Hird the best for high-rise glass lifts? Abseil-utely!

Lifting equipment supplied by Hird has allowed a glazing installer to lift glass panels to the 22nd floor of a London apartment block to carry out repairs.

Abseilers were also used to ensure the panels could not collide with the building as they were lifted around 60m to a terrace where they were due to be installed.

Hird supplied a Minifor TR50 electric hoist, a Kappel DSKZL2 glass vacuum lifter, a secondary safety device, and additional slings to support the glazing maintenance operation.

Too big for passenger lift

New glass panels had to be installed at several locations throughout the apartment block. In some cases they could be carried in a passenger lift to each installation point.

However, the six glass panels due to be installed along a terrace on the 22nd floor were too big for the lift, so had to be lifted up the side of the building in North London.

The Minifor TR50 electric hoist could be attached to the building’s façade maintenance davit system.

The davits were rated at 500kg for lifting the panels – which weighed 150kg, with the DSKZL2 glass vacuum lifter adding a further 31kg.

Glass panels transported via the outside of the building using a minifor TR50 and Kappel DSKZL2

Safe and sustainable

Each of the six glass panels was lifted from the 2^nd floor to the 22^nd floor, with one of the abseilers using the Minifor TR50 hoist’s remote control unit to guide the load’s ascent.

Once the external glazed panel was on the terrace, it could be easily taken to the installation point nearby.

James Carr, Manager of Hird’s Southern Depot, serving London and the South East of England, said: “This was complex lift that had to overcome some significant challenges to get the glass into place.

“We were glad to supply all the lifting equipment needed to complete the task safely, productively and sustainably, operated by our client’s expert team and abseil specialists, without a hitch.”

The Minifor TR50 material hoist is a 110-volt wire rope hoist with a maximum lifting capacity of 500kg, which can increase to 950kg with a sheave kit.

It is easy to carry and install – and can be fitted with wire rope lengths of 30 metres, 60 metres or 120 metres.

Easy to use equipment

The hoist can be quickly fixed in place in different ways, for example by using a girder clamp from Hird’s lifting accessories hire range.

The DSKZL2 vacuum lifter is highly-compact and can lift up to 300kg in its four-cup configuration (weighing 45kg) or up to 450kg with two extra cups fitted on extension arms (increasing its weight to 55kg).

Glazing installers particularly like the way it is easy to handle – it can be moved quickly and safely to lifting locations on a transport trolley – and simple controls, including a wired remote control.

The battery-powered glass vacuum lifter’s standard short-lift arm and short-eye hook make it ideal for lifting under roof overhangs and soffits.

Hird’s lifting hire service can supply a wide range of other equipment, including electric chain hoists, lightweight lifting track, scaffold hoists, gantry hoists, slab lifters and cable drum jacks.

Glass vacuum lifters, ranging in capacities from 135kg to 3.5t, can also be supplied, along Maeda spider cranes and Valla pick and carry cranes, for holding them, and Winlet glazing robots.