“Lifting a 2.3-tonne load at a 90-meter radius to a height of 30 meters calls for a very high-performance crane,” says Christophe Blanchard. The seasoned project manager from French crane services company Foselev Ardennes knows what he’s talking about. Which is why he and his team opted for the Tadano AC 7.450-1 all terrain crane when it came to lifting a new air handling unit onto the roof of a PSA-Stellantis factory hall in Charleville.
It was quite a job for the Foselev crew and their Tadano AC 7.450-1 – and not just because of the large radius at which the load had to be lifted. The job site itself also presented a number of difficulties. For one thing, the cramped conditions were quite a challenge—albeit a challenge to which the AC 7.450-1 was more than equal, thanks to its compact dimensions in combination with the operator’s consummate maneuvering skills. The Surround View camera system was a huge help when it came to positioning the crane on the site. This patented system uses six crane cameras to show a computer-assisted diagram of the maximum possible extension lengths for the outriggers at the crane’s location. It also allows the system to detect the maximum possible slewing radius. “This eliminates tedious and time-consuming measurements and testing when looking for a location from which to operate the crane. As a result, the crane is ready for use faster,” explains crane operator Willy Baumann. Meanwhile, during the lift itself, the crane’s slewing movements were restricted by lamp posts and trees. But that’s where the AC 7.450-1 machine’s advanced IC-1 Plus crane control system with working range limiter came into its own, a huge help for the operator. Another important feature that proved extremely valuable at Stellantis is the remote control, which Baumann used to great effect during the lift. “To get the air handling unit onto the roof, we had to lift it out over protruding edges that largely obstructed our line of sight from the crane,” he explains. “But the remote control solved this problem.”
Speed and reach as decisive factors
Speed was another decisive factor in the choice of crane for this project. “For us, the AC 7.450-1 unit’s transport-optimized design and ease of assembly are decisive benefits because they mean we can have the crane ready to go extremely quickly,” Christophe Blanchard says. “We saw that once again at the Stellantis factory premises: it took only a day to set up and rig the whole crane, including the SSL.” What’s more, the job site was very close to the Foselev branch in Charleville-Mézières. “Hence, it took us only 20 minutes to get the AC 7.450-1 to the site,” explains Branch Manager Michael Mathieu. Foselev needed 10 truck runs for all the necessary equipment.
The perfect crane for the job
To accomplish the demanding lift, the crew set the crane up with a 44-meter main boom, a 75-meter luffing jib, the Sideways Superlift (SSL) system, and the XL counterweight adapter frame. The XL adapter frame increases the counterweight tail swing radius, which allows significantly increased lifting capacities, particularly with the SSL configuration. For Foselev, the Sideways Superlift system is another of this crane’s highlights. It comes standard with a transport cradle for effective transportation by truck. It is easy to connect to the crane’s hydraulics using the multi-coupling. And it supports a wide range of setup options, depending on site conditions and requirements. Once on site, the SSL can be set up either as a fully assembled unit in a single lift using an assist crane, or its arms can be mounted individually. Alternatively, the SSL can be set up using the crane’s self-rigging capability – and even do this via remote control. In general, when developing the AC 7.450-1, Tadano placed a lot of emphasis on handling during SSL rigging: with a standard fall protection system on the SSL, access ladders and a platform for assembly.
These technical refinements meant that the AC 7.450-1 was quick and safe to set up and was easily able to lift the 2.3-tonne load over a considerable distance. In fact, it accomplished the lift twice, as Michael Mathieu explains: “We had to lift the old air handling unit down off the roof before we could hoist the new one into place.”
For the lifts and for the assembly and disassembly work, Foselev deployed a crew of five employees, who completed this demanding job without any delays in just one day. Consequently, the crane was on site for a total of three days, as planned. That’s a pretty quick turnaround for such a challenging job, especially considering that it was completed largely without disruption to normal operations at the factory. “This winning combination of the right crane and our highly experienced team meant that we were able to meet all our customer’s requirements as promised—just as we knew we would,” says Christophe Blanchard.
Source: Tadano
