Italian environmental association Marevivo Onlus is building its new operational headquarters in Rome: a floating structure, on the Tiber River, made of wood.
Building a floating structure in a city poses multiple challenges including constructed space, restricted access for heavy vehicles, plus environmental constraints.
The company assembling the structure’s wooden volumes was Metal Gronde and, to help, it utilised a Jekko JF545.2 articulated mini crane – which was a new addition to its fleet.
“I usually work with traditional truck cranes and lifting equipment but in this case, choosing the JF545.2 was a winning decision,” said Marco Piselli, head of Metal Gronde.
“The tracked undercarriage with rubber pads allowed controlled movements without damaging the pavement or exceeding ground pressure limits. Being able to unload the machine far from the working area and then move it into its operating position was a decisive advantage in such a confined environment.
“The most evident benefit came from the variable geometry outriggers. On a job site where the available space changes literally every half metre, this feature multiplied our operational possibilities. Moreover, the articulated boom allowed us to reach complex points with ease, while maintaining sufficient residual lifting capacity throughout the entire assembly phase.”
According to Jekko the use of the JF545.2 had a positive impact on the construction schedule reducing project time by over 30% compared to expectations. “We completed the installation of the wooden structure more than a week ahead of schedule thanks also to the excellent performance of the crane which drastically sped up operations,” added Piselli. “The precision of movement, millimetric control during placement, the ability to work without additional external setups, and the option to move and quickly change configurations all compressed the project timeline. This allowed us to keep overall costs under control and deliver the completed structure to the client early so they could proceed with the internal installations before winter arrived.”
