Valla Cranes to make light work

Hull City Council in the UK has made savings in streetlight improvements in residential areas of the town using a mini crawler crane. A remote control Valla 20 TRX has increased efficiency by seven fold in the lifting and removal of unsafe concrete lamp posts from pedestrian footpaths and alleyways, according to Valla UK.

Once extracted from the ground the posts, which can weigh up to 275 kg, are carried by the crane and placed on a flatbed truck for disposal. This operation previously required the erection of individual access towers with containment netting around each post, which were then cut down in sections and the pieces dragged by hand to the truck.

Of particular benefit to Hull City Council, is the crane's pick and carry duty. The 20 TRX has rough terrain rubber tracks and a 950 mm-wide chassis. In addition to negotiating kerbs and narrow footpaths, the remote control operation helps users manoeuvre the self propelled crane from a safe distance.

John Harland, street lighting operations manager at Hull City Council, said, “Each team have gone from removing around three posts per day to anything up to 21, and by doing away with sawing and manual handling of posts it is considerably safer too.”