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29th November 2016

Ainscough Crane Hire Successfully Dismantle Tower Crane In London

Petrochemical, Oil & Gas

The UK’s market leading national lifting solutions company, Ainscough Crane Hire, has successfully dismantled a tower crane in Westminster, central London for Select Plant Hire.

Heavy cranes technical manager Bob Beardmore and operations manager Peter Mills oversaw the operation that used a 500 tonne Liebherr LTM 1500-8.1 crane with an 84.0m guyed main boom to complete the multiple lifts to dismantle the 72.0m high crane. In addition, three ballast wagons and five support vehicles to perform the lift were used.

Originally assembled to service the construction of a new 275-unit residential development, the tower crane was then partially obscured by the new building creating a challenging situation to perform the required lifts.

Accustomed to dealing with complex situations and producing solutions, Bob explains: “The job was incredibly challenging as the operational margins were very tight. The close proximity of the surrounding buildings meant another obstacle we faced was to remove all the tower crane sections between two buildings. The crane’s back mast was millimetres away from clashing with the building behind us, however, due to meticulous planning in the drawing office; we were able to carry out all the lifts safely.

“In addition another obstacle to contend with was that the hotel (opposite the site) remained open throughout our series of lifts, meaning we could only close half of the road and were forced to position the crane above a water main.

“All these challenges in this busy residential area in the centre of London meant operating times prolonged our programme of works but our planning and persistence paid off and enabled us to deliver the lifts on time for our customer.”

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