Extreme TRAMing

A team from Australia and the U.S. combined in the bitter cold of Idaho Falls to successfully install the TRAM Safety System onto three lattice crane booms for Wanzek Construction, each boom being over 200 feet long. Kevin McCrory, Wanzek's crane operations manager, saw the TRAM System at a crane convention and ordered them for their DeMag, CC2800 and CC2500 crawler cranes.

"With new Cranes and Derricks laws in place and operators climbing on top of the lattice cranes when they rig the cranes, height safety has always been an issue," McCrory said. "We, [at Wanzek], take safety very seriously. The TRAM is the only system that I saw that would save an operator from a fall and the ease of use really caught my eye. It is a very robust, well-engineered system that fits together and folds away. The feedback from those who helped with the install has been very positive."

 

The weather was a huge issue for the install as conditions were extreme, registering -20° wind chills. The TRAM was put to work immediately, acting as the fall prevention system as each section was completed. In the end, teamwork and persistence paid off. Martin Jones and Dave Gwin from TRAM Australia Pacific, George Thomas from the US's NCCI-National Crane Compliance Inspections LLC, Standfast USA personnel, and Wanzek's team battled the elements and completed the install.

 

"We lost 4 days to the weather. We simply had to shut down," said Jones. "Being Australian, Dave and I had never experienced such extreme cold conditions. Once we got going though, the team performed magnificently. The TRAMS ran smoothly in the extreme cold.  [It was] really impressive."