open in their direction, the project is also somewhat of a local attraction. “We have residential communities on each side of the bridge and a whole lot of people who like to come out and take photos and be as close to the action as possible,” Mieske said. “It’s something you don’t see every day, that’s for sure. The complexity of this project, alone – it takes a whole lot of project management and everybody to be on the same page to keep things moving forward efficiently and safely.”
While motorists face some summertime delays waiting for the single lane to open in their direction, the project is also somewhat of a local attraction.
Plans include replacing the steel girders and deck, rehabilitating the piers, and reconstructing new abutments.
Halifax crane collapses and lingers, questions raised
Do standards need to be reexamined in light of increasing extreme weather events?
BY MATT JONES
On September 7, in the midst of Hurricane Dorian’s impact on the Atlantic Provinces, the tallest tower crane in Halifax collapsed onto a nearby roof. No one was hurt in the incident, however, the 30,000 kg crane remained draped over a building at the corner of Spring Garden Road and South Park for weeks before removal efforts started.
While the investigation into the cause of the collapse is ongoing, local residents and politicians are questioning the response to the collapse and whether the increasing frequency of extreme weather events warrants a re-examination of crane standards regarding wind storms.
The most commonly raised question among Halifax residents and other observers is why wasn’t the crane taken down earlier in the week when forecasts showed that Dorian was on its way. Joey MacLellan, Operating Engineers Local 721 business manager, notes that the massive size of the crane complicates matters.
“It’s not as easy as it sounds, and expensive” says MacLellan. “They used a 400 tonne hydraulic crane to erect it and there’s only three here in Atlantic Canada. And, of course, trying to get one of those is a scheduling issue. And nobody really knows if the hurricane is going to come.
And they’re built to withstand that anyway.”
The Nova Scotia Department of Labour and Advanced Education are leading the ongoing inspection of the incident.
The crane remained in place for several weeks before removal work began, as the various parties attempted to determine which would be liable. On September 18, the provincial government declared a localized state of emergency, moving liability to the province and allowing the removal to go ahead.
Martina MacInnis, media relations advisor for the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal, says the crane is
currently being secured and stabilized to prevent it from moving during removals.
“With the complexity of the project, estimated timelines and approach are continuously being revised,” says MacInnis.
The crane removal is being performed by Harbourside Engineering Consultants and R&D Crane Operator Ltd.
The removal has begun is cold comfort for businesses and residents who have been locked out of the area since the collapse.
Sue Utech, executive director for the Spring Garden Area Business Association says that only three of the six to eight businesses in the immediate area are currently open, during one of the busier times of the shopping year.
“I know one business did have business interruption insurance,” says Utech. “But the problem with that type of insurance is you have to have physical damage to the building. Some of these buildings don’t have physical damage, but because of the proximity they can’t gain access.”
Tim Houston, leader of the opposition PC party, criticized the government’s response to the collapse, noting that residents were unsure who to contact to obtain new information.
“What they failed to do was actually appoint a point person so that people would know who could be held accountable and who they could reach out to,” says Houston.
Gary Burrill, leader of the provincial NDP party, echoes the sentiment, noting that in his view part of an efficient response to this sort of situation is a single voice, accessible by phone or email that residents could contact with questions or concerns.
“There’s been quite a lot of one department saying, well, the other department deals with X area, but we only deal with Y area,” says Burrill. “When you’ve got a state of emergency, you need to have one central responsible voice through whom the authoritative information is conveyed.”
Looking towards the future, it is generally accepted that as the climate continues to change, extreme weather events such as Hurricane Dorian will occur more frequently. With that in mind, one remaining question is whether the standards for cranes related to winds and storms should possibly be re-examined to see if they could be optimized for this new reality.
“People do see that climate change is a real thing,” says Houston. “Storms are more intense, storms are more frequent. What was safe and structurally sound in the past might need to change as the road goes forward.”
Lead Structural Formworks Ltd., the owner and operator of the collapsed crane, and representatives for Nova Scotia’s Department of Labour and Advanced Education did not respond to requests for comment as of press time.
The investigation continues into what caused a tower crane in Halifax to collapse during the onslaught of Hurricane Dorian on September 7. (Credit: Brendan MaGee)
Tech talk and more at SC&RA Rigging Workshop
BY
With all the hype leading up to this year’s Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association Crane and Rigging Workshop (SCRA), the show definitely did not disappoint. More than 600 crane and rigging professionals attended the massive workshop In Phoenix, Ariz., Sept. 18-20. With temperatures nearing 40 C outside during the conference, attendees stayed cool and informed inside with keynote speaker, Dan Negroni, as he shared his six-step framework that helps companies transform their culture and workforce into a place where millennials can feel engaged, rather than disengaged.
Attendees also learned about topics such as — navigating the legalization of marijuana in construction, understanding ground-bearing capacities, crane operator certification, testing and design of cantilever beams and triangle plates, crane and rigging tech trends, and a whole lot more.
Ted Blanton, North American Crane Bureau founder and consultant, was one of three expert panel speakers who shared on the benefits and limitations of emerging technology and how it will affect the industry.
Blanton started by referring to early forms of simulation. Saying that early simulation was not nearly as advanced as it now.
“Simulation started with planes. With a man sitting in a chair on top of two crates and others beside him shaking the structure to simulate flight,” said Blanton. “Likely the first form of flight simulation.”
All photos: Jay Koblun
JAY KOBLUN
David Thornton, technical product manager at Fleet Cost & Care (left), Tawnia Weiss, president A1A Software (centre), and Ted Blanton, North American Crane Bureau founder and consultant (right) were panelists on a talk around tech trends in the industry.
Dana Jackson, vice president sales and marketing at North American Crane Bureau showing how their Virtual Reality machines can benefit the crane industry.
