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CONSTRUCTION WORLD
FEBRUARY
2017
32
CRANAGE AND HEAVY LIFTING
“I don’t see any shortage of development
in places like Sandton – and it is taking
place in an increasingly space-constrained
environment,” says Van Breda. “It’s
an inevitable process driven by urban
migration and the pressure for living and
working space; at the same time, the rising
value of land has created a trend towards
taller buildings.”
He highlights how building under
these conditions becomes more and more
restrictive for contractors, who need to
re-think the suite of lifting equipment that
they employ on each job, according to its
particular demands.
“Despite the fact that conventional
cranes are still being used extensively in
urban centres, this does assume available
space on site, and the option of closing a
road over a weekend to construct and erect
a crane,” he says. “We are getting to the
point where we just can’t consider erecting
cranes in the traditional way, with a 75 m
jib having to be constructed on the ground
next to a building site.”
There is often simply not the space
available, he says, and some roads have
become so busy that it is not an option to
close them off for the duration of erecting
a crane.
Key advantages
A key advantage of the flat-top crane is that
its jib can be erected in short sections –
usually five or 10 metres each – rather than
being assembled on the ground and lifted
as one piece. This makes it possible to
deliver a 75 m jib in smaller segments and
assemble it in the air.
SA French is the exclusive Southern
African distributor for Potain cranes, a
global market leader for over 40 years. With
an extensive range of conventional saddle
jib tower cranes, hydraulic self-erecting
cranes, topless cranes and luffing jib
cranes, Potain has supplied over 120 000
of these units around the world.
A further advantage of the flat-top
design is the absence of a top tower
(cathead) and jib ties, which allows it
to operate with more hooks with closer
working distances between jibs.
“The luffing jib crane is also an
increasingly popular option for contractors
when faced with these tight working
conditions,” says Van Breda. “In highly
space-constrained cities like London, luffing
INCREASED HIGH-RISE INVESTMENT
Enthusiastic investment in high-
rise structures around some of
South Africa’s most developed
urban centres will lead growing
demand for topless – or flat-
top – and luffing jib cranes,
according to SA French managing
director Quentin van Breda.
SA French managing director
Quentin van Breda.
A further advantage of the flat-top design is the
absence of a top tower (cathead) and jib ties.
A key advantage of the flat-top crane is that
its jib can be erected in short sections.
“It is a surprisingly common
occurrence for workmen to be
required to walk to the working
areas on the 25
th
floor of a
building – even though just one
trip could easily waste half an
hour of the working day.”
jib cranes are seen everywhere, because
contractors must pay for every cubic
metre of space that they use outside of
their building line. This ensures that crane
movements are strictly controlled and do