Hire and Rental News - February 2017

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47 HIRE AND RENTAL NEWS • EVENTS in FOCUS • FEBRUARY 2017
According to Viking Industrial’s Director,
Luke Rennie, Hutchies predominantly
use generators to power its fleet of tower
cranes.
“This can present a number of challenges
including:
• light loading caused by intermittent
crane use;
• glazing of generator causing excess
emissions in built up areas;
• excess fuel consumption due to
generator over sizing; and
• shortened lifespan of generator
engines,” Luke said.
“To overcome this, Viking worked with
Hutchinson Builders Plant Yard personnel
to develop a generator sizing plan for
each of their different models of cranes
and hoists.
"It was also specified Hutchinson
Builders would only accept Tier 3
emission rating certified engines on their
sites to ensure minimum disruption and
inconvenience to residents adjacent to
the sites.
"Viking also provided Hutchies with
a summary of available engines in the
various sizes required to ensure the
most fuel efficient manufacturers were
selected."
Hutchinson Builders Generators are now
also fitted with Sumo ‘Load Boy,’ Plug n
Play load banking switches.
“This enables a technician to quickly
have seen the twisters on TV and we all
remember the Wizard of OZ, however
don’t be fooled into thinking the USA
rule of thumb is for worst case scenario,
it’s not. The article clearly spells out the
rule is applicable to 45mph winds, this
converts to 72.42kph.
We can conclude from this the practice
in the USA is much the same as ours,
in terms of weight required. It is also
interesting to note in the article they
discuss the practice of using water
weights, in some part addressing the
issues of sliding on hard surfaces.
The use of water weights seems to
be a fairly hot topic, with two of the
contributors Mike Holland, owner and
president of Chattanooga Tent Co and
Brian Richardson, President of L&A Tent
Rentals, both clearly stating they won’t
use them.
Brian makes the point the attachment
from the water barrels is at the top
of the barrel rather than at the base;
his indication this would reduce
effectiveness ‘’to about 25%’’ would
seem to be very accurate.
While it would be helpful to see more
information on how sliding is addressed
in regards to USA practices, the issue
is clearly dealt with in the notes of the
HRIA guide.
It is refreshing to see Maura’s well
researched and in depth article about a
really important topic. None of us want
accidents or marquees failing. Every
failure reflects badly on the industry as a
whole regardless of the circumstances.
The article leaves us with a sage piece
of advice: “Don’t let your installation
be one of those accidents waiting to
happen, because one day it will”.
Smarter, cleaner, cheaper power
Viking Industrial recently assisted Hutchinson Builders to
develop a plan to deliver innovation and cost savings to its
internal generator fleet.
attach a load bank to the generators on
site, after hours to reverse the impact of
any light loading that has occurred.
"This innovation saves Hutchinson
Builders around $1,000 per month
in service and labour costs per site,
significantly extends the operating life
of the generator and ensures the engine
does not produce any excess smoke or
emissions,” Luke said.
“The result is Hutchinson Builders
now leads the industry in providing
the cleanest, greenest and cheapest
generators for high rise construction in
Australia.”
Contact: 1300 365 721 or visit website:
Viking fitted Hutchinson Builders Generators
with ‘Sumo Load Boy’, Plug n Play load banking
switches to save money and time
EVENTS in FOCUS