Masonry Magazine March 2007 Page. 30
CRANES
To reduce the time that the crane is onsite, put it to use as soon as it arrives and have all the materials ready to be lifted to the work platform. Jess Sturgeon, general manager for Crane Rental Service Inc. in Orange, Calif., said this can shave a couple of hours off the rental time, and cutting the rental time on each job could add up to tens of thousands of dollars.
Mason contractors should also make sure there aren't power lines overhead to interfere with the boom, and that the ground surface can support the weight of the crane's outriggers.
"There are a lot of ways to save money," Sturgeon said, noting that one way is for mason contractors to handle the street use permits for cranes. "We have a 25 percent mark up on the permit. We do that because we don't want to have anything to do with it. If that seems expensive, then you go get it. You don't have to put everything on the crane company."
Attachments can make the cranes more efficient, further reducing the time they're needed onsite, said Charles Letford, area product manager, cranes, for Palfinger North America, the parent company of Tiffen Loader Crane Company. He said using pallet forks, which automatically balance and lift pallets, allow cranes to work faster.
"We would also suggest that the mason contractor consider crane attachments, such as pallet forks, and other crane options available from the crane manufacturer," Letford said.
Using Hoists
Instead of Cranes
Despite the benefits of cranes, they're not always the best machine for the job, or available on every job site. Sometimes, a hoist can serve the same purpose, saving mason contractors money. A hoist continuously lifts materials to the workers as they lay brick, block or stone. It makes the scaffolding system self-sufficient, virtually eliminating the need for a crane.
"A hoist serves the mason by keeping the materials moving throughout the day, and you don't have the expense of the crane and operator," said Tami Hamilton, vice president of marketing for Beta Max Inc. in Melbourne, Fla. "The biggest selling points hoists have over cranes are really the expense and the dedicated time to use them."
Some scaffolding can't support the additional weight of large placements of masonry materials, which defeats the purpose of having a crane set them next to the workers.
"If masons are working on frame scaffolding, it may not be able to have heavy pallets of brick set on the work space," Hamilton said.
Even when heavy-duty mast climbers are used that can support the extra weight, cranes are not necessarily needed. A hoist can be easily mounted to the scaffolding to provide a continuous supply of materials.
"When bricklayers are working, the hoist keeps feeding the platform," said Jean Sebastien, technical services and project manager for Fraco Products Ltd. in St-Mathias-sur-Richelieu, Quebec, Canada. "All the bricklayers keep working so production is never stopped."
Last fall, Fraco introduced its new hydraulic, portable hoist, the FRH-4000, which the company technically calls a crane. It can comfortably handle 4,000 pounds of capacity, carry loads at 70 feet per minute, and lift them up to 330 feet. The hoist has 180-degree pivot capabilities that allow safe positioning of materials on both sides of a mast climber. The boom is higher than previous models, so the hoist will lift the load over the work platform's guardrails.
The hoist attaches to the mast climber's frame platform with four bolts in about 15 minutes. Instead of having an independent engine, the hoist shares the mast climber's power pack, using power on-demand.
"It is using the same power as the machine. It quickly connects to the mast climber and uses the same hydraulic fluid," Sebastien said. "It's not another power cost."
Beta Max's Gemini Plus portable hoist mounts to scaffolding or I-beams and has a non-rotating cable to keep loads from spinning. A single line can lift 600 pounds at 80 feet per minute up 220 feet. A double line can lift twice that weight at 40 feet per minute up to 110 feet.
"You're moving smaller amounts of materials, but you're moving them throughout the day," Hamilton said.
The company's Maxial Track Hoist system is designed to lift loads in confined spaces. It works with frame or systems scaffolding, lifting up to 450 pounds at 80 feet per minute to a height of 350 feet. Hamilton points out that masons can recoup the cost of a hoist - costing approximately $5,000 - on a single, large job by eliminating or significantly reducing crane time.
The Right Crane for the Job
Also, if the mason contractor is the primary crane renter onsite, to get the appropriate sized crane for the job, the company needs to know how high the load needs to be lifted, how far the load needs to be lifted, and how much the load weighs, said Tiffin's Smith.
Sturgeon agreed. "You've got to give me those three things," he said.