
Crane Hotline Product Focus; Understanding Fiber Rope
Synthetic rope and slings have become increasingly popular in below-the-hook crane applications. Synthetic slings can provide the same durability and strength as wire rope at a fraction of the weight. This weight savings helps make rigging more efficient and reduces the risk of injury on the job.

FUEL FOR THOUGHT
Reinder de Haan, global segment lead for transport and logistics at Mammoet, speaks to Cranes Today about the company’s work in the oil and gas sector.

5 Tips To Keep Heavy Machinery in Top Working Condition
In general, heavy machinery owners can use the wisdom they’ve learned about their personal vehicles to keep machinery in top working condition. However, work trucks and other pieces of construction equipment have special needs.

CM Labs launches software upgrades
M Labs Simulations, developer of Vortex training simulators, has issued a new software release for its construction simulator training packs. This new release is designed to boost trainee engagement by featuring heightened visuals, greater training immersion and increased learning retention.

PALFINGER DEVELOPS ELECTRIC LINE
Palfinger collaboration develops a system to enable its products to be electrically powered whilst on electric trucks
Austran manufacturer of hydraulic lifting, loading and handling systems Palfinger, together with ZF Friedrichshafen AG and Mercedes-Benz Trucks, are developing a system that will ultimately mean Palfinger’s entire product line can be electrically powered whilst installed on an electric truck. Key to the system is that the electric vehicle and the Palfinger equipment can share power technology.

How can we protect older construction workers?
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, over the last two decades, the average age of the American worker has increased by almost three years from 39.3 to 42. More notable, however, is the average within blue-collar industries.

Climbing Trends – Do They Live Up to the Hype?
Over the last decade, the world has benefitted from technological advances that allow for widespread access to information. The field of arboriculture is no exception; a plethora of training and safety information is available at the click of a button.


New spider lift entrant
UK-based Premier Platforms has become the latest rental company in the UK to enter the spider lift rental market.
The company has taken delivery of a new Hinowa 17:75 MK2 at its Thirsk depot in North Yorkshire. The 17:75 offers 7.5 metres of outreach at an up & over height of 7.8 metres with a 230kg unrestricted platform capacity, on a machine that weighs 2,230kg and can pass through an 800mm doorway. The unit was purchased from Hinowa distributor APS

How is lift planning integrated in safety and business?
Just as you wouldn’t take an exam without studying, a road trip without glancing at a map or bake a cake without checking out the recipe, the planning stage of any project is arguably the most crucial step.
Operation Hemlock: How an ER physician ended up treating trees
A tiny insect that could spell devastation for Nova Scotia's eastern hemlocks has been thwarted in one old-growth stand — at least for the short-term — by a volunteer effort spearheaded by a man better known for battling human diseases.
Dr. George Kovacs is an emergency department physician in Halifax who, in the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, developed Nova Scotia's protocol for looking after the sickest patients.

Training and technology for crane operation success in heavy fabrication
Imagine a hectic morning. The overhead crane operator arrives late. He knows he’s behind when he starts his shift, so he quickly rigs a plate that he needs to move to the next workstation. The rigging isn’t quite centered, and the load swings as the lift starts. The flustered operator slows the lift to compensate for the swinging. Then, snap. The wire rope breaks, and a bad morning turns into a disastrous one.

Toronto arborist explains what you need to know about tree damage
After a severe thunderstorm tore through Ontario on Saturday, crews of arborists worked late into the night cleaning up damaged trees.
The storm’s extreme conditions and gusts of winds felled trees that smashed homes and left nine dead Ontario on Saturday. Tait Sala, director of Cohen & Master Tree and Shrub Services Ltd., was one of the arborists working to clean up after the storm. He said crews would be cleaning up damage for weeks.

DYNAMIC DUO
Tandem lift for Vernazza Autogru’s Demag lattice boom crawlers
Italian crane service provider Vernazza Autogru used its CC 3800 1 and CC 6800 Demag lattice boom crawler cranes, plus a Tadano TC 2800 and AC 250-1 for secondary duties, to disassemble an old gantry crane at the shipyard facilities of Italian yacht builder The Italian Sea Group.

CASEY: Meet the crane operators conducting 'a magical little dance' high above Roanoke's new hospital wing (copy)
on Lambert and Philip Oldfield aren’t your ordinary American blue collar workers.
For one thing, six-figure annual earnings aren’t out of the question in their trade. For another, both work higher in the sky than kites usually fly.
They launch about 6:30 a.m. each weekday. That’s shortly after they arrive at the job site adjacent to Carilion Roanoke Memorial Hospital. There, a 486,000-square-foot hospital expansion is underway.

IMPROVE PROCESSES TO STAY ON SCHEDULE AND CRITICAL PATH
Here’s six tips to help your outages and turnarounds go more smoothly.
1. Make up your mind – Much of outage rigging is on the critical path. The earlier the rigging contractor is chosen, the more consistent and efficient the delivery can be. In the case of specialized rigging and transport services, more preparation and planning time usually means safer, faster, and more elegant solutions.

TAKEUCHI’S NEW 15-TON TB2150R EXCAVATOR TACKLES WIDE RANGE OF JOBS
Takeuchi introduces the new TB2150R, a 15t excavator with a fixed boom arrangement and reduced tailswing design.
“The design of the TB2150R makes it an exceptional platform for applications that require more compact dimensions and powerful performance,” said David Caldwell, national product manager for Takeuchi.

INCREASED DEMAND FOR CUSTOM LIFTING FRAMES
UK lifting frame manufacturer reports increased demand due to modular construction.
Modulift, the lifting equipment specialist based in Dorset, UK, reports high demand for its custom made frames across Europe and the UK over the last few months, particularly in the modular buildings market.

Trees Jobs You Can Tackle With SENNEBOGEN’s 728
SENNEBOGEN’s tree care handlers are setting the pace for productivity and jobsite safety in arboriculture.
With the introduction of our newest machine, the 728, we’re offering our customers the perfect mix of weight, size, and reach in tree removal equipment.

HOME SWEET HOME
Houses are needed everywhere. All kinds of cranes can help build them. Julian Champkin reports.
There are very nearly eight billion people alive on this planet and the number is rising. Every one of them needs somewhere to live. Residential housing is not going to go out of fashion any time soon. Building those houses will be a continuing need.