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CAPITAL EQUIPMENT NEWS
DECEMBER 2016
18
lane road closure to allow the rigging of a
mobile crane,” says Van Breda.
This also saved costs related to the hiring
of the mobile crane for erection purposes.
Louw says this erecting methodology was
achieved through careful planning and
understanding of the related constraints
of erecting cranes on such space limited
sites. “Obviously space is a premium on
this particular site. Luckily the Potain
MD310B was in capacity of what we
needed to lift – 3,2 t and 7 m components
– which are still in spec,” says Smit.
Working spec
On this specific site, the Potain MCT85F5
was erected with a 45 m jib, and not its
maximum 52 m. “With a 45 m jib, the crane
can lift 5 t up to 16,3 m and 1,65 t at 45 m,”
says Smit.
The crane has been erected on a set of
reusable fixing angles to a hook height
of 34,1 m. The crane will be anchored to
the building in the first quarter of 2017
and telescoped to its final height of 46 m.
Erection took two days to complete. First
day entailed loading and lifting the tower
into place. The second day saw the jib and
counter jib erected into place.
The tower was erected to a hook height
of 34,1 m with a jib of 45 m and a 11,5 m
counter jib. The counterweight is 12 t,
made up of 3 x 3 t blocks and 3 x 1 t blocks.
The jib is made up of 1 x 10 m piece and
a combination of 5 m and 10 m jib pieces.
It took close to four hours on the first day
to put up the tower. The components of the
tower fitted in two trucks, while the jib and
counter jib arrived on site in three trucks.
The important thing was that trucks had to
arrive in the sequence which the compo-
nents would be erected.
Close relations
Close cooperation between SA French and
Probuild, which dates back to as many as
20 years, won the day on this specialised
lift project. A team of five experienced
riggers, boasting experience of between
five and 15 years, undertook the specialised
erecting job with the precision it required.
“It takes a whole lot of years of training
and jobsite experience to get them to this
level,” says Van Breda.
“We have evolved the system, which
works very well for us. We continue to
grow and become more professional than
we were in the last few years. Collectively
as SA French we boast 300 years of experi-
ence in the tower crane industry,” says Van
Breda, adding that the company has paid
incredible school fees to get to the level
it is now.
This manifests itself in the form of great-
er support and strong relations SA French
has with its customers. Van Breda says,
despite seemingly tough times in the local
construction industry, Probuild’s growth
over the last eight years has been phe-
nomenal, and SA French continues to grow
together with the client.
For example, 12% of SA French’s turn-
over is from Probuild, on the rental side of
the business. SA French currently has an
extensive rental fleet from 22 mt hydraulic
self-erectors to 310 mt saddle jib cranes.
To date, Probuild has five cranes on hire
and now owns two Potain cranes of its
own. The Potain MCT85F5 joins the exist-
ing Potain MD175B erected at the Tyrwhitt
Project in Rosebank.
Simmonds explains why Probuild finds
comfort in SA French. “From an availabil-
ity point of view, SA French always has
what we need and when we need it,” he
says. “In terms of price, they are also very
competitive. This is complemented by the
turnaround times in terms of service and
maintenance, which works very well for us
as a strict deadline-driven business.”
b
The state-of-the-art Potain cab being positioned on the tower crane during
the erection process.
The jib foot being connected to the slew turret during crane erection.
Louw Smit, sales manager at SA French, Kobus van der
Merwe, site agent at Probuild and Matthew Simmonds,
contracts manager at Probuild, during the erection of the new
Potain MCT85F5.
“We have evolved the system, which works
very well for us. We continue to grow and
become more professional than we were in
the last few years. Collectively as SA French
we boast 300 years of experience in the tower
crane industry.”
JOBSITE REPORT