Hird Maeda mini crane helps bridge dockland divide

A Maeda spider crane hired from Hird is being used to lift and lay stone slabs either side of a landmark bridge that is vital to the regeneration of Hull city centre.

The Maeda MC285 tracked mini crane is assisting landscaping and groundworks teams in laying large marble blocks leading to the new pedestrian bridge over the A63 Castle Street.

It is being used in conjunction with a Stone Vac SK200 stone vacuum lifter, also hired from Hird, allowing the slabs to be manipulated with minimal manual handling.

Dramatic walkway

The largescale stonework is part of a major project to connect Prince’s Dock with Hull Waterside and Marina and is vital to plans to open the waterfront to new development.

maeda-mc285-mini-crane-and-sk200-stone-vac-hull-project — **Maeda MC285** with the **SK200 Stone Lifter**

It involves a major redesign of a bridge over a waterway between the two docks. At the centre of the project is a dramatic walkway over Castle Street, with giant canopies at either end that look like sails.

CGI Renders of the A63 Iconic Footbrige – courtesy of **City Plan Hull**

Mick Bradshaw, General Manager of Hird Central, said: “We’ve supplied a Maeda MC285 mini crane and an operator to support our client in creating new footpaths and cycleways between the docks.

“The topography is challenging from a lifting perspective. We advised that using the Maeda spider crane was the optimal solution in terms of safety and productivity.”

Confined space challenge

The mini crane is lifting larges slabs into place along a stepped and sloping terrace which leads from the pedestrian road bridge to the edge of both docks, limiting the amount of open space to work in.

At just 750mm wide, the Maeda spider crane can be tracked into very confined spaces. When set up with its variable outriggers deployed, it can then boom out to a maximum radius of 8.2m.

The Maeda MC285 spider crane has a maximum safe working load (SWL) of 2.82t. It can be fitted with an 850kg capacity searcher hook or with a 900kg winch (or single fall hook) to give a negative lift duty of 40.4m.

Wireless remote control is allowing the Hird crane operator to stand next to the load, working closely with the landscaping team to maximise precision and safety.

Hird can supply the latest model of the mini crane, the Maeda MC285-3, which is controlled and monitored via a full-colour 7-inch screen, linked to an upgraded load monitoring device.

Stone lifter solution

Hird’s Stone Vac SK200 stone lifter has a maximum lifting capacity of 300kg horizontally and 200kg vertically, with a suction footprint of just 300mm by 500mm.

It allows stones to be lifted without using slings which require manual handling to fit and increase installation time. Safety features include a low vacuum alert.

It is one of a range of stone lifter hire options from Hird, with lifting capacities up to 1,000kg.

Safe and productive

“This project demonstrates the benefits of selecting the right technology for lifting duties during projects like this,” said Mick Bradshaw.

“Our Maeda mini crane and stone lifter reduce manual handling to a minimum, supporting safe lifting and allowing more work to be done by fewer people, which maximises productivity.

“We’re very pleased to be providing such an effective lifting solution for a project that is so important to the future economic success of Hull.”

Hird has a range of Maeda mini cranes in its spider crane hire fleet, with SWLs from 1.72t to 8t.