South Coast engineering firm CREW adds a TIDD articulated pick and carry to its crane fleet, catering to Tier One builders and contractors.
CREW New South Wales recently took delivery of a new TIDD PC28. CREW, which stands for Cranes Rigging Engineering and Welding, is predominantly a maintenance engineering business with expertise in structural engineering and tank building. CREW services the south coast region of NSW.
Michael Yates, CREW NSW, director, provides some background to the crane element of the business and the reasons behind the TIDD purchase.
“A number of years ago, the economic environment on the south coast of NSW was conducive to cranes and the crane operator in the area wasn’t particularly friendly to use, so we decided we probably needed to get involved in cranes.
“The areas of our business go quite well together. We will be quoting a customer who needs a few fitters and boiler makers for maintenance work and we also quote them for crane work as well. We made the transition into general crane hire and this remains about a quarter of our business, the rest is the maintenance and engineering side of the business,” said Yates.
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The business evolved about eight years ago when Yates had a crane business, an engineering business and a maintenance business. It was costing a fortune to manage the individual entities and the decision was made to restructure and amalgamate the businesses under the CREW NSW banner.
“We have some major customers that are heavily reliant on maintenance crews. We frequently have guys conducting maintenance work and we might have a pick and carry in there pulling pumps out as well.
“Some of the work we’ve done in the past has required craneage and rigging, so it’s in the grass roots of the business, but we don’t do a lot of structural erection these days,” said Yates.
“We’ve always had a crane of some sort whether it be a yard crane like the old BHP or a trench crane. We then transitioned into the Frannas. More recently we’ve been working for the quarries and the mines up and through the Southern Highlands of NSW and that’s the main reason we purchased the TIDD,” he said.
According to Yates, the TIDD provides a number of advantages compared to other articulated pick and carry cranes.
“The MAC 25 is a good crane but in our opinion, it is a wide machine and we have to transport it on a float to get to some of the sites. In comparison the TIDD is only 2.4m wide which means we can get it on our float and move it around without permits.
“If we have to drive the TIDD, it’s a machine that travels a lot better than a MAC 25 as far as comfort is concerned and it covers the distances a lot better.
A lot of the work we do moving equipment around in the mines and the mills tends to be tricky lifts with tight access. The TIDD lends itself quite well to that type of application.
“All that said, the best our best performing little machinery crane is our Franna AT 15. Its small, it’s nimble and it can get in everywhere, it’s probably my favourite crane out of all of them. We operate three pick and carries as well as three slew cranes and that’s our little fleet,” said Yates.
The TIDD PC28 features improved operational function designed to help operators work more efficiently and comfortably on construction sites and also on the road. Increased lift capacity and greater maneuverability, in smaller work areas, are key benefits of the new crane. The TIDD PC28 is constructed using the highest quality components with safety a major focus with every element of its design.
Safety features include the Dynamic LMI with a deadlock switch inside the cabin and the LMI bridging switch outside the cabin. Slew Safe is an optional safety addition for the TIDD PC28, and has been included on every new crane unit manufactured to date, with only one exception.
Slew Safe (patented: 741038) is designed to prevent rollovers and works with a number of features including audible alarms, LMI warnings and power steering is restricted to 15 per cent to reduce further slewing. Slew Safe cannot be over-ridden but will operate normally in the safe direction.
The new 18.65m high tensile full power boom features a 75 per cent stationary chart for the heavy lifts and 66 per cent pick and carry chart. The boom’s telescope Sections 1 and 2 are fully synchronised and provide hook compensation. Telescope Section 3 is independently operated with its own hydraulic cylinder.
The TIDD PC28 features a 28t maximum lift on the lug and 27.6t on the hook block, delivering lifting capacities for improved efficiency and greater lift options and setting a new benchmark in the industry.
The relationship with Anthony Davis and the Baden Davis Crane Connection, NSW distributor for the TIDD range, goes back a number of years now.
“We’ve bought a few second-hand cranes from Anthony over the years. We’ve bought four Liebherrs of various sizes including a 70t and 80t machine, our latest cranes were a 50t and 60t. The TIDD is the first new machine we’ve bought from the Crane Connection.
“Anthony is a genuine guy to deal with, he’s honest and upfront and more than happy to jump in his car and come down to the factory to provide assistance if there is a problem with a machine.
The TIDDS are marketed with safety features that are important when the machine is expected to operate in the mining environment and on Tier One contractor sites says Yates.
“Recently, I was talking to one of the quarry sites up on the highlands and they have strict requirements around safety and the de-rating of cranes, that de-rating is one of the reasons we’ve chosen a 28t TIDD over an AT 20.
“We recently put in a tender with a contractor who specifically asked for us because we are the only crane business on the south coast with a pick and carry with side slope. This is a Tier One con tractor project that’s happening in Nowra and they are looking for a local crane supplier with a pick and carry crane with side slope. Of course, the TIDD fits that bill perfectly,” he said.
“Working with Tier One clients, we are obviously aware of the focus on pick and carries in general and the concerns around their safety specifically. One of the biggest drivers around the TIDD purchase is the fact that you can take the machine to Tier One customers and demonstrate the risk mitigation features of the PC28. It is safety features such as slew safe and additional load charts for static lifts and the other safety features which put the TIDD out in front in the pick and carry race at the moment,” said Yates.