He added that it was not software driven like it is today with Virtual Reality (VR). A key point of his talk was the value that modern VR brings to the crane and lifting industry. Especially when it comes to training crane operators.
“Trainees can be exposed to, and deal with, scenarios which would be fatal in real life,” he said. According to Blanton, VR can be harder than the real thing, depending on how the program is set up to run.
“VR also saves machines from a lot of wear and tear,” he said. “Allowing machines and equipment to last a lot longer.”
The trade show was the largest ever exhibit to date at an SC&RA workshop featuring 94 booths.
Adam Gall, marketing co-ordinator at WrightPlan Incorporated, was a first-timer at the workshop. And had a booth during the trade show. He said the show was a great experience.
“The trade show was an excellent opportunity to stand out from the crowd,” said Gall. “To ‘show’ your product instead of merely talk about it. A lot of exhibitors went all out with their booths by using demos, giveaways, and even magic to attract attendees — yes, there was a magician. Really makes you want to up your game for next year’s SC&RA trade show.” The 2020 workshop is set to take place in Dallas, TX, Sept. 16 to 18.
Jeff Steiner, owner of Bigfoot Construction Equipment, at his booth during the SC&RA Rigging Workshop trade show. Steiner also gave a talk titled, Understanding Ground Bearing Technologies.
Chad Fox, project manager at Ruby+Associates, at the SC&RA rigging workshop talking about the design, fabrication, and testing of cantilever beams and triangle plates.
David Thornton, technical product manager at Fleet Cost & Care (left), Tawnia Weiss, president A1A Software (centre), and Ted Blanton, North American Crane Bureau founder and consultant (right) giving their expert opinions on tech trends in crane and rigging.
MALL SPYDERS
Mini-cranes help with large glass installs in Alberta malls
BY ANDREW SNOOK
When a new store moves inside a shopping mall, or an existing one gets renovated, those projects sometimes come with unique challenges. In the cases of the CF Chinook Mall in Calgary and the West Edmonton Mall in Edmonton, those challenges came in the form of massive pieces of glass that needed to be installed for new Louis Vuitton and Canada Goose locations.
There are not a lot of companies that specialize in these sorts of installations in Alberta, but fortunately for the storeowners, Calgary-based Griffin Glass is one of them.
“We have a young office at Griffin. We’re highly motivated and nothing really scares us, we’ll try anything,” says Trevor Whyte, vice-president of Griffin Glass. “If it has to do with glass, we’ll make it work.”
Griffin Glass has been serving the Calgary area since 1960, providing a full range of glass and architectural metals for industrial, institutional and commercial construction projects. Like many companies in Alberta that are battling the province’s struggling economy, Griffin Glass started looking around a few years ago for new avenues for bringing in revenue. And a few years ago, they found one in sourcing massive pieces of glass and installing them for shopping mall storefronts.
“We’ve always been a curtain wall type of company, but with the way the economy is, you’ve got to look at these little niches that you can get a part of, and supplement your income when the times are down. It’s kind of a new thing for us,” Whyte says, adding that his company’s first installation was for the Louis Vuitton location in the CF Chinook Mall. “One of our previous estimators knew the company that had this job, and he was a really outspoken go-getter. He researched all this, got pricing… he got us the Chinook Louis Vuitton. And then after the way that went, we just kept it going.”
After performing the successful installation at the Chinook location, Griffin Glass was asked to source the glass for a Canada Goose that uses special freezer frames for their furs. The first two installations that Griffin Glass took didn’t present major challenges during the installations, but the next Louis Vuitton location was another story.
The second Louis Vuitton was located on the second floor of the West Edmonton Mall with minimal access points into that section of the mall. For this installation, the use of a Spydercrane was vital for the success of the project.
“They just have monster pieces of glass and it’s up on the second floor so we have to wheel these pieces into one of those mall openings. Then we have to set up our crane on the second floor, and kind of hoist it through the opening
up onto a different platform – a different rolling A frame – and then, through the opening, we crane it in with these monster suckers (suction cups). I think these things were about 1,500 pounds apiece. These things are huge.”
The reason the CF Chinook Mall installation wasn’t as big of a challenge was because the store is located on the first floor.
The Spydercrane’s lifting capacity and small footprint made it a perfect choice for the West Edmonton Mall project.
“These cranes are really cool,” Whyte says. “They’re on a track system and they can go through a standard three-foot by seven-foot door. I’ve never seen anything like this, and now just because we can do this kind of stuff, it’s opening us up to a ton more business with these guys. We’re almost exclusive to these guys now. Most glazing companies won’t even touch this – it is scary. It’s pretty lucrative if you can do it correctly, but if you have anything go wrong, you’re going to be in trouble. Knock on wood, we haven’t had any problems yet. We’ve been asked to quote jobs in Vancouver now and Saskatchewan, just because we’re so efficient at how we do things now.”
For the Spydercrane, Griffin Glass turned to Burnt Timber Lifting Solutions based in Athabasca, Alta.
“They’re pretty awesome. They provide us with an operator for the machinery so we basically just have to manhandle the stuff. They’re amazing at what they do,” Whyte says.
To err on the side of caution, Whyte sent up a crew of five people for the installation of the glass in the West Edmonton Mall.
“For this one storefront there were 10 pieces of glass and I think just my cost on the glass was about $40,000,” Whyte says. “I’d rather send one extra guy in case something goes wrong than pay for a broken piece.”
The glass is so large that Griffin Glass can’t create it itself, they need to source it out of another shop in Ontario.
“We can’t make that big stuff locally,” Whyte says.
He says the planning and logistics for projects like this tends to pose the greatest challenges. Whyte drove up to Edmonton with his foreman to plan out the staging area and the protection for the glass, and how they would get the massive pieces into the mall.
