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LIFTING AND SHIFT!

_orry mounted cranes are tital tools that handle a wide ange of tasks. We look

It how the crane makers

lelp specialist operators Jeliver the goods in elative safety.

Fhere's little doubt that the humble truck crane has developed into one of the most sophisticated tools available to iery type of haulier, contractor and some :ntal fleets too. Made with better quality eels and using CAD/CAM design processes, te latest generations of cranes are lighter. ronger and far more adaptable than their -edecessors.

There are greatly improved attachments • o, such as Kinshofer's bucket loader and .ah mechanism — and despite the complex ectronic systems, radio remote controls have ;en simplified, although drivers still need :perience and proper training if they're to )erate them safely.

That said,the driver-cum-crane operator's ell-being has become a real focus for all ,ncerned, largely through the efforts of the ealth & Safety Executive. Its directives have me a great deal to encourage manufactures develop the small cranes that take the ickache out of handhalling lighter loads such concrete slabs and kerbstones.

There are many solutions available, such as rd's latest One-Stop package that combines angemex aluminium dropside body with iab 013T-2 crane mounted on a rear-wheelive 3.5-tonne Transit chassis. It carries a 1,150kg payload and can lift up to 988kg at 1.0m, or 380kg at a distance of 3.1m.

Fleet hire specialist Speedy Hire is evaluating the first example. According to fleet engineer Ian Leonard:"The vehicle looks like providing a useful alternative to a similar vehicle with tail-lift, although it's early days yet."

Another useful tool is Penny Hydraulics' new Kerb Lift; a one-man device for handling small loads. It tits easily into almost any van, flatbed, dropside or tipper without any welding or body modifications. A 2m boom with dual pivot points allows the user to lift up to 150kg within a 2m radius, allowing the operator to lay up to 4m of kerbing without moving the vehicle.

Using a scissor grab or small vacuum lift, the unit can also lift whacker plates, compressors and tools.

Some major initiatives in crane equipment specification have been inspired by health and safety concerns. For example, after evaluating an AtlasTerex AK120.2E crane with -Our drivers can now gain better sight of their work without having to keep climbing on and off the load bed."

But for those operators who transport much heavier and more awkward items such as work cabins or containers, crane control is equally important.

Cormach Sales supplies Italian-made cranes, ranging from the 1.0-3.5tm Maxilifts for light vehicles, to a much heavier group rated up to 180tm. One of its busiest markets is the portable building sector; for this work it has developed the 28200 28tm crane which it will launch in the UK in the spring.

With up to eight hydraulic extensions it provides a 700kg lift at 20m— a four-extension crane can extend to 11.3m and lift 1.93 tonnes. A large proportion of these cabins are around 20ft long but weigh around two tonnes, so the new 28200 will be ideal for this role.

Its main advantage over the original 28000 is a significant weight saving. The current fourextension 28000 weighs 3.650kg but the computer-designed 28200 is 620kg lighter at 3,030kg.

Electronics vs hydraulic Most cranes over 40tm have radio controls as standard but while they can be fitted on smaller ones too, Cormach isn't too keen on electronics.

"We monitor our cranes' performances and loading parameters using fairly simple electrohydraulic components; pressure stat' with mechanical and electrical switches," says technical sales manager Tony Holding. adding: "That's what many of our regular customers prefer."

But bigger cranes make it more difficult to retain a decent truck or trailer load bed length.

Danish manufacturer HIVIF has packaged its latest 1(6 55tm Odin and 75tm Thor loaders to within 140mm of chassis length and with a new fly-jib and manual extension, now have an extra 4m horizontal outreach taking them to nearly 33m.

To protect against overloading its manual extenders, HMF can also supply anew control panel that will monitor and adjust the crane's performance to ensure that the load limit isn't exceeded; it will even stop the crane if necessary.

Many heavy machinery specialists tend to favour short boom cranes such as the Bologna, Italy-built Pesci models which are distributed in the UK by Crane Sales of Ardwick, Manchester.

The SPE models come in four rated sizes

etween 9tm and 56tm; all are capable of lifting taximum loads close in,and without having to • orry about height restrictions. In contrast, esci's SE long boom cranes are constantly eing improved and exterided,and their lift rtings vary between 2.5trri and 92.5tm. Of the four new additions coming on line in le Spring; the SE405.SE435, SE765 and E815 models (40tm, 43tm, 75tm and 80tm !spectively), the latter can have up to nine xtensions.

Standard SE205 and 5E225 cranes have ready improved performances thanks to a ew electronic control system (CCS) with integrated service-monitoring and down-rate capability.

Should the cranes be operated at over 5° from the horizontal or allowed to tilt to above 10°, they will automatically shut down, thus preventing a rollover through incorrect set-up or misuse.

Many manufacturers have adopted full electronic controls but while the heavier Pesci's have full electronics and are a great management tool, Crane Sales' Geoff Hindle has some reservations about this level of technology.

His service experience reveals that in extremely wet weather, circuits do occasionally develop faults and trip out,hence the standard fully hydraulic control systems on its light-to-middleweight models up to 32tm.

And to accommodate the growing popularity of extra crane extensions,Pesci has also increased their speed of movement by some 30% to 35'%.

Unusual uses

One company that uses special cranes for special deliveries is Manchester Cabins which builds temporary car parks that need assembling on site.

Normally it uses a string of Hiab equipped vehicles but its latest Another Level' parking system requires a special vehicle capable of loading and delivering modular components as the building is being assembled, with precision and accuracy.

Looking more like some weird spider on wheels, the new Volvo FM12 8x4 flatbed truck, has a special subframe, four outriggers and two different radio-controlled Hiab cranes; an 800EP-4 capable of lifting 5.8 tonnes of roofing slabs at 12.3m and a lesser 122.5 to handle the comer sections. Using remote controls for accurate manoeuvring, the entire operation is a highly complex one-vehicle, one-man operation.

On the big crane theme, some UK building material suppliers are following the continental norm of using 30tm-plus machines with four extension fly-jibs behind the cabs of three and four axle trucks. The issue isn't payload — it's outreach and loading versatility.

Palfinger, for example,has recently supplied them to three UK companies, including timber merchant Lawson which now has several trucks with 40tm PK440002 crane and four piece fly-jibs. A truck with an eight-section 30tm crane and 27-30m fly-jib extensions plus radio controls can park close in to a building site and with stabilisers out and using the 'radio remotes', a good driver can place a tonne or more of timber flooring, roof trusses,tiles or window frames, precisely where a tradesman wants them.

Materials can also be transferred from adjacent trailers. It saves time, is safer and is a whole lot cheaper than hiring a large expensive mobile crane. • CONTACTS ALLMI 01249 659150 Atlas TEREX 01698 456600 Cormach Sales 01206 871881 Crane Sales/Pesci 0161 272 6699 Hiab Kone 01691 623100 HMF 01733 558145 HSE 08701 545500 Kinshofer 0161 406 7046 Penny Hydraulics 01246 811475 I PM Cranes 01246 856900 I TH White/Pallinger 01380 722381