Crane’s limits set by software

Crane driver Waru Tamarapa, left, can use a wireless internet connection to communicate with the crane’s makers in Germany. Picture / Glenn Jeffrey

A crane being used to build a 36-level apartment building in the centre of Auckland gives new meaning to the expression high-tech.

The $1.6 million machine is not only big and brawny - it can lift up to 32 tonnes - but also brainy.

As well as a human operator, the crane, on the site at the corner of Fort and Gore Sts, is computer-controlled to ensure its load stays within its allowed airspace.

Peter Shaw, of crane maintenance company Bishops, says the German-made Liebherr HCC 160 has Area Restriction System software that can be programmed to manoeuvre its load around obstacles, including a building site's invisible property line. "This is helpful when surrounding buildings do not want their airspace trespassed upon," Shaw said.

The system stops the crane from skewing and makes the operator raise or lower the crane around the restricted airspace.

"It's the first use of the system in New Zealand," Shaw said.

The Microsoft Windows-based system displays the crane's real and allowed turning radius on an LCD screen. It also displays the hook weight and position on site in degrees.

A technician can wirelessly connect a laptop to the crane and to the German manufacturer to configure the machine.

The apartments are being built by Multiplex.