“The West Edmonton Mall was built in the ‘80s, so they have one place we could bring it in on the main floor,” he explains, adding that he had meetings with the manager and engineer of the mall to plan out the best course of action. “We had to walk this thing halfway across the mall… it took us a good day just to figure out how it was going to work. Once you get those logistical things figured out, before you go down there [for the installation], it goes off without a hitch.”
These types of installations typically take four nights to complete.
“We have to do it afterhours,” Whyte says. “We usually start work at 10 p.m. and work until eight or nine in the morning when the mall re-opens.”
Thanks to Griffin Glass’ new niche, the company has been able to expand its customer base.
“Before we were just locally based, we would venture an hour out of Calgary at the most, but this has opened us to the Edmonton area,” Whyte says.
Another added bonus is that Whyte can now see some of his company’s latest projects whenever he decides to go shopping.
“It’s really cool to walk around the mall, once the store is opened, to walk around and take pictures,” he says. “You’re really proud of the project. You wish you could explain to them how it was done and how it came to fruition.”
Husky Energy lands one of world’s biggest cranes for oil project
BY SAUL CHERNOS
Agiant in the world of cranes is helping construct the base of a fixed drilling platform that will be used for oil extraction 350 kilometres off the Newfoundland coastline.
The team working on Husky Energy’s West White Rose Project in Argentia has landed an SK350 super heavy-lift crane. Designed, manufactured and supplied by UK-based ALE Heavy Lift, the SK350 is one of the largest capacity land-based cranes in the world. With a 125-metre boom and 95-metre jib, it can hoist up to 5,000 tonnes and, as configured for this particular job, has a 220-metre picking radius.
Working from a level gravel bed at the project site on an old U.S. military base, the SK350 will place components, including structural steel, platform sections, stairways, rebar and concrete lids, into the centre of the concrete gravity structure, which will be the base of the fixed West White Rose Platform.
While the SK350 is rated up to 5,000 tonnes depending on its configuration on any particular project, the crane was retained for West White Rose not for sheer muscle power but for reach.
“The concrete gravity structure is 144 metres high, so they wouldn’t have been able to get access with any other crane,” said ALE project manager Frank Konig. “Our crane is located farther away [from the structure], but with a long reach and the additional jib on the crane we can pick up a [heavy] load and then slew it around and place it.”
The heaviest loads for the project include a 219-tonne interior deck and 250-tonne pre-cast lid sections, and the crane’s reach enables components to be placed inside the structure fully constructed.
“Without the crane’s dexterity, crews would have had to install components such as stairways and platforms in small modules, building them up piece by piece instead of installing them as one fully assembled structure, from ground level,” Konig said. “With the SK350 they can do all the fabrication and pre-commissioning of the equipment and don’t need to take anything apart.”
One deck piece measuring 23 metres in diameter and weighing 174 tonnes was placed using a straight forward four-point lift. “From hook-on to hook-off it took ten hours,” Konig said, describing a push-pull jacking system on skid tracks where the main challenge was ensuring the slewing radius was clear to keep crew members safe.
Each lift is carefully pre-engineered, with Husky’s general contractor, SNC-LavalinDragados-Pennecon General Partnership (SDP), reviewing and approving all manoeuvres, Konig said.
One major consideration is extreme weather. “The crane can actually take very high wind forces, so that’s really not an issue for this crane,” Konig said, describing its A-frame design and structural steel make-up as resilient.
Still, safety is a consideration. “At a certain point we just stop operating the crane and go into our wind anchor position,” Konig explained. “We slew the crane over to zero and attach it to our wind anchors.”
Transport and assembly also proved challenging. Shipped from the Netherlands, the SK350 arrived in 200 40-foot containers and needed four cranes to piece it together. A 90-tonne mobile crane helped assemble three larger crawlers – 300, 440 and 600 tonnes –and those cranes worked on the SK350 in stages with help from telehandlers, reach stackers and boom lifts.
When the job concludes, the process will be reversed for disassembly and the SK350 will be shipped to its next destination, currently unknown.
The concrete gravity-supported structure forms the base of the fixed drilling platform and will soon be towed offshore and settled onto the seafloor at the White Rose field. Topsides and living quarters manufactured elsewhere will be added, and the drilling platform will eventually go into operation, sending hydrocarbons to the SeaRose FPSO, a floating production, storage and offloading vessel, for production.
The projected cost of the West White Rose Project is approximately $3.2 billion. Husky spokesperson Colleen McConnell said the company expects the platform will provide roughly 250 full-time jobs, with first production slated for 2022 and a gross peak production of about 75,000 barrels daily by 2025.
The SK350, built in 2013, stands almost alone. There’s only one other like it in ALE’s fleet – and the world, according to Konig. That second SK350 has recently been in Ingleside, Texas lifting offshore platform modules, including one weighing 2,884 tonnes. ALE has billed this as among North America’s heaviest lifts using a land-based crane.
Despite two SK350s in its fleet, ALE is launching an even bigger version. The SK10000 doubles the SK350 in sheer strength, with a 10,000-tonne hoisting capacity. However, reach is a key factor in many projects, and users will often sacrifice capacity to give this crane its valued ability to manoeuvre large loads in challenging circumstances.
Designed, manufactured and supplied by UK-based ALE Heavy Lift, the SK350 is one of the largest capacity land-based cranes in the world.
All photos: Husky Energy
UK-based ALE Heavy Lift, the SK350, is helping construct the base of a fixed drilling platform that will be used for oil extraction 350 kilometres off the Newfoundland coastline.
1 Sheena Baker
Canadian
How long: 13 years Canadian Crane Rental Services Ltd. and 8 years board of directors of the Crane Rental Association of Canada in 2011.
