Borger Crane Hire and Rigging recently completed the construction of two Potain tower cranes with a Grove GMK6400. The project wasn’t without its challenges as it was in the heart of Bondi Junction, one of Sydney’s most densely populated suburbs. Adam Little, Technical Supervisor at Borger Crane Hire and Rigging was responsible for project.
According to Adam, the lifts required months of detailed planning.
“Because of the situation of the site and where we had to position the crane, as well as the traffic logistics involved in setting up a crane in Bondi Junction, we undertook months of detailed planning for these lifts,” he said.
“A key consideration was the crane’s configuration and the fact that the outriggers were on pile caps which required a significant amount of engineering detail to be completed. We chose our Grove GMK6400 400 tonne capacity, because of its ability to get into tight spaces and its exceptional lifting capabilities.”
The Grove GMK6400 is a six axle, class-leading all terrain crane with exactly the same footprint as 300 and some 220 tonne capacity cranes. It also features outstanding lifting capabilities across a broad spectrum.
Main features of the Grove GMK6400 include:
• Main boom: 15.39m – 60m
• Auxiliary equipment includes self rigging MegaWingLift™ and auxiliary hoist and up to 12m-79m of Luffing Fly and up to 64m of Fixed Fly.
• New designed carrier cabin
• MEGATRAK suspension system with MegaDrive
• All wheel steering
• Steer by wire technology
• ECOS EKS5 full graphic display
• Mercedes-Benz OM 502 LA 8-cylinder engine
• Five outrigger positions
• Length: 17.536m and Width: 3.0m
Bondi Junction is a densely populated suburb with 88.7 per cent of dwellings either medium or high density, and the population density of approximately 10,018 people per square kilometre, so there wasn’t much room to mobilise a 400 tonne capacity all terrain. Adam and his team went through a detailed lift planning process, to ensure the lifts went off without a hitch.
“Obviously we developed a lift plan that took into account the various scenarios of lifting in a densely populated area. The tower cranes had to be set down in definite positions on the job site due to the position of the lift shafts within the overall project,” said Adam.
“Positioning the crane off the street to enable traffic to flow in one direction towards Bondi Junction was a major consideration and the configuration of the crane was based around all of these factors. We had to conduct the lifts safely, leaving lanes open so as not to restrict traffic flow too much, it’s a very busy area.
“We configured the Grove GMK 6400 with main boom and 37 metres of luffing fly and 95 tonnes of counterweight. We were lifting at a radius of 39 metres, lifting loads at a little over 13 tonnes. We were lifting at night to avoid major traffic congestion and disruption.”
On the first night the team had to set up the Grove GMK 6400. Mobilising the crane involved five semi-trailers of counterweights, two semi-trailers of luffing fly components. Borgers had a Franna AT 40 onsite as the assist crane.
“It took approximately four hours to set up the crane and we able to install one of the cranes on the first night. We set up the tower to the slew deck on the second crane. We had approximately three and a half hours of lifting and then four hours to pack up the crane and get it out of there. We were back the following night to do the whole complete setup again. We installed the slew turret to boom install, counterweights install, and then packed up again,” said Adam.
The lifting spectacles attracted a number of the Bondi Junction locals on both nights with one commenting to Adam that he thought it was “aerial crane ballet at its finest”.
Because of meticulous planning everything went to plan.
“We were pleased with the outcome. Everything went to plan. We didn’t disrupt the local traffic too much and the tower cranes were in place and ready for action on time,” said Adam. “The Grove GMK 6400 performed outstandingly. It’s a great lifter and has been a well utilized asset within the Borger Crane Hire fleet for an extended period of time.”