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rn rnrn rnrn rnrn rnrn rnrn rnrn rnrnNMT Crane Hire were recently called in to lift a very delicate old aircraft.rnrnThe fusalage of the vintage comet was lifted into position for a museum

NMT supplied their 700 ton Terex for a complex lift,which involved aerial rigging the 36 metre luffing jib at a site in Snetterton,Norfolk.rnrnAlthough it was a awkward set up and involved a 250 ton crane as the rigging crane,the crane was ready to work in less than 8 hours.

NMT used a 220 ton and 250 ton crane to tandem lift a ship, built especially for the latest ‘Alice through the Looking Glass’ film.  The same two cranes were also used to light the set.  The ship was constructed on site, filmed and then loaded onto transport to be moved to a new location.  A great piece of engineering.Well done to all concerned.

There are two main hire options for any business in need of crane hire services for a project. You can either undertake a CPA Crane Hire or, instead, a CPA Contract Lift. There are advantages to both options, so the choice between the two should be carefully considered. NMT Crane Hire are always on hand to guide you through your options. Here we have given an overview of just what CPA Crane Hire entails.

 

What Does CPA Mean?

CPA stands for ‘Construction Plant Hire Association’; this is the terms and conditions that all crane and plant hire companies must adhere to and is in accordance with “The Safe Use of Cranes”, known as BS 7121.

 

What Is Provided with CPA Crane Hire?

When you hire a crane through CPA Crane Hire the hire company are responsible for the following elements:

 

–  Providing you with a crane that is fully maintained and in a good working condition

– The crane provided must be tested and certified, which should be verifiable by the crane company

– They must also supply for you a crane operator; the crane operator must be fully certified and competent at the task at hand

 

What Is Not Provided with CPA Crane Hire?

Although CPA Crane Hire supplies you with the above aspects, you must provide the following:

 

– You will need to organise having the following people on site:

1.  an Appointed Person who is fully qualified in all aspects of the lifting operation, alongside having the relevant experience and knowledge to complete the job.
2. a qualified Crane Supervisor
3. a qualified Slinger/Signaller.

– The work must be carried out in accordance with both LOLER 1998 and BS 7121.

– It is your responsibility to make sure that the crane is suitable for the job.

– You must plan and execute the lift in operation with a safe system of work.

– You are responsible for checking the credentials and certifications of both the crane hire company and the crane.

 

You must also provide all of the Method Statements and Risk Assessments, along with organising insurance cover for all areas of the operation, including loss of or damage to the plant when on site, loss or damage to the lifted goods, covering hire charges should the plant be ‘off the road’ for repairs, and insurance covering Public Liability, operator injury and any other third parties, and also insurance for property damage due to the operation.

 

CPA Crane Hire gives far more responsibility to the hirer, but is often the preferable budgetary option, especially if the hirer already has many of the above requirements in place. If you’re interested in undertaking a CPA Crane Hire from NMT Crane Hire, take a read of our Terms and Conditions and give us a call today on read the NMT Crane Hire CPA Hire Terms and Conditions and call us today on 0800 026 6985.

 

 

 

 

At NMT Crane Hire, we recently covered just what CPA Crane Hire is, detailing what you can expect your crane hire company to provide for you and what it is your responsibility to organise for your site. In this article, we’ll discuss what you can expect from CPA Contract Lift hire, which differs greatly on what aspects are your responsibility, and what is the responsibility of your crane hire company.

 

What Does CPA Contract Lift Mean?

In essence, a CPA Contract Lift means that the majority of the elements related to a lift, including insurance, are covered by the crane hire company. You just need to provide the necessary details for the lift.

‘CPA’ stands for Construction Plant Hire Association and all crane hire companies must adhere to the guidelines. That means that when you organise a CPA Contract Lift hire, you can be confident that all of the correct guidelines are being met, as outlined below.

 

What is Provided with CPA Contract Lift?

When you organise a CPA Contract Lift, you are guaranteed that your crane hire company will cover the following elements:

 

– Plan the lift and operate the lift in accordance with a safe system of work

– Provide an Appointed Person who is both qualified and competent, with extensive knowledge of the lifting operation

– In addition to the Appointed Person, the crane hire company will provide a qualified Slinger/Signaller, a qualified Crane Supervisor, and a qualified Crane Operator. Each of these persons must be not just qualified but also fully competent and knowledgeable

– Supply a crane that is fully certified, and is regularly tested and maintained, and is of the necessary type and capacity for the lift

– Provide Method Statements

– Provide Risk Assessments

– Ensure that the work is carried out in accordance with BS 7121 (code of practice for safe use of cranes) and LOLER 1998 (Lifting Operations and Lifting Equipment Regulations 1998)

 

Your crane hire company will also provide insurance cover for the project, which includes insurance for the loss of or damage to the plant or other property damaged by the plant. The insurance will also include a maximum liability of £20,000 for the goods being lifted and £2,000,000 for loss or damage to property or persons.