Job title: Operations Manager
Nominated by: Claire Belanger-Parker
Sheena came to the Crane Rental Association of Canada (CRAC) as the youngest director of the board in 2011. In early 2017, she became the youngest chair of the board and led the association through a variety of board administrative improvements. She implemented a series of accountability measures, processes and policies that continue to lead the association today. As chair, she took her role very seriously and saw the opportunity to take CRAC in a direction that would make every crane rental company in Canada proud to be a member and engage in the organization’s future direction. Her determination and continuous involvement on committees shows a genuine care and willingness to take risks for the on-going development of the crane rental industry in Canada.
2 Justin Andrews
Company: Tadano America Corporation
How long: 3 years
Job title: Regional Business Manager
Nominated by: Ken Butz
Justin Andrews has demonstrated exceptional passion for improving safety and operating efficiency of mobile cranes operating in Canada. Since moving to
Canada from Australia, and joining Tadano America Corporation in 2016, Justin has worked diligently to learn crane applications in the oil fields and constructions jobs throughout Canada. He has been instrumental in helping Tadano customize their rough-terrain and all-terrain cranes to perform both safely and efficiently. Specifically, Justin has been instrumental in helping Tadano develop cold weather packages to keep cranes running throughout the cold Canadian winters resulting in improved up-time on the job and lowered cost of ownership for Tadano customers. He has worked tirelessly without engineering teams to improve weight distribution and dolly attachments on Tadano all-terrain models making them safer to transport on roads throughout all provinces in Canada. Additionally, Justin travels throughout Canada educating crane operators on Tadano safety features and safe crane operations in general. He is an advocate for customers striving to provide excellent customer service and demanding nothing less from those at Tadano supporting his efforts. At 32 years old, Justin continually exceeds expectations in performing his job at Tadano as regional business manager. His leadership skills, commitment to service excellence and passion to improve safer crane operations through operator education will benefit the entire crane industry for years to come.
How long: 20 years
Job title: International Sales Manager
Nominated by: George Schildhouse
Don’t let the short resume of Jose Perez fool you into thinking he doesn’t have much experience in the crane industry. His first full time job was at Broderson Manufacturing Corporation (BMC). As a parts runner, Jose would ride to work with his father who is also still working at BMC. Prior to his role as international regional manager, Jose worked both in the plant and then, in the office. This experience provides a complete understanding of the entire Broderson Manufacturing Corporation product line, and provides the foundation for his work. He is also on the Crane Rental Association of Canada board and excels at his job.
Crane
How long: 9 years
Job title: Project Manager
Nominated by: Aaron Hanna
Kris has an outstanding personality with the attitude to help everyone, no matter the task. He has been a part of the family business since 2010 while going to school, and started full time in May 2018 after university. Kris is a fundamental pillar of our company, he knows our business inside and out and he embraces every task which helps to expand his knowledge of the industry.
5 Kevin Hughes
Company: Falcon Equipment
How long: 5 years
Nominated by: Kelsey Patrick
Job title: Prairie Regional Manager
Kevin Hughes started with Falcon Equipment in July of 2014 as service manager at our Winnipeg branch. He brought a strong technical and customer focused background. During Kevin’s time as service manager his biggest accomplishment was creating a reputation for Falcon that was based around us being a one-stopshop for all our customer’s needs. Once the Falcon name began to expand in the Winnipeg market, Kevin was promoted to branch manager. In that role, Kevin has built a strong team of mechanics and sales representatives. He has been responsible for bringing stability to the market and to his team of employees. Recently Kevin was promoted to prairie regional manager. In this role he continues to manage the Winnipeg branch, but now he is also responsible for the Regina branch in Sask. This has been a huge undertaking for him as these two markets are complete opposites.
None the less with Kevin’s leadership skills, vision and dedication to the customer Kevin has assumed this role flawlessly.
6 Joel Gibson
Company: Falcon Equipment
How Long: 4.5 years
Job title: Director of Sales
Nominated by: Blair Norberg
Joel Gibson started with Falcon Equipment more than 4.5 years ago as a sales representative. He excelled at providing exceptional customer service and made himself available to his customers 24/7. In this position one of Joel’s biggest achievements was receiving the largest bucket truck order in Falcon history. It was clear that Joel was committed to not only the customer but also to the overall growth of the industry and company. This is when he transitioned into the role of sales manager — overseeing the Surrey Sales division. During his time as sales manager Joel had several achievements. Joel took the initiative to have market research done and to find out what product range we were missing. Based on Joel’s findings, in 2018 we introduced a line of service mechanic trucks to Falcon. Since 2018, this line has brought in close to $2 million in sales. Joel has been very vocal in implementing a better process between internal departments to ensure that the customer is now more involved in the purchase and build of their new equipment. This has resulted in peace of mind for the customer by giving them the ability to follow the process from beginning to end and has resulted in larger financial savings. Joel has been working to have the customer more involved with the equipment manufacturer by sending them to the manufacturer plant to see the quality of the equipment we sell which often results in more repeat business. As of August 2019, Joel has been promoted to director of sales. He now oversees all sales staff across our five branches in Canada. Along with a commitment to our customers and staff, Joel is also involved in industry associations including the Canadian Association of Equipment Distributors, BC Road Builders Association, BC Building Supply Industry and the Association for the Work Truck Industry. Joel attends these association’s AGMs and volunteers his ideas to help grow the industry. He also attends events to help raise awareness and funds for the association, and constantly contributes through funding.
Company:
Crane Rental Services Ltd.
3 Jose Perez
Company: Broderson Manufacturing Corporation
4 Kris Williams
Company: Modern
7 Ryan Wightman
Company: WrightPlan Inc.
