Self Erecting Tower Cranes

The Benefits To Having a Self-Erecting Tower Crane are Worth Serious Consideration

by Tyler Smith January 2, 2012

Self erecting tower cranes have long been a mainstay in European construction mainly due to their ability to fit and operate safely in tight spaces. They haven't made quite the impact on North American construction yet but I'm willing to give them some time.The reason being is because of the benefits they can bring to a construction project. Whether it be condominiums, a parking garage or renovations to an office building a self erecting tower crane provides maximum efficiency while reducing costs and increasing profits and productivity.

Think of a self erector as an outdoor overhead crane or an overall material handling solution and picture a 3 story office building during just about any phase of construction. There are 2 or 3 telescoping boom forklifts, a couple skid steers, concrete pumpers, aerial man lifts, a rough terrain crane, an all terrain crane and 20 or so workers on the ground, in the building, running the equipment and so on. This may be necessary for certain applications but for projects up to 7 or 8 stories a self erector can virtually eliminate 90% of the amount of traffic, road clearing, labor and material handling equipment previously listed! See the table below for the amount of savings on a typical 4 month 3 story project.

Rent a self erecting tower crane	$32,000
Eliminate the following costs:
4 framers at $3200/month each	$51,200
Off road forklift at $300/month	$12,000
Mobile crane for trusses	$ 2,400
Laborers for masonry work	$ 2,400
Extra roads around building	$ 4,800
Stone slinger for pea travel around site	$ 3,200
Pump truck costs for columns, footings & walls	$ 3,200
Total Costs	$79,200
Net savings to contractor	$47,200

90% of all materials on a job site can be handled by a self erecting tower crane. It would be cheaper to have one of these on-site rather than renting a 70 ton mobile crane twice a month. Granted, the self erectors are not meant for the heavy lifts that these mobile cranes are made for but they are meant for applications when height and reach are factors. Most of the larger models of self erectors have a maximum height under hook of around 120' and there are some models that feature a 30 degree luffing jib. With these same models lifting over 2200lbs at 135' out, you have yourself a pretty impressive machine.

In addition to the benefits already mentioned self erecting tower cranes provide many others. Affordability, able to reach places that other equipment cannot, maneuverability, transport options, and a small footprint are just naming a few.

The bottom line is that I believe these cranes can change the way construction is done in the United States for all the reasons previously mentioned. All it takes is a little creativity, ingenuity, hard work and thinking outside the box. A little luck never hurt anybody either.