Photo by Nadine M. Post for ENR Vintage cranes at One World Trade Center were banned from future work. Related Links: New York City Floats Ban on Old Cranes Specialized Carriers To Update Exxon Crane Guide A crane's age is not an indicator of its physical fitness, according to a new study by Dallas-based forensic firm Haag Engineering. The results fly in the face of laws in Singapore and pending legislation in New York City, as other cities contemplate forcing crane owners to upgrade aging fleets."Bottom line, there is absolutely no correlation between age and accidents," said Jim Wiethorn, chairman
Related Links: OSHA Proposes Tougher Rules for Silica Dust Exposure OSHA Studies Frac Sand Rules Construction is a risky business full of jobsite hazards, from life-threatening falls to blunt-trauma injuries, but more insidious dangers exist, such as crystalline silica inhalation, which can lead to a type of cancer known as pneumoconiosis. It's what coal miners call black lung disease, where tiny airborne particles cause lesions and scarring on the lungs, gradually leaving workers unable to breathe.Silicosis, its equally harmful cousin, currently affects 1.7 million workers annually, reports the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It is caused by breathing
Photo by Jeff Rubenstone/ENR Scheuerle's on-road trailers, on display at CONEXPO/CON-AGG 2014. Photo Courtesy of TII Group Scheuerle's trailers can be customized to transport wind-turbine blades. Related Links: Heavy Lifters: How Much Can You Bench? Tools of the Trade for Heavy Lifting When the massive components for petrochemical refineries, wind turbines and hydropower plants need to be transported, crews don't have many options. Only a few companies in the world build trailers capable of handling such large loads over the road. Up until now most platform trailers needed to be imported as well, at high costs.Scheuerle—part of German-based TII Group,
Photo by Tudor Van Hampton for ENR Prices for used clean-diesel equipment could drop if global markets continue to have limited access to high-performance diesel fuel, experts say. Related Links: Federal Diesel Emission Rules Add Maintenance Costs Tier-4 Emission Controls Push Up Machine Prices for 2014 Fewer U.S.-made construction machines will be able to find a secondary market overseas in the coming years, resulting in a glut of used equipment in North America and a subsequent drop in used prices, according to a new study from market researcher Manfredi & Associates.The study, titled "Quarantined Markets," investigates the aftermarket effects of
Photo by Tudor Van Hampton for ENR Look for design features that ensure the fluids (air, fuel, oil and perhaps others) used by the machine are filtered and protected to the maximum extent possible. Related Links: How Are You Going To Restore the Capacity of Your Fleet? Book Review: Construction Equipment Economics Equipment is becoming more complex and expensive, and competitive pressures make it essential to get every cent of value out of an equipment investment. The key is to adopt strategies to get a handle on the growing tide of complexity and cost.One approach is to play defense: minimize
Caterpillar Inc. is undertaking a new ad campaign that represents a shift for the Peoria, Ill.-based equipment manufacturing giant. A new video on YouTube, titled "Built for It Trials: Stack," has been viewed over 1.5 million times in only two weeks.The company used its Demonstration & Learning Center in Edwards, Ill., to stage perhaps the largest version of the game Jenga ever attempted. Five Cat machines pushed, pulled and stacked 600-lb wooden blocks in the video, a game that took two weeks to play according to Caterpillar. (The trademarked name Jenga was added to the video title after the licenser
Photo courtesy Wolffkran Wolffkran pioneered the modern tower crane in 1910 and plans to return to the U.S. after a 25-year hiatus. Photo courtesy Wolffkran A freestanding Wolff 1250B works on a pumped-storage dam in the Swiss Alps at Valais. Related Links: New York City Floats Ban on Old Cranes Looking Back: Tower Cranes Enabled Construction of Tall Buildings One of the oldest crane manufacturers, Wolffkran AG, is moving up in the world, with two new high-profile construction projects planned in New York City and San Francisco. Having received support from building officials to operate its signature red tower cranes
Rendering courtesy Liebherr Liebherr plans to use a new building to produce common-rail fuel systems for its line of diesel engines. Related Links: Liebherr Showcases Earthmoving, Lift Equipment at CONEXPO Liebherr Plans To Grow U.S. Market Share By 300% Construction equipment maker Liebherr Group plans to invest $225 million over the next six years and add nearly 248,000 square feet to expand production of clean-diesel engines at its production subsidiary in Bulle, Switzerland.Demand for clean-diesel engine technology worldwide is fueling the need for companies like Liebherr to streamline and expand production of mobile power plants. The Bulle expansion includes a
Photo courtesy of Hertz Hertz Equipment Rental Corp. is the country's third-largest equipment-rental company, with $1.54 billion in revenue last year. Related Links: Tax Law Changes May Hurt Equipment Sales, Boost Rentals in 2014 2014 Equipment Forecast: Mixed Growth Dampens New Machine Sales By spinning off its equipment-rental business, Hertz Global Holdings Inc. hopes to make the construction unit stronger while bolstering its core car-rental service. The Park Ridge, N.J.-based company plans to divest the 355-branch equipment unit into a separate, publicly traded company, valued at $2.5 billion."Hertz was starving the equipment-rental business through a lack of investment," explains Nicholas
Photo by Tudor Van Hampton for ENR Attendees crowded into the Caterpillar booth at CONEXPO 2014. Related Links: ENR Full CONEXPO Coverage Facing Soft Demand in Second Quarter, Caterpillar and Terex Look To Refocus Caterpillar Chairman and CEO Douglas R. Oberhelman says he is “very guardedly optimistic” about 2014 in the U.S. and abroad.“But compared to last year, maybe slightly less guarded,” Oberhelman told the media during the CONEXPO-CON/AGG exhibition, held earlier this month in Las Vegas. After what Cat saw in 2013, he added, “we are keeping all eyes on every cost and every growth piece."Oberhelman offered the following
RSS