How long: 7 years
Job title: Lead
Wightman has been an integral part of WrightPlan’s success for the past seven years. As lead developer of the company’s webbased, business management application, he is dedicated to making the day-to-day lives of those working in the industrial market that much easier. With a keen understanding of customer pain-points and fierce attention to detail, Wightman is relentless in his pursuit of improving customer workflow. While he takes immense pride in his work, Wightman admits that his greatest accomplishments have taken place outside the job: he is an environmentally conscious individual (rain and snow won’t stop him from riding his bike to work), a proud father of three, and an accomplished Kung Fu Blue Belt (with hopes of one day being as good as his kids).
How long: 6 years
Job title: Crane Operator
Nominated by: Sheena Baker
Cory was hired as an apprentice with Canadian Crane Rentals in 2013. He attended Durham college for his 339C ticket in 2015, earning top marks in his class. Cory went on to operate Canadian Crane Rentals boom trucks while earning his hours for his 339A apprenticeship. Cory attended Durham College in 2018 and graduated top of his class and earned the Deans award for top overall GPA in the college. Cory quickly transitioned from a boom truck operator to a 90 to 140-ton crane operator with ease. Cory is one of Canadian Crane Rentals’ most requested operators. He’s creative, ambitious, a team player and an extremely skillful operator. Over the last couple years, Cory has shown strength in mentorship with new apprentices along with precision with complex jobs and tandem lifts. Along with being an excellent operator, Cory is mechanically inclined and never hesitates to assist with any task required around our shop.
Company: All-Canadian Training Institute
How long: 3 years
Job title: General manager and master trainer
Nominated by: Judy Mellott-Green
Kelsey first started as a crane operator instructor teaching several courses. Then shortly after that he started doing sales alongside the training. He visits customers, pitches projects, closes deals, finds new clients, and more. In the three years of being on sales the company’s overall sales volume has gone up 150 per cent. As general manager Kelsey oversees day-to-day running of the All-Canadian Training Institute (ACTI) and also sits on the American Society of Mechanical Engineers board. Kelsey enjoys getting to know his clients and the courses he teaches because he knows it’s important for workers to know how to protect themselves and follow the rules. Kelsey likes to show operators how to make better rigging and safety decisions.
How long: 8 years
Job title: Sales Representative
Nominated by: Serge Mireault
Dany has been with Grues MSG Canada Cranes since it began eight years ago and he is a sales representative for the company. Dany takes great care in helping a customer from the beginning of the sales pitch to the end of the deal and takes it beyond that in terms of customer service and care. He loves to see a happy client and will do whatever he can to see that customers at MSG Cranes are taken care of. He works in sales and rentals and spends a lot of his day finding new clients and customers. Dany loves the diversity in terms of his company’s customers and gets excited about all the different types of jobs and projects he sees his company’s products play a role in. He said no job is the same and he really enjoys how unique each job can be.
8 Cory Amyotte
Company: Canadian Crane Rentals Ltd.
9 Kelsey Demer
10 Dany Mireault
Company: Grues MSG Canada Cranes
What does it take to win the Rigging Job of the year? Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) members were recognized for meeting some of the industry’s most complicated challenges and responding with over-the-top professionalism at this year’s SC&RA Crane and Rigging Workshop held in Phoenix, Ariz. Barnhart Crane & Rigging, Fagioli, Burkhalter, and Emmert International all took home the prized award for the SC&RA Rigging Job of the Year in their respective categories.
Over $2 million: Barnhart Crane & Rigging assembles one of the world’s largest presses
In February 2018, Barnhart Crane & Rigging completed a project whereby they received 37 press components from the Port of Long Beach, Calif., ranging from 250,000 to 732,000 pounds, transported the pieces over the road to the site and assembled one of the world’s largest presses. Innovation was the key to success as the team meticulously put together the various components of the press, a process which required multiple impressive lifts: eight pieces at around 700,000 pounds, two lifts at just under 3,000,000 pounds and one massive lift at 4,400,000 pounds. The Barnhart Crane & Rigging team designed, fabricated and load-tested more than 40 custom pieces of equipment to meet the needs of the job. In total, 3,500 engineering hours were used to develop the execution plan for the project, which saw no damage, injury or illness claims.
$750,000 to $2 million: Fagioli skids a 997-ton GTG module as part of a stacking and de-stacking operation
In late 2017 and into 2018, Fagioli was called to execute the operation of stacking and de-stacking a 997-ton GTG module. After the necessary tests executed by the client, Fagioli de-stacked the module in 2018 in order to ship the two modules separately for their final destination. For the execution of the project, Fagioli came up with the idea to lift the module and skid it – hanging to the tower-lift system. Key equipment utilized included towers, strand jacks, PPU for strand jacks, skid shoes, forklifts, manlifts,
a Theodolite and a water-level indicator. Precision engineering undertaken by 15 total Fagioli personnel, including five engineers, was of the utmost importance throughout all five phases of the project. Ultimately, both GTG modules were lifted, placed, skidded and set onto their new foundations without incident, with the Fagioli team monitoring every element from start to finish and zeroaccidents for the project.
$150,000 to $750,000: Burkhalter widens and installs two railway bridges and lifts a section of Highway 280 In the fall of 2018, a four-way point of confluence between several different regional and commuter rail lines, known as the “Hole in the Wall,” stood before the next phase of the ongoing TEXRail commuter rail project outside Fort Worth, Texas. Burkhalter was contracted to widen the Hole to accommodate an additional rail line, and this meant they had to widen two rail lines and a section of Highway 280 above. They constructed the new bridges before moving them into place via a temporary bridge consisting of runway girders placed over the Hole in the Wall. After accomplishing this feat not once, but twice, in a work area with extremely minimal clearances above and below, Burkhalter then set out to lift a section of an active highway in order to lengthen it before setting it back down in place. Ingenious engineering and careful planning within the parameters of a work schedule (with barely any inoperative hours) made for a highly successful project.