 

What You Must Provide for a CPA Contract Lift

With a CPA Contract Lift, it is your responsibility to provide your crane hire company with all of the relevant information in regards to the items to be lifted; this information must be entirely accurate. You must also inform them of the site and ground conditions so that your crane hire company can plan the lift accordingly.

 

If you have a lift that your require crane hire for and are unsure of which options is best for you, whether it be CPA Crane Hire or CPA Contract Lift, you can speak to the team at NMT Crane Hire and we’ll be able to provide you with detailed guidance. Please fill out an online enquiry form or give us a call today on 0800 026 6985. 

 

NMT Crane Hire have recently talked about just what is included in CPA Crane Hire vs what’s included in CPA Contract Lift. Both options are commonly chosen, having their own benefits depending on what you’re looking for. Therefore, deciding which one is right for you can be a little tricky, but is vitally important. Although we have covered what each one means in our previous posts, a brief overview is:

 

CPA Crane Hire

– If you choose CPA Crane Hire, you will be provided with both a crane and a crane operator  

– With CPA Crane Hire, you will not receive a Crane Supervisor, Slinger/Signaller, or an Appointed Person  

– You are responsible for ensuring the crane is suitable, that the work is carried out to LOLER 1998 and BS 7121 standards, and for checking the credentials of the crane hire company and crane  

– You are responsible for planning and executing the lift

  

CPA Contract Lift

– With a CPA Contract Lift, you are essentially hiring not just a crane but a company to organise the entire lift  

– All you are responsible for providing is the necessary information for the lift to be planned, such as the items that need to be lifted, the site conditions, the ground conditions, etc. This information must be accurate

  

Which Should I Choose?

CPA Contract Lift is commonly chosen by people that do not have an existing infrastructure in place for a whole lift to be carried out. It is more expensive than CPA Crane Hire, but will not incur the same costs that hiring your own team for one lift would do, which is the extra you would have to pay for CPA Crane Hire.

CPA Crane Hire is the cheaper option, and is ideal for people who do have a full infrastructure in place for carrying out a lift, but simply need some extra cranes to be able to complete the job.

  

If you have experience and staff who are knowledgeable about everything required to carry out a lift, and you are simply in need of extra crane/s, CPA Crane Hire is right for you. If, however, you do not have this in place in your company and do not have the working knowledge to properly carry out a full lift, CPA Contract Lift is the best option.

  

To discuss your lift and the requirements that you need, don’t hesitate to give NMT Crane Hire a call on 0800 026 6985. We provide both CPA Crane Hire and CPA Contract Lift options, so you can choose the correct hire for your needs.

 

They are the architect of every skyscraper, apartment block, shopping centre, and almost every other building. They are synonymous with developing skylines as they soar hundreds of meters into the sky. But have you ever wondered how such a slender piece of machinery stays upright? Even when manoeuvring large chunks of metal and piles of bricks? This article explains the science behind a tower crane and how they allow us to build bigger.

 

We all know that tower cranes are used on construction sites to help sculpt new buildings, but what exactly do they do? Cranes combine sheer height with lifting ability to quickly transfer heavy materials up multiple stories. Without them, this task becomes very arduous and painstakingly slow, so cranes ultimately speed up the construction process while simultaneously making a whole lot easier. So that’s what they do in a nutshell, but how do you build the thing that builds?

 

How A Tower Crane Is Built

 

The most obvious concern with a 100-foot crane is the balance. Being such a lanky piece of machinery, there needs to be a way for a crane to stay upright while it handles tonnes of material. So how is this achieved? Well, the process isn’t dissimilar to building a skyscraper for the most part.

 

Before a tower crane is assembled, foundations are dug for the crane, with the bottom part attached to steel rods that lie in the foundations. Once the concrete has set, the crane can start being put together section by section. A mobile crane holds the sections of the tower crane into place as it secured with a hydraulic wrench. The heaviest part of the crane is the turntable, the area in which the cabin rests on, and once that is fixed into place, the articulated arm, known as the jib, can be wrenched on.

 

For the tower crane to function, ropes are added to the jib alongside a trolley system, and is wired up to the control pad in the cabin. This briefly explains the structural aspect of the crane, but the topic of balance is still very poignant at this point.

 

A counterweight is added to the opposite end of the articulated jib to counteract the weight that the crane will be lifting. Many cranes have a counterweight which s adjustable depending on how much weight is being lifted, but for the most part, the weight is secured just shy of the end of the jib. The crane can also be fixed to the side of buildings via braces to keep it upright, but this is only if the building that is being worked on is already standing at a considerable height.

 

The technology of the tower cranes control system will stop the crane from lifting anything that will unbalance it, but the final stages of making a crane operational are testing stages. This is where the tower crane lifts varying weights, building up to its maximum capacity. If all these tests are passed then the crane can join in with the construction process.

