A Maeda spider crane fitted with a glass manipulator proved to be the right combination to carry out a highly challenging project to lift glass directly overhead into an atrium canopy.
The space constraints of the lift site at new offices being built at Canal Reach, Kings Cross, in Central London, left contractors wondering how they would get the 200kg panels into place.
However, Hird’s London depot had the answer and completed the project as a full contract lift to the delight of the client.
Multiple lifting challenges
Depot Manager James Carr said: “The combination of challenges at this site made the lift particularly complicated, requiring both the right glass lifting equipment and specific expertise.
“In particular, because of the space limitations and the need to install directly overhead, the crane had to be positioned with millimetre-perfect precision to lift each panel.
“We were very pleased with how the project went and so was the client because it faced a major headache, in terms of time lost and additional cost if this solution hadn’t worked.”
An alternative solution would have been to build a scaffold platform beneath the canopy and use a machine like a Winlet glazing robot to lift and install the panels.
Electric scissor lift
The glass installation project was supported with the use of a Genie GS-2632 from the Hird scissor lift hire fleet. The platform has a maximum working height of 9.92m and a lift capacity of 227kg. This made it ideal for the task of securing the glass panels into position.
Compact crane
Hird selected the Maeda MC285-2 tracked spider crane to be combined with the Wirth Oktopus GL-CC77600 glazing manipulator to install the 25 panels at a height of 7m.
The Maeda MC285-2 is a particularly compact spider crane with a maximum safe working load (SWL) of 2.82t, a maximum tip height of 8.7m and a maximum working radius of 8.205m.
At just 750mm wide in tracking mode and just 2715mm long, the spider crane can be operated in surprisingly small spaces. The mini crane also has variable outriggers and can be fitted with an 850kg searcher hook.
On this occasion, the mini crane was fitted with the Oktopus glazing manipulator. It has a lifting capacity of 300kg, or 600kg when fitted with extension arms to increase suction cups from four to eight.
Using a remote control, our operative could rotate the glass load through 95˚, slew it left or right through 40˚ or tilt it up and down through 600. Most importantly, for this project, the glass could be installed directly overhead.
The glass manipulator, which weighs 170kg, is often also paired with our MC305 mini crane and MC405 mini crane – but it can also be fitted to our MC815 mini crane which allows glass to be installed at heights up to 16m.
Hird also provides a full range of training, including RTITB vacuum lifter training and CPCS A66 compact crane training, required for operatives to use the equipment
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