Under $150,000: Emmert International finesses a tight jack-and-slide of two 168,000-pound thermal heaters Last October, Emmert was challenged with moving two 168,000-pound thermal heaters across a pre-treatment facility in Freeport, Texas. Crafting a path of travel for the heaters involved navigating a complex web of obstacles, a feat accomplished with a custom-engineered self-propelled 120-foot track system. Jacking the 45-foot long heaters onto the 500-ton Hydra-Slide track required both force and grace, but Emmert was able to execute a successful project without incident.
Credit: Jay Koblun
LLink-Belt cranes
ink-Belt was looking to design a rotary union to implement in a new rough terrain crane in the 81-110.9mt class that would compete with the biggest players in that market. These machines would be used on job-sites in manufacturing plants, transportation, and in general construction to use as an assist crane, utility work, or in mining operations.
Challenge
Link-Belt came to United Equipment Accessories (UEA) looking for a rotary union design that could be incorporated into their new rough terrain cranes that reduced the weight of previous designs while maintaining the same functionality. The main challenge with weight reduction in the swivel was keeping the required passages needed for the application. UEA engineers also needed to take into consideration the large variance in flow and pressure settings required for crane function into the design of the new rotary union. Mounting and torque of the swivel were also evaluated to ensure that the configuration needed for this application would operate without failure.
Solution
UEA worked closely with Link-Belt to identify the requirements of the new rotary union and find solutions to meet the goal of the application. In order to reduce the weight and meet the mounting requirements of the swivel, UEA engineers explored different port configurations, machining techniques and seal options.
One of the defining features of the hydraulic swivel was a large 2.5-inch thru hole that was drilled and bored out to remove a large amount of material. UEA engineers also utilized differently-shaped flow grooves which allowed for a skinnier housing. The thru hole and flow grooves both helped reduce the weight of the swivel while maintaining the same functionality needed of the rotary union.
In order to reduce the weight and meet the mounting requirements of the swivel, UEA engineers explored different port configurations, machining techniques and seal options.
(Credit: Link-Belt)
The weight savings was ultimately passed to the customer when the machine is shipped from the factory and to and from job sites and served as a benefit in purchasing this new crane model.
For this specific crane design, Link-Belt needed the rotary union to mount on one end and torque on the other end. Typically, this configuration is not successful because it could create chatter in the rotary union as the mounting structure flexes. UEA utilized Finite Element Analysis (FEA) to determine the material requirements for the mounting plate, leading UEA engineers to use a higher strength steel for the mounting plate. Additionally, UEA developed a lower friction seal to minimize the effects of chatter. Ultimately, these solutions allowed for the preferred mounting and torque set-up.
“The ingenuity that UEA displayed throughout this entire project was remarkable,” Matt White, Link-Belt design engineer. “UEA was very responsive in the design process and was willing to go the extra mile to work with Link-Belt from inception to product delivery.”
Through UEA’s custom-designed solutions, Link-Belt’s requirements were met in a specifically-designed solution for their project. Weight reduction, mounting and toque were the primary challenges of the project and were achieved through the problem solving of the UEA and Link-Belt teams to find a customized solution.
“We acted as a partner with LinkBelt, and the end result of the teamwork between Link-Belt and UEA was reaching a unified goal to fit the application,” said Brady Haugo, UEA hydraulic engineering supervisor.
The 2020 Annual Conference of the Crane Rental Association of Canada will be held at the Westin Bayshore Hotel in beautiful Vancouver, BC.
Dates are one week earlier, so mark your calendar accordingly.
For this specific crane design, Link-Belt needed a redesigned rotary union to make it compete with other cranes in the industry. (All photos: Link-Belt)
Manitowoc launches strong and versatile Potain MCT 325
Manitowoc launched the Potain MCT 325 to further expand its MCT range of topless cranes. The MCT 325 is designed to deliver easier transport and assembly, plus high efficiency and reliability on construction projects.
The company unveiled the new crane during a special event at Manitowoc’s factory in Zhangjiagang, China on August 29, where the 16 t version of the MCT 325 was displayed with its full 75 m jib.
Kwong-Joon Leong, regional product manager for Potain tower cranes, said the new model offers an efficient solution for customers requiring strong and versatile cranes in the 12 t and 16 t class.
Available in two versions, the MCT 325 offers jib length configurations from 40 m up to an impressive 75 m, in increments of 5 m. At its 75 m jib end, the MCT 325 can handle 2.5 t for the 12 t version and 2.3 t for the 16 t version. The new model stays true to the design characteristics of Potain topless cranes, with easy transport and erection combined with excellent on-site performance. On a well-prepared site, the MCT 325 can be setup within 1.5 days, with the complete jib and counter-jib erected in four lifts. The MCT 325 will ultimately replace the MC 310 model, a long-serving and popular hammerhead topslewing crane with a proven history of customer satisfaction.
The MCT 325 is designed to work with the 2 m x 2 m L68 and L69 mast systems and can be utilized with fixing angles in a regular high-rise construction; in an internal climbing configuration; or mounted on a chassis, giving users maximum versatility. There is also a new square design of the crane’s counterjib, the first in the Potain MCT range. To ensure easier assembly on site, the complete jib and counter-jib can be erected in two lifts each, meaning a greater choice of assist cranes can be used for the task. And there are dedicated sling points on the counter jib and transport brackets on the jib to facilitate easier loading into the crane’s compact transport configuration.
New construction site of 20 tower cranes in Abu Dhabi
Twenty tower cranes participating in the Yas Island construction project in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, are equipped with the DCS 60 anti-collision and zoning system of AMCS technologies.
