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PRODUCT News
44
MODERN MINING
March 2017
The use of hoists for vertical transporta-
tion of personnel and materials is gaining
traction across a wide range of industries,
including the construction and mining
sectors.
Quentin van Breda, MD of SA French,
says the increased popularity is because
Goscor access equipment assists on key projects
The modern fleet maintained by Goscor
Access Rental, combined with its high avail-
ability and uptime, has resulted in Tubular
Plant Hire enjoying an important rental
relationship with the company since April
2013.
Tubular Plant Hire is a division of Tubular
Technical Construction, wholly-owned by
Tubular Holdings. To date, the company
has utilised Goscor Access Rental products
successfully at the Kalagadi manganese
mine in the Northern Cape and at the Kusile
Power Station in Mpumalanga.
“Our focus, both abroad and within the
local marketplace, is aimed predominantly
at the manufacturing and construction sec-
tors.The group, together with its competent,
motivated management teams, is responsi-
ble for an array of specialist services,” Craig
Schneiderman, Tubular Holdings, Group
Procurement Manager, comments.
These services focus on mining pro-
cesses, the planning, management and
execution of turnkey projects, and the
supply, installation and commission-
ing of electrical and instrumentation
infrastructure.
“Our rental relationship
with Goscor Access Rental
focuses mainly on the hire
of telehandlers and cherry
pickers,” Schneiderman
explains. This relationship
was established as long ago
as April 2013, with the hire of
two cherry pickers, namely a
Genie S85 RT and a Z135 RT.
“What sets Goscor Access
Rental apart is also that
it is able to provide com-
prehensive ser vice and
support across its country-
wide footprint,” Schneiderman continues.
“In addition, we enjoy a good relationship
with the senior management, which is
always available to offer any assistance or
advice. The company also has fully-trained
and skilled technicians on hand to facilitate
any repairs or maintenance.”
Goscor Group, tel (+27 11) 230-2600
Hoists gaining traction for vertical movement on sites
one of the primary challenges on any site is
the need to move both people and mate-
rials 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 productiv-
ity, 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 trans-
port both men and materials to various
levels on multi-storey constructions, and
one that will reduce the manual handling
as well as 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 con-
struction 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 sup-
plied by SA French provided a best fit
logistical vertical lifting solution is at
Kusile Power Station. The company sup-
plied man/materials hoists to Mitsubishi
Hitachi Power Systems Africa 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
two hoists will be responsible for mov-
ing 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.
SA French, tel (+27 11) 822-8782
A hoist on display at SA French’s Midrand premises.
Tubular Plant Hire has utilised Goscor Access Rental products suc-
cessfully at the Kalagadi manganese mine in the Northern Cape.