Towering success

Earlier this winter, the countryside of Novagli di Montichiari in Brescia, Italy was the backdrop to a spectacular maintenance operation carried out by a Genie ZX-135/70 articulated boom lift, on an aqueduct.

The contractor, Perico Renato SrL Costruzioni Edili (Perico Renato), carefully planned the job to the smallest detail and was helped on site by five operators and the Genie ZX-135/70. The aqueduct structure, which had been out of operation for some  time, required maintenance for safety reasons,  including  preventing debris falling from the concrete slabs on the roof  – attacked  for years by weather and atmosphere events. The work was requested by A2A, an Italian environmental services and heating company. The work was entrusted to the Bergamo-based, Perico Renato, which, in order to reach those heights, turned to a well-known rental company and usual partner, Elevo – Kiloutou.

After many inspections and surveys, including drone video recordings and high-resolution photographs, were conducted as part of the risk assessment, surveyor, Renato Poloni, operations director at Perico Renato, assisted by Elevo technicians, decided to use the Genie ZX-135/70 articulated boom lift.

The ZX-135/70 has a 43.15m (141ft) working height, outreach of 18.03m (59ft 2in), lifting speed from the ground to the maximum height of 96 seconds, 360deg continuous rotation turret and four-wheel drive and four-wheel steering.

The ‘cap’ of the tank was a particularly difficult area to access. However, with a load capacity of 272kg (600lb), an up-and-over height of 23.01m (75ft 6in), a vertical rotation of the jib of 110deg and a range of 3.66 m to 6.1m (12ft to 20ft) with its Jib-Extend, the ZX-135/70 was able to help operators carry out the necessary work safely and efficiently.

Poloni says, “We had to start with the design of both the method of securing the cap and, in collaboration with Elevo’s technicians, the positioning of the platform, paying close  attention to all safety aspects, such as accessibility to the workplace, suspended power  lines,  adjacent geometric impediments, soil bearing capacity, underground installations, etc etc.”

He continues,  “We  then  proceeded  with  the  design, manufacturing and installation of a  safety net coupled with an anti-debris net, both with a diameter of 15m (49ft 2.5in) and weighing more than 60kg (132lb). This was laid out, pulled up to the edges of the “hat” and then integrated with a 1m wide band, sewn with special rope, along the entire perimeter.”

To be certain that the Genie ZX-135/70 could be used, the weight, footprint, work diagram to reach every point of the structure, stability and sustainability of the terrain, were evaluated beforehand. Two reinforced concrete stalls weighing about 20t (40,000lb) were built over a total area of 128sqm (1377sqft) to allow the machine, through only two positions, to reach all points of the tank.

The use of the Genie ZX-135/70 proved to be a suitable solution for a job of this nature and complexity. Coordinated by Perico Renato, five technicians (one in the basket and four on the top of the structure) worked at a height of 40m (131ft 2.8in) for two days. Among them were A2A personnel and professionals working with ropes (the riggers), who guaranteed a very high level of safety. For the Bergamo-based company, which specialises in civil and industrial construction, this was a special maintenance project, carried out with efficiency and speed, to the customer’s full satisfaction.