Mechanical Contractor Crane Loading Platform Solution
Mechanical Contractors often need a crane loading platform for new construction, and sometimes for maintenance or remodels. We have a solution for this challenge that is unique. Our Crane Decks are superior to others you can buy or rent. Not just because of out capacity that nearly doubles the others, but because of options like tall posts, fall arrest built in, and an added layer of fall protection that keeps the whole floor secure when you have to open the end gates for longer items. But we’ll get to these. The real advantage of our decks for a MEP Contractor is that they are infinitely variable on the width. If you are limited by the facade of the building, but you need all of the opening, we can deliver every inch you need.
A retractable crane loading platform in Seattle. This one is welded and not modular. This is the conventional option.
MEP Crane Loading Platform
An MEP Crane Loading Platform needs a few options not commonly found in Crane Loading Platforms. The width is one thing. Shipping a crane deck over 10’ wide is a challenge. It becomes expensive because the decks will either push the limits of how tall a load can be shipped, or they are over width for trucking and specifically for ocean shipments. Items over 10’ wide are usually driven on to a large ship designed for that. Containerized shipment just doesn’t allow for it. This means that we have to ship our 10’-6” wide decks with them stacked vertically and pay for “out of gauge” shipping. This essentially means that it doubles the ocean freight. And sometimes we need permits, or to rearrange the decks to drive them to your location.
Example of a double drop trailer used to ship 10’ tall Crane decks.
Our Solution to this to deliver decks up to 13’-7” wide was to develop a bolted together crane deck. This allows us to ship it within a container. It can be bolted together on the jobsites. Contractors that have operations across the country can also ship it this way to avoid the costs of wide load permits and pilot vehicles. But that isn’t the end of the benefit. This is where MEP’s can win too.
McKinstry in Seattle needed to keep a data center in operation and swap out a chiller. The solution the set out to bring to their client was a platform that would allow them to swap it out with a crane on a platform. They didn’t need to structurally demo and close down the space to accomplish this. You can read more about the story here.
Other Mechanical Contractors facing similar pressures on a wouldn’t need to design a solution like McKinstry must have. We have the solution already designed, with a rating, with engineering, and with safety devices built in. Just tell us how wide you need it, and we can get to fabricating it. If the next job needs a new width, we can meet you on those needs as well. Our limitation is simply 13’-7”. But if you need to go wider for some reason, we could discuss it and different approaches. sales@cranegear.net
Retractable Crane Loading Platform Modular construction
Modular Advantage for Mechanical Contractors
In new construction, Mechanical Contractors can enjoy the width we deliver on the crane loading platforms. Instead of living with what the general contractors will rent or happen to own, our loading platforms are up to 11’-11” on the inside. You can land a load that is 11’-9” wide or so just fine. This can enable you to build and deliver larger units and pay that shop labor rate instead of the field rate. The work in the field gets done faster. And our decks are rated at 11,000 lbs while fully extended. If this is a tool you use, you’ve no doubt seen that most retractable crane decks are rated at 11,000 lbs when fully retracted. But if you extend it, it has a much lower rating of 5800 lbs or 5500 lbs. We have a constant rating of 11,000 lbs.
In addition to the higher rating, we also have safety built in. The sides for handrails are fully enclosed. This should stop the drop of anything a person might drop in normal operations like a shackle pin or a tool. We can set up fall arrest in the posts so that it’s always present and your teams aren’t looking for a solution. We can also provide you with interior gates. If you have a load over 17’ long, you can close the interior gates. This will maintain the fall protection on the working floor. Then you can open the outer gates and get the item safely landed. This will free up a team member during this landing operation. Then as it’s moved inside, you can temporarily open the gates and have that added person be the monitor.
Example of the interior gate option on our two post decks.
Another advantage of the modular decks is the widths. To expand on this, we have to change out three panels that act as the floor. But the bolt in. So if we change their width, we just need to change the doors and the cross bars on the posts to match. It’s basically infinitely adjust able between 0 and 13’-7”. This prevents you from needing to buy a whole new deck for each specialty job. The costs for us to produce and ship these few items would be nominal versus hiring an engineer and a fabricator to produce exactly the deck you need.
Finally, the post options we have are also significant. If you are on a civil building, you might find that the ceiling to floor height isn’t 10’ like they are just about everywhere else. We’ve solved that too. We can build custom posts up to 26’ tall. For a hospital in Dallas, we delivered the tall posts for the first time. These are beefy posts. And the heights are a bit stunning when you are used to seeing 10’ tall options. If you tell us what you need, we can produce it between that 7’ to 26’ tall range. If we need more options, we’ll want to discuss what would work and see what’s possible.
Tall posts installed and ready to fly. These were powder coated in the customer’s colors.
MEP Ready to Buy a Crane Deck
If you are an MEP ready to buy a crane deck, we can deliver a lower cost option as a fixed deck, or a higher cost modular system that allows you to solve the exact problems you might run across in a career. The engineering is done. Your workload in the planning process is essentially letting us know your maximum width. In most cases we’d have you a drawing in week or two for you to approve. Then we have to build and ship. Plan for 90 to 100 days depending on your location. Get it in your company colors so you can brand it as well. If you want to stop working with what your partners are willing to deliver and just have the right tools from now on, we’re here to help.
Eichinger Crane deck of modular construction. Up to 13’-7” wide. 11,000 lbs of capacity.
