Capital Equipment News December 2016

The primary advantage of the Potain MCT85F5 topless crane is that its overall height has been reduced because its design does away with the top tower often found on conventional tower cranes.

A South African building contractor has taken delivery of the first Potain MCT85F5 topless tower crane unit in the country, which has since been erected in style on its first jobsite where it will help the contractor get the better of space constraints, writes Munesu Shoko . GETTING THE BETTER OF SPACE CONSTRAINTS

101 Katherine Street, Sandton, where the contractor is undertaking the construction of a residential hotel with three basements and 10 floors on behalf of the Capital Hotel Group. The project is a 19-month contract which kicked off in February this year and is due for delivery in August 2017. Matthew Simmonds, contracts manag- er at Probuild, tells Capital Equipment News that the decision to opt for the Potain MCT85F5, the latest addition to the Asian range of tower cranes manufactured by Potain, was twofold. “There are basi- cally two factors. We needed the fact that it was a topless crane which comes with a reduced overall height by virtue of losing the top tower found on conventional tower cranes. In terms of the height of this crane in relation to the primary crane, the Potain MD310B, already on site, it made sense for the second crane to be topless for it to fit in between the top of the building and the underside of the jib of the primary crane,” says Simmonds. Secondly, as Simmonds puts it, the deal offered by SA French, a crane supplier Probuild has trusted to deliver for over two decades, was “just too good to refuse”. “We initially had a rental agreement on

M aterial handling work- space is one of the main constraints on today’s construction sites and the proac- tive management of work space is a very challenging task due to the dynamic nature of construction sites, where the availabil- ity of space is continuously evolving and changing over time. Additionally, construction projects are characterised by a high degree of fragmentation and specialisation, which shape both the work on site and in the upstream supply chain. Activities on construction sites are usually performed by multiple trades who require, at any point in time, different materials at different times, as well as spaces such as working

areas for labourers, material storage, equipment and support infrastructure. With a strong understanding of the impor- tance of material handling space manage- ment and its effects on productivity, costs and site safety issues, Probuild, a prom- inent South African building contractor, has opted to purchase a Potain MCT85F5 topless tower crane from SA French, the authorised distributor of the Potain range of tower cranes in southern Africa. The prima- ry advantage of this topless crane is that its overall height has been reduced because its design does away with the top tower often found on conventional tower cranes with pendant lines. The MCT85F5 purchased by Probuild is the first unit of this model to ever lift into South Africa. It has since been erected at

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