Crane hire is an important part of construction projects, especially for contractors who don’t have cranes in their fleet or need a boost to their range of cranes for a specific job. But sourcing a crane isn’t the whole story - hirers also need someone to operate it.

Hi-Range Crane Forks offers hi-rail cranes for hire with expert operators and railway services with our fleet of cranes suitable for work with Tier 1 companies. Find out more about why hi-rail crane hire would work for you here.

Reason 1 - Legalities

Not everyone can operate every crane. For most cranes on most jobs, you will need a High-Risk Work (HRW) licence to hire a crane.
But that doesn’t mean anyone with any HRW licence can hire a crane. If you have one type of HRW licence, you may have to consider the type of crane you are using and what you are using it for to verify if a different licence is required.

Hire companies like Hi-Range Crane Forks have an in-depth understanding of what licences are required for certain tasks, and can offer a professional in that field with all the required accreditations.

Some cranes that you will need a HRW licence of some kind for include:

• Bridge and gantry cranes
• Vehicle loading cranes
• Vessel-mounted cranes
• Tower cranes
• Mobile cranes

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Hi-rail cranes are a type of mobile crane, which in many situations requires an operator to have a HRW licence.

Reason 2 - Safety

Without the Work Health and Safety knowledge of professionals, including extensive experience in properly setting up the crane, checking the ground stability and level, adjusting to weather conditions, monitoring the crane, and constantly re-calculating the crane’s actual lift capacity based on its level of wear-and-tear, even properly accredited operators who don’t handle cranes for a living could easily pose a safety risk. Even experienced operators who haven’t worked with the particular model of crane they are looking to hire are more likely to make devastating mistakes than the operators already assigned to that crane by the hire company.

Hi-Range Crane Forks recommends crane operators that have not used hi-rail cranes hire a crane operator from the hire company to do so.

Reason 3 - Bang for your buck

Get this: when you hire a crane operator, you’re not just hiring a crane operator. A professional crane operator from your hire company will also:

• Rig the crane
• Set up the boom and cabling
• Prepare the hoist
• Secure a mobile crane
• Block and level the crane
• Test the crane and other equipment
• Verify that the right attachments are installed correctly

A Hi-Range Crane Forks operator will complete all the specialised hi-rail tasks needed for the set-up, pack-down, operation, and safety requirements of a hi-rail crane.

If your crane is stationed on a job site for a significant period of time, it will need regular maintenance and upkeep. Where a hire company may charge extra for these works on a dry hire project, smaller adjustments to the machine, including small troubleshooting solutions, can sometimes be performed by the operator, hassle-free.

Reason 4 - Getting the right crane

Although hire companies can always guide you on the equipment you may need based on the details of your project, having an operator from that company on the ground ensures the hire company knows more about the project than they would from a phone call, and thus they can better pair you with a crane. Hiring a crane that best suits your project ensures safer, more efficient, and higher quality work, no matter who is operating it.

Safe Work Australia recommends “Before you choose a crane, you should discuss your workplace needs with your suppliers”. Some of Safe Work’s considerations of crane hire include:

• How long you’ll have it for
• How often you’ll use it
• What conditions you’ll use it in (including the conditions where a hi-rail crane is needed)
• The maximum load the crane can bear

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These are very general questions, so having a professional operator from the hire company to look more closely at your actual needs goes a long way.

Wet hire a hi-rail crane from Hi-Range Crane Forks today

We supply hi-rail cranes for hire with expert Hi-Range Crane Forks operators all over New South Wales. We pride ourselves on our high-quality machinery, skilled operators, and attention to detail.

Contact us today for a free quote or crane hire advice, and our friendly team will get back to you as soon as we can.