39
november 2013
international
construction
Building large structures often involves tough productivity targets, and downtime is to be avoided
at all costs.
Helen Wright
looks at current projects around the world.
Tackling
extremes
C
ontractors need to be able to count on reliable and durable
construction equipment when building large structures –
they know that technical failure and downtime can lead to
delays and higher costs.
From dams on the River Nile to new sports stadiums in the
Amazon, equipment manufacturers and contractors are working
to ensure large projects stay on schedule.
As well as general earthmoving and lifting machinery, specialised
construction equipment models are available to tackle big projects.
>
LARGE STRUCTURES
Tackling extremes
Falsework and formwork manufacturer Doka, for instance, has
launched new specialised formwork just for dam construction
(see p. 43), while XCMG teamed up with Chinese petrochemical
company Sinopec to develop a huge 4,000 tonne capacity crawler
crane for extreme lifting jobs.
The XGC88000 crane made its debut lift at the Wanhua
Industrial Park in Yantai, China, where it was tasked with hoisting
a 118 m tall, 1,680 tonne propylene production tower into place.
The crane’s 108 m boom and 33 m fixed jib were used in a 30 m
operating radius.
XCMG said the tower was erected onto
its construction base within four hours.
It described the lift as a breakthrough in
the development of super-tonnage crawler
cranes.
Developing the machine is one
thing, but delivering it onto a remote
construction site is another question
entirely. Co-ordinating the movement of
materials and equipment around a large
structure jobsite can be a major challenge,
XCMG teamed up with Sinopec to
develop a 4,000 tonne capacity
crawler crane. It made its debut
lift in Yantai, China, hoisting a
118 m tall, 1,680 tonne propylene
production tower into place.
RMD Kwikform formwork was used to
complete slab construction to a tight
schedule on this water project in Qatar.