Among the 20 lifting machines, there are 16 Potain MCT205, two MC175 and two Raimondi MRT294. Construction work started in December 2017, and one part of the project should be expected at the end of 2019. The DCS 60 operates in real time and in 3-dimensions to calculate the distances between each crane component as well as movement speed.
It enables action to be taken on equipped mechanisms to ensure complete immobilization of the crane at a pre-set distance from a particular obstacle. The system applies a security envelope around the jib in proportion to the speed of slewing of the crane as well as around the cable in proportion to the speed of movement of the trolley. The 20 cranes can work without risk in order to guarantee the productivity of the site. The AMCS technologies system also provides crane operator comfort by displaying all the parameters needed to drive the machine. Developed in two phases, the project completes the Yas Arena, a new place of 18,000 seats dedicated to concerts and sport events. It will also include more than 50 cafés and restaurants, 20 shops, a cinema, a beach club, and two hotels. It also completes the Water’s Edge, a large residential project.
Manitowoc introduces new National Crane NBT60L boom truck
Manitowoc launched the NBT60L, the latest addition to its National Crane boom truck product line.
This 60 USt product offering now features the longest boom length in its tonnage class with 151 ft of main boom and a maximum main boom height of 161 ft. It can be equipped with an optional 36 ft off-settable lattice jib that reaches a 196 ft maximum tip height, providing a winning combination of exceptional capacity and reach that is unmatched in the industry.
The NBT60L is ideal for work in the oil and gas industry, as well as utility sectors because of its long main boom and stout turntable design, minimizing machine flex and providing operators with increased confidence in making any lift. The 161 ft maximum main boom height is great for holding tools above well heads or lifting and setting long utility poles in place.
“The oil and gas and utility sectors were in mind when we added a new 60 USt National Crane model with a longer boom option,” said Bob Ritter, product manager of boom trucks at Manitowoc. “We are committed to engineering solid and reliable boom trucks that National Crane operators have come to expect. Listening to our customers is fundamental to The Manitowoc Way, and the NBT60L, with its long boom and higher capacity, is exactly what they wanted.”
The NBT60L comes standard with operator-centric features such as the deluxe operator’s tilt cab with heated seat, an easy to use colour graphical display and real-time diagnostics for simplified troubleshooting without the need for a laptop. Additional state-of-the-art features include electric over hydraulic controls with speed adjustability, hydraulically removable counterweight, optional multiple camera system for increased job site visibility and a fully integrated wireless wind speed indicator.
“The longer five-section boom, off-settable jib, tilt cab and diagnostics tools all enable customers to work more efficiently,” Ritter said. “And while they’re operating the crane, it will be far more comfortable, thanks to the new cab features. This is an extremely versatile crane that can be used on a wide variety of applications.”
New Demag AC 300-6 all terrain crane for Wiesbauer
Bietigheim-Bissingen-based crane service provider Wiesbauer GmbH added a Demag AC 300-6 all terrain crane to its fleet. Wiesbauer will be using its new Demag AC 300-6 crane primarily to erect and dismantle tower cranes at numerous work sites in the Stuttgart city area. After all, that’s where the crane can really play to a number of its design advantages.
“These include not only the long 80-metre boom and large lifting capacities even when using an extension, but also the extremely compact carrier. The latter can be absolutely vital when it comes to projects in urban areas, where every centimetre counts,” said general manager Thomas Wiesbauer.
With its innovative IC-1 Plus control system, the crane can also shine when used in tight spaces, as it can always take full advantage of the maximum available lifting capacities when using asymmetrical outrigger configurations. And with all this praise for the AC 300-6 crane, it comes as no surprise that Wiesbauer will be adding another Demag crane soon: With a Demag AC 130-5, the company will expand its crane fleet further this year.
New Liebherr LTM 1230-5.1 fast and flexible for erecting power lines
High lifting capacity values, an extremely long telescopic boom for its class and a series of innovative features such as VarioBase and VarioBallast – all these are combined on the new LTM 1230-5.1 mobile crane which has recently been launched by Liebherr.
Its telescope length of 75 metres made up the minds of those at Wasel GmbH to give the new mobile crane the task of erecting large electricity pylons for two new power lines with a total length of over 20 kilometres in North Rhine-Westphalia.
The LTM 1230-5.1 has a compact design and its five axles mean that it only requires a small area on the ground to set it up, whilst it can nevertheless deliver enough lifting capacity and adequate hook height to erect the pylons which measure up to 93 metres in height.
“The long telescopic boom on the crane is enough to assemble structures up to 70 metres high”, says Julian Schmidt, the technical manager at Wasel responsible for both projects.
LTM 1230-5.1 erects two electricity pylons per day
The short set-up times required for the LTM 1230-5.1 mean that two of the smaller pylons up to 66 metres in height can be erected per day. The 20-metre lattice fly jib is then also used to erect the larger pylons. A fixed fly jib 43 metres in length is also available for the mobile crane. This enables the crane to reach an impressive hoist height of 111 metres.
“This crane enables us to access heights without any major accessories where other cranes would require lattice jibs,” said Schmidt. “The crane has quite simply incredible lifting capacity values on its long boom. It is also excellent for operating with the short boom. That makes it extremely flexible and versatile for us. We also use the two new mobile cranes to erect tower cranes and also in the petrochemicals industry. VarioBase and VarioBallast are therefore very useful in slightly narrower plants.”
Manitowoc opens new facility in the Philippines
Manitowoc opened a new 2,900 m2 facility with a warehouse and a workshop in Molino, Cavite, south of the Philippines capital, Manila.
