Crane Loading Deck for Multi-Story Construction from Alimak Hek

Hek TPM Transport Platform serves as a moveable crane loading deck on multi-storey construction

A Hek TPM 3000 is utilised during construction of aged care apartments at St Brigid's Green. In addition to its use as a transport platform, the Hek TPM served an additional purpose as a moveable loading deck onto which materials could be craned directly.

A dual solution
St Brigid's Green, located in Sydney's Eastern suburbs, is a $39.3 m development featuring a 4-level residential aged care facility and 67 independent living units spread over four building towers.

During construction, project builder, Hansen Yuncken, required a means of transporting materials 12 meters over the four levels of the structure, as well as a platform system by which materials could be craned directly onto each level. Alimak Hek provided a dual solution in the form of the Hek TPM 3000T2 material transport platform.

No pit or overrun required
Installed in October 2013, the TPM platform was selected by project builder, Hansen Yuncken, for its ability to sit closer to the ground than most other hoist options. Ordinarily, a hoist requires a below-ground pit or overrun, allowing the hoist to come to rest completely level with the ground floor. As no space was available on site for an overrun, the Hek TPM transport platform provided the perfect solution.

Installed directly onto the slab, the TPM has the ability to come to a rest 600mm from the ground, with no need for a ground pit or overrun. Alimak Hek engineered and installed 3 meter gates on the platform, allowing maximum access for the easy loading and offloading of bulky materials and heavy palletized loads via reinforced load ramps.

A moveable loading deck
In addition to serving as a transport platform, delivering materials to required levels, the Hek TPM served an additional purpose as a moveable loading deck onto which materials could be craned directly. Instead of utilizing both retractable crane platforms and a hoist, Hansen Yuncken employed the use of the Hek TPM platform to satisfy both needs.

Rather than install a retractable loading deck on each level of the structure, the Hek TPM was employed as a moveable platform system. In this way, the Hek TPM could be positioned at the designated level, allowing a crane to deliver materials directly to the required floor.

Time and cost savings
The use of the Hek TPM as a materials loading platform offered several advantages, including:
- Time savings with the fast delivery of materials as and when required
- Safe and simple materials handling with loading and unloading of materials localized to a single point on the building
- Less obstruction and interference with the structure, with only the single TPM platform instead of numerous loading decks
- Cost savings, with the single Hek TPM platform serving dual functions.