Grove GMK5220 delivers a lesson in engineering excellence at Manila’s Far Eastern University

• Limited space for installation of new air conditioning system on university building. 
• Grove GMK5220 is the best option in terms of capacity reach and size.
• Work completed in just 4 hours. 

At the Far Eastern University in the Philippines’ capital city Manila there was much head scratching about the best way to remove an old inefficient air-conditioning system from an 11-story building and replace it with a new one. But after assessing the project site a joint venture of two contractors concluded the job could be finished by a single crane – the Grove GMK5220 all-terrain crane – and what’s more work could be wrapped up in just one day. 

The contractors in questions were Ravago Equipment Rentals Inc. and Asia Evolution (AsiaE) who were engaged by Ohms-Psi Construction Trading a building-services company engaged to fit the new air-conditioning system. AsiaE was the logistics and delivery contractor while Ravago which is a multi-discipline industrial company supplied the crane from its large rental fleet – one of the biggest in The Philippines. AsiaE calculated that the installation of the new aircon system would require three lifts each of 14 t to install the chiller plus another lift to position the 3 t of additional accessories all of which would be lifted to the top of the building. 

After consulting with Ravago AsiaE decided that the Grove GMK5220 would be the best crane to handle the work. Ravago recommended the crane not only because it had the strength reach and maneuverability to make the lifts but also because it was fast enough to complete the job inside a day. 

The five-axle Grove GMK5220 has a 220 t maximum capacity and a 68 m main boom. Reach can be extended to up to 108 m through the addition of jib attachments. The crane is also relatively narrow with a 3 m width and at the Far Eastern University site that was a plus. However the roads surrounding the building were so narrow that even though the GMK5220 was compact enough to access the lift site in order to extend its outriggers AsiaE had to get special permission from the local council to dismantle some barriers. On the day there were over 30 people from both Ravago and AsiaE working on the set up for the technical set of lifts.  

An on-site audience was also in attendance as senior engineering students from the university were invited to watch the installation work. The crane operator set the lifting parameters in accordance with the engineering plans and the three lifting points for the chiller and accessories were set. One by one each lift was completed and all went exactly to plan with no damage to any surrounding object despite the highly congested working area. Although 7 hours were initially allocated for the work in the end the whole project was wrapped up in just 4 hours. 

Andy Gagarin project manager with Ohms-Psi Construction Trading said the smoothness of the installation process prompted some celebrations on the project. 

“We were all very impressed with how beautifully this high precision lift was completed ” he said. 

Michael Macatangay sales manager for mobile cranes at Manitowoc’s Philippines office said the project allowed the GMK5220 to showcase its speed strength and compact size. 

“This was a great job for the Grove GMK5220 and a really good showcase for its capabilities ” he said. “It was able to maneuver into a tight spot between buildings set up and then place a series of heavy loads on top of an 11 story building. By the day’s end the crane was back at Ravago’s yard and ready to go to its next job.”