The facility stocks parts for Potain tower cranes, including popular models such as the MCR 160, MCR 225 A, MCT 205, as well as parts for Grove mobile cranes such as the RT530E-2, RT765E-2 and the GMK6300L. Construction of the new facility was completed in July this year and Manitowoc staff have already moved in.
“We want to provide the highest levels of support for our Grove mobile cranes and Potain tower cranes. The opening of this new warehouse is the latest example of our commitment to customers in the Philippines, following the expansion of our sales team earlier this year,” said Michael Macatangay, Manitowoc sales director for the Philippines.
More than 40 customers attended an open house event to celebrate the unveiling of the new facility last month. Cranes on display at the event included the Potain Hup 32-27 self-erecting tower crane and the Grove RT530E-2 rough-terrain crane and GMK3060 allterrain crane. The Hup 32-27 self-erecting crane has a maximum capacity of 4 t and can lift 1 t at its jib end. It has a hook height of 27 m and a jib of 32 m, and customers were able to see demonstrations of this crane during the open house.
The 60 t capacity GMK3060 combines a powerful, six-section Megaform boom that features the new Boom Configuration Mode to save time at the job site and make set-up easier. The crane was also the first from Manitowoc to feature its Crane Control System (CCS). For the RT530E-2, maximum capacity is 30 t and its four-section, full power boom is formed of 100 k.s.i. steel to reduce weight while maximizing structural capacities. It is also equipped with CCS.
Apart from seeing the models on display, customers were also able to watch live demonstrations of the Hup 32-27 and there were handover ceremonies to celebrate deliveries to two customers – Port-Link Container Yard Corporation and P.A. Alvarez Properties & Development Corporation.
“The demonstration of the Hup 32-27 crane was really useful. The jib was unfolded in front of us and we could witness firsthand how fast and easy it was to operate the crane. We are excited with our purchase of the Hup 32-27 and are certain this Potain crane will help improve the efficiency and reliability of our work,” John Go, president at Port-Link Container Yard Corporation.
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TEST DRIVE: Gladiator
Jeep enters mid-size pick-up fight with Gladiator
BY MARIO CYWINSKI
For a while now, there has been talk of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) entering the growing mid-size pick-up market with its Jeep brand. Spy shots of what people believed were test mules out in the wild were all over the internet. This went on for a while, until FCA announced it would be building a mid-size pick-up truck by way of its Jeep brand that would look and have the capability of its Wrangler off-road utility vehicle.
When the vehicle and its name, Gladiator, was finally unveiled, the hype machine went into overdrive. If the rumours were to be believed, everyone and their brother wanted one. Some of this seemed to be true as reports of dealers selling out stock before the trucks even arrived were widespread.
With the mid-size pick-up market in Canada dominated by the Toyota Tacoma, which offers an off-road version in the guise of its TRD Pro models, and models available from General Motors (Chevrolet Colorado/GMC Canyon), Ford (Ranger), Nissan (Frontier), and the unibody Honda (Ridgeline), the growing segment already has a lot of competition. Other brands also sell mid-size pick-ups globally, but have so far not brought them to our shores.
Apart from the hype, what does the Gladiator offer that will help it cut into the market share of the existing players in the market? For one, while FCA says that the vehicle is completely new and not just a Wrangler with a cargo bed attached, that is exactly what it looks like. Therefore, while it may be new, it has a long-established pedigree that has been established by the Wrangler (and all its other names over the years).
“Unquestionably a truck and instantly recognizable as a Jeep, the all-new 2020 Gladiator is the ultimate vehicle for any outdoor adventure,” said Tim Kuniskis, Head of Jeep Brand – North America. “There is tremendous demand for this unique vehicle from our loyal Jeep customers and pickup truck buyers everywhere. Born from a rich and proud heritage of tough, dependable Jeep trucks, Gladiator combines rugged utility, versatility and functionality resulting in the most capable midsize truck ever.”
This being a mid-size pick-up it is not for those who need to move around a lot of large payload, as the five-foot cargo box (1,531 millimetres with the tailgate closed) is much smaller than on a Ram 1500. Ultimately, this truck is for those who want a Wrangler, but also need a cargo bed to move certain things from one location to another. Or be able to tow (1,814kg to 3,469kg depending on how its equipped) equipment to a job site, or off the beaten path. Which is where the Gladiator is most at home, when it is driven off the main road, something that many contractors, job site workers, etc., experience on a daily basis.
Now, not everyone who gets one of these will be taking off-roading, and with it being longer than a typical Wrangler Unlimited model, it is more planted while driving on mainly flat terrain, and a little less tippy feeling. However, the longer wheelbase (at 3,487mm) also makes it less nimble when you do decide to go over those boulders on the job site. That being said, this is still a Jeep, so while not as off-road savvy as a Wrangler, it is still a capable off-roader.
Power for the Gladiator comes from the Pentastar 3.6 litre V-6 (which in one variation or another populate the FCA product family), with 285 horsepower and 260 foot-founds of torque mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission or a six-speed manual transmission. A 3.0L diesel engine will be available in 2020, and offer 260 hp and 442 ft/lbs of torque, mated to an eight-speed automatic transmission as standard.
The vehicle is available with trailer sway control, the cargo box offers standard cargo lights, dampened tailgate, tie-down loops, and optional spray-in bedliner and roll-up tonneau cover. Three sizes of FCA’s uConnect system is available starting with the standard five-inch screen, to the seven-inch, and up to the 8.4”. The instrument cluster comes with a standard 3.5-inch screen, or an optional seven-inch.
Gladiator is available in Sport, Sport S, Overland, and the most off-road capable Rubicon model.
Mario Cywinski is the editor of Machinery and Equipment MRO magazine, a member of the Automobile Journalists Association of Canada, and a judge for Canadian Truck King Challenge. He has more than 10 years of editorial experience and more than 15 years of automobile industry experience.