 

How Much Does A Tower Crane Cost?

 

Prices vary from company to company, so the only real gauge of price is between the various types of crane.

 

A flat-top crane is usually the cheapest, as the jib acts in one direction only, whereas a crane with an articulating jib, ones which are quicker and have a greater range of motion, can be more expensive. A luffing jib crane sees the jib rotate higher than any other tower cranes, and these lean towards the far end of the price range.

If you are unsure of the type of tower crane needed for your construction project, you can contact NMT Crane Hire and talk to one of our advisors to discuss your needs and requirements.

As NMT Crane Hire Ltd celebrates its 40th anniversary, let’s head back to our roots and uncover the story behind these historical pieces of machinery.

The resemblance is uncanny; A long, slender neck and a drooping snout, cranes may share their name with a graceful bird, but their work is far from it. Tasked with lifting tonnes of blocks, boulders and metal every single day, cranes have helped design and assemble some of the most iconic buildings of all time.

Despite their capabilities, cranes have relatively humble beginnings.

Ancient Greece

Although the history of NMT Crane Hire only dates back 40 years, the story behind the crane dates all the way back to Ancient Greece. The earliest documented reference to the crane is associated to Aristotle who details the basic mechanics of the new instrument. Invented by the Greeks in the 6th century, the use of a winch and pulley system replaced the use of ramps, which allowed the Greeks to build higher and to build quicker. The CV of the crane got off to an impressive start, having helped construct the Acropolis in Athens; the centrepiece of an incredibly historic city.

Roman Empire

As the Roman Empire seizes control of Europe, the Romans adopt and adapt the crane to become more industrious and more efficient. This is where we see the introduction of the treadwheel crane. This human powered version of the crane would be used to sculpt castles and cathedrals all over Europe and became the go-to technology for decades before being developed.

The gothic cities of Western Europe also owe thanks to the crane, as countries copy the highly efficient model of the treadwheel crane and begin decorating their skylines with cathedrals and other monuments. France, Holland and Germany still hold immense pride in their gothic towns and cities to this day.

The Industrial Revolution

As a mechanical progressiveness sweeps across Europe, Britain displays its first significant use of the crane during the industrial revolution. This is when we see the end to wooden, man-powered cranes and the birth of hydraulic, iron cranes which are used to construct factories and accelerate Britain into a position of international strength.

As the years roll on, the technology of cranes develops gradually with the smallest of adjustments. The cranes we see today still hold a resemblance to those used in the construction of New York in the thirties. Eventually, as the decades past, we are left with the enormous structures that parade our horizons; yet, despite their size and stature, they act as a subtle reminder to the power of science and technology.

How much Can a Mobile Crane Lift?

On any construction site, mobile cranes are brought in to do all the dirty work. They are synonymous with lifting objects of any shape and size way into the sky, but their strength mustn’t be underestimated either. But just how heavy can they lift?

Some cranes can lift over a 1000 tonnes without breaking a sweat, but mobile cranes provide a more dynamic service than the big, robotic brutes that deadlift up and down all day. Although mobile cranes and tower cranes are far more versatile and maneuverable, they also have to roll up their sleeves and help shift some weight.

Before we start detailing specific load charts, let’s add in some context for comparison. In the construction of buildings, the typical tower crane can lift an unsupported weight of around 20 tonnes, depending on the conditions, while still being able to move the object around with relative ease.

Don’t be fooled by the fact that tower cranes are used in the construction of buildings, however. In most cases, mobile cranes are restricted in the height which they can lift, but the weight often puts tower cranes to shame.

Across the NMT Crane Hire site, there are a number of mobile cranes used for a variety of jobs.

The nimble city mobile cranes are quick and comparably featherweight in comparison to other mobile cranes, but you will still be able to lift weights of 13-70 tonnes with these machines. When dotting about to different locations and lifting respectable amounts of weight, city mobile cranes do just the trick.

In a complete contrast to the city cranes, when working on treacherous ground, all terrain mobile cranes prove to be a sturdy alternative. With a lifting capacity of up to 160 tonnes, all terrain mobile cranes also double the load chart of a mobile crane, while still being firmly locked into position.

So far, we have looked at mobile cranes which can be used for the quick and easy tasks, and mobile cranes which can cope on almost any surface, but for those jobs which require immense lifting power, it is time to call in the big guns. Our heavy crane selection can lift anything from 200 to 700 tonnes, while still being fully mobile. Although this weight cannot be lifted to the height of a tower crane, sometimes height has to be substituted for unrivalled lifting power.

Depending on the type of work which is being carried out on your site, lifting power isn’t the only criteria to consider. Follow the links to the individual pages for every type of crane listed above to find out more about their specifications.

To speak to one of our advisors, contact us on 0800 026 6985 or use our online form to request a callback.