Five questions that show why planning a tower crane deployment is more complex than you might think

“I hear this question a lot, and I understand it. From the outside, a tower crane looks like a large but simple machine. The real work, however, begins long before the first crane is even on site. Together with specialist engineers, we assess the load-bearing capacity of the ground, the access routes, weather factors such as wind loads at height, snow and ice loads, potential seismic effects and, for example, the effects of a marine environment, the clearance to existing structures, and how the crane will eventually be dismantled. At the Sagrada Família in Barcelona, for instance, we planned a 710 HC-L 32-64 Litronic positioned directly above the basilica’s nave, with visitors passing through below throughout. Simply choosing the strongest crane isn’t enough. What matters is finding an overall concept that works across the entire construction sequence.”

“Hardly any other project brings so much history face to face with so much of the present. The basilica’s construction began back in the 19th century, using the materials and methods available at the time. Today, our crane stands directly above the nave and has helped bring the Tower of Jesus Christ up to its planned final height. It’s the first use of a luffing jib crane of this kind in Spain. It’s precisely this contrast between historic architecture with a load-limited supporting structure and modern lifting technology that makes the project so special to me.”

“The decisive difference lies in our access to the knowledge behind the machine. We don’t just know the load chart. Where needed, we can assess the underlying engineering together with the relevant specialist departments. That doesn’t produce an automatic solution, but it does give a far more robust basis for decision-making. What we learn on site, for example during the construction of the MoMA Tower in New York or the Filstal Bridge, feeds directly into the next generation of tower cranes. An external planning consultancy can propose a solution. With a manufacturer behind us, we can also think it through to the end, both technically and economically. In the end, though, what matters most to me is that, for all the complexity, the work is enjoyable.”