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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
DECEMBER 2016
16
M
aterial handling work-
space is one of the
main constraints on
today’s
construction
sites and the proac-
tive management of work space is a very
challenging task due to the dynamic nature
of construction sites, where the availabil-
ity of space is continuously evolving and
changing over time.
Additionally,
construction
projects
are characterised by a high degree of
fragmentation and specialisation, which
shape both the work on site and in the
upstream supply chain. Activities on
construction sites are usually performed by
multiple trades who require, at any point
in time, different materials at different
times, as well as spaces such as working
areas for labourers, material storage,
equipment and support infrastructure.
With a strong understanding of the impor-
tance of material handling space manage-
ment and its effects on productivity, costs
and site safety issues, Probuild, a prom-
inent South African building contractor,
has opted to purchase a Potain MCT85F5
topless tower crane from SA French, the
authorised distributor of the Potain range of
tower cranes in southern Africa. The prima-
ry advantage of this topless crane is that its
overall height has been reduced because its
design does away with the top tower often
found on conventional tower cranes with
pendant lines.
The MCT85F5 purchased by Probuild is
the first unit of this model to ever lift into
South Africa. It has since been erected at
101 Katherine Street, Sandton, where the
contractor is undertaking the construction
of a residential hotel with three basements
and 10 floors on behalf of the Capital Hotel
Group. The project is a 19-month contract
which kicked off in February this year and
is due for delivery in August 2017.
Matthew Simmonds, contracts manag-
er at Probuild, tells
Capital Equipment
News
that the decision to opt for the
Potain MCT85F5, the latest addition to the
Asian range of tower cranes manufactured
by Potain, was twofold. “There are basi-
cally two factors. We needed the fact that
it was a topless crane which comes with a
reduced overall height by virtue of losing
the top tower found on conventional tower
cranes. In terms of the height of this crane
in relation to the primary crane, the Potain
MD310B, already on site, it made sense for
the second crane to be topless for it to fit
in between the top of the building and the
underside of the jib of the primary crane,”
says Simmonds.
Secondly, as Simmonds puts it, the deal
offered by SA French, a crane supplier
Probuild has trusted to deliver for over two
decades, was “just too good to refuse”.
“We initially had a rental agreement on
A South African building contractor has taken delivery of the first Potain
MCT85F5 topless tower crane unit in the country, which has since been
erected in style on its first jobsite where it will help the contractor get the
better of space constraints, writes
Munesu Shoko
.
GETTING THE BETTER OF
SPACE CONSTRAINTS
The primary advantage of the Potain MCT85F5 topless
crane is that its overall height has been reduced
because its design does away with the top tower
often found on conventional tower cranes.