Construction World May 2017

Hoists gain traction for vertical movement on sites The use of hoists for vertical transportation of personnel and materials is gaining traction across a wide range of industries, including the construction and mining sectors.

Quentin van Breda, managing director of SA French, says the increased popularity is because one of primary challenges on any site is the need to move both people and materials to levels where critical activities need to be performed, and this has to be done safely while maximising productivity. Many sites make use of tower cranes to handle heavy loads, and move these across a wide area on the site. This mode of materials handling, however, cannot be justified for smaller components such as scaffolding material and other equipment. Also, tower cranes cannot move personnel to various levels. “The traditional method of moving such equipment manually is not productive at all, and often results in excessive standing time with the associated loss of productivity, and even worse can increase unsafe work practice on a site,” Van Breda explains. The contractor’s challenge is to find a piece of lifting equipment that will transport both men and materials to various levels on multi- storey constructions, and one that will reduce the manual handling as well as a the consequential risk of injury. Hoists not only fit the profile for this type of lifting activity, but can also travel at a speed that is effective and safe. “Often the vertical lifting of men and materials is not appreciated in terms of the complexity it adds to logistics on a construction or mining site,” Van Breda says. The challenge is to provide safe, efficient vertical travel on a project while it is being constructed. A recent example where a hoist supplied by SA French provided a best fit logistical vertical lifting solution is at Kusile Power Station. The company supplied man/materials hoists to Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems Africa (MHPS) and this purpose engineered single mast hoist is equipped with two separate cages. One has a 2 t capacity to carry personnel, while the other is capable of carrying 3,2 t of material. Significantly, both cages operate simultaneously

increasing productivity; while the configuration of the hoist also allows for materials to be loaded by forklift, further speeding up the operation. An example within the mining sector is the recent supply of two 0,5 t passenger hoists to a copper mine in Zambia. These will be responsible for moving personnel, together with light tools and equipment, up the shaft headgear framework. Vertical transport solutions need to comply with the most stringent safety parameters, and the hoists supplied by SA French incorporate advanced security safety including speed regulators and an overspeed emergency braking system. 

Planning is a critical activity, especially when undertaking specialised lifts in remote areas. Robson says the company is no stranger to working in Africa and is well positioned to extend its footprint even though there are differences from country to country; the lifting specialist has the distinct advantage of understanding the conditions across the continent. Describing the logistic complexity of a heavy lift project, Robson says that after all the planning has been completed the crane being taken to the lifting site must be broken down into modular components. These are then loaded onto trucks with all the auxiliary equipment including the boom configuration and luffers and this is then transported either via road or sea to the country where the lift is taking place. This includes route surveys, bridge formulae calculations, permits and road

ordinance clearances, permit verification and axles loadings, and communication with utility suppliers and relevant authorities in all countries. Planning around the logistics is just as important as with the arrival of components it is critical to ensure that these arrive in the correct order to facilitate the timeous building of the crane. Operators are also a critical aspect of a heavy lift success, and Johnson Crane Hire has a core of specially trained and highly skilled operators. What needs to be appreciated is that a heavy lift operation is an extensive project and can take anywhere up to 60 days or more. Johnson Crane Hire has conducted successful heavy lift projects in Mozambique, Zimbabwe, Zambia, Lesotho and DRC in the past, and each package was tailored to the specific requirement to ensure its success. 

Johnson Crane Hire's 750 t Liebherr LG 1750 lattice boom all terrain crane doing a wind farm installation.

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD MAY 2017