To reach the job site, the five axle crane had to climb 1,500m. Kran Saller crane operator Lieven Van Hee said, “The whole thing was essentially like climbing a mountain, particularly the many twists and turns that made up the final 10km. Fortunately this wasn’t a problem at all for the 200-tonner, and we actually managed incredibly well. The flexible counterweight of 12t in this case meant we could afford to be pretty light on equipment—just the crane itself and a single truck. This was all we needed for the crane counterweight and base plates, and it also saved us transportation costs. But the minimal equipment didn’t stop us benefiting from fantastic lifting capacities.”
The site of the ATF 200G-5 at an altitude of 2,750m was a gravel path near the future valley station. It was here, not far from the glacier restaurant, that the crane set about lifting and mounting the steel components, delivered by several four-axle all-wheel-drive trucks, onto one of the two aerial lift pylons. “For a crane of its size, the 200-tonner is relatively quick to set up: less than three quarters of an hour and it’s ready to go. This time, however, there were two unusual challenges to contend with. One was getting the 200-tonner in position on a completely unpaved road. The truck including the counterweight of the crane and base plates could not manage [the movement], so these had to be reloaded onto the crane. Then I had to drive to the site with the 12t counterweight and plates.
“The second challenge was the rocky terrain, which is why it was so good to benefit from the asymmetrical outrigger base control. This is where the crane seeks out the most stable conditions without stopping me from exploiting the maximum possible lifting capacities. It even works separately for each individual sector of the four outrigger beams, too,” said Van Hee.
Van Hee spent a month working on erecting the aerial lift pylon. The load comprised around 150 steel components, including two 12.5t bars for the electronics of the aerial lift pylon. This was a project that required a great deal of concentration and involved a considerable amount of time for all concerned, not to mention fully utilised lifting capacities, challenging requirements for fitters – including the necessary safety checks on the parts already installed – and ever more extreme weather conditions.
“The wind really knows how to blow up here. In fact, it caused us to stop working several times. There were two days when we couldn’t do anything at all, and other days when we had to contend with snowfall and frost. Handling the load as safely as possible meant we had to rely on a little extra something – from both the operator and the crane. Fortunately, the 200-tonner boasts a super comfortable superstructure cab with a state-of-the-art multifunction touch-screen display and cameras. It’s such a huge help to know I can rely on these with every lift.”
