Working at height, at night, in one of Brisbane’s busiest precincts. Any EWP night work job calls for the right machinery and a crew with the right level of experience. Time and space are both limited, meaning efficiency, skill and attention to safety are all critical.
Corecom Services recently contacted Performance Tower Hire to support a telecommunications project along Grey Street in South Bank. Here’s what the job looked like:
- Two nights of EWP work
- Multiple stakeholders to coordinate
- Full traffic lane closure required
- A strict 9pm to 5am working window.
In this case study we’re going to take a close look at the location, the EWP hire work required and why the machine we provided was the right one.
The Location: Grey Street in South Bank
Grey Street runs through South Bank, one of Brisbane’s busiest entertainment and cultural precincts. The area has theatres, restaurants, hotels, and multiple businesses in a concentrated space. Setting up a large truck-mounted EWP required a fair bit of coordination.
Job Coordination
The work was done at night to reduce the level of disruption. Still, we needed to close an entire traffic lane to accommodate our elevated work platform and its stabilisers. This closure was only green-lit for between 9pm and 5am, so in that time we had to establish traffic control, position the machine, complete the telecommunications works and clear the road.
Multiple Stakeholders
Planning involved coordination with several stakeholders, including the Optus Playhouse, South Bank Corporation, Telstra, Optus and surrounding businesses.
As you can see, there were a number of moving parts. Things needed to go smoothly on our end, and a large part of that was making sure we supplied the right machine for the job. After consultation with Corecom, it was decided PTH542 was the ideal truck EWP.
The Machine: Socage TJJ54 (PTH542)
Our PTH542 truck-mounted EWP is a Socage TJJ54. Engineered and manufactured in Italy, it has impressive reach, boom manoeuvrability and the ability to operate in restricted spaces. All of these would prove vital for this telecommunications job.
The TJJ54 has a maximum working height of 54 metres and horizontal outreach of up to 40 metres. That gives operators plenty of flexibility when accessing elevated telecommunications infrastructure.
Let’s look at the features that really proved useful on the night works in South Bank.
600kg Capacity and Extendable Basket
A generous 600kg platform capacity allows personnel and gear to be carried within the machine’s rated limits.
Its extendable basket provides plenty of working space and greater freedom when the work is underway. In telecommunications work, technicians may need to access different points around an installation, so this flexibility is a real plus.
Variable Stabiliser Positioning
Setting up a large truck-mounted EWP within a closed traffic lane has its challenges. The PTH542 has variable stabiliser positioning, which provides flexibility when establishing a safe operating footprint, particularly where available ground space is limited.
On the Grey Street project, this was important due to the restricted setup area and surrounding infrastructure.
Excellent Boom Manoeuvrability
The PTH542’s long, highly manoeuvrable boom allows the operator to position the basket accurately around obstacles and reach elevated work areas.
When you’re working in an inner-city location like South Bank, buildings, signs, trees, and more can complicate access. Being able to manoeuvre around them is essential, and the Socage TJ544 makes that happen.
The machine is also available with an optional 1,500kg winch for lifting, although it wasn’t required for this particular project.
EWP Night Work
With all work taking place between 9pm and 5am, nighttime visibility was another important consideration. The PTH542 comes equipped with built-in LED lighting in the cage and along its long booms, which provides excellent visibility when working at night. .
The operator is able to monitor the boom and working area while positioning the basket. Another useful feature is the portable cage control system. Instead of being restricted to a single fixed control position, the operator can select a position within the cage that gives the safest view of the work area.
Combined with the machine’s precise boom controls, these features help with careful positioning during nighttime operations. They’re key to making every job as safe as possible, no matter where or when it takes place.
Telecommunications EWPs Available Now in Brisbane
Telecommunications EWP work doesn’t always happen in convenient locations. Often you’re accessing infrastructure in a busy commercial precinct, so getting your crew and gear into the right spot can be a challenge.
Performance Tower Hire provides telecommunications EWP hire across Brisbane and South East Queensland. We have a range of truck-mounted machines offering working heights from 16 to 54 metres, so whatever the job you’re undertaking our EWP fleet will have you covered.
We have machines suited to restricted access and high-reach applications, and our experienced operators are well-versed in all aspects of working at heights. If you’ve got a telecommunications project coming up, get in touch. We’ll be able to help you get it done seamlessly, even if access is difficult or night work is required.
Chat soon.
