They’re a proven performer, have high strength properties and are a known product in the crane industry. The primary drawback of steel mats has always been weight. Simply put, steel crane mats and outrigger pads are heavy and they often end up being a “third wheel” or better put an extra truck, trailer and employee. This adds significant costs to your operations over the life of every set of steel crane pads. Costs that must be accounted for in your expenses, passed on to your customer or absorbed by your company.
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How much more? Steel crane mats and outrigger pads can weigh more than double compared to FiberMax® Crane Pads. How much difference does that make? Since being introduced into the market in 2014, users of FiberMax Crane Pads consistently report being able to eliminate 1 truck, trailer, and employee per job. On jobs 50 miles or less, that’s typically a $500 savings each way. For jobs that extend thousands of miles away, users have reported saving $5,000 each way.
These results provide two major benefits to companies who use FiberMax Crane Pads vs. steel crane pads. First, the simplified mobilization process results in immediate job cost reduction, which improves profitability. Secondly, lower transportation costs and quicker set-up and tear down leads can lead to lower bids and more jobs.
The transportation, set-up and tear down savings over time allows FiberMax Crane Pads to effectively pay for themselves and generate ROI for you. Althought the initial investment may be slightly higher than for steel crane pads, the operational cost savins over just a few years of use can be thousands of dollars.
FiberMax Crane Pads perform like steel crane mats and outrigger pads due to DICA’s engineered design. The combination of an internal bi-directional sheer web design and a fiberglass laminate surface results in a mat with incredible strength and rigidity. This strength has been proven through extensive physical testing, FEA modeling and field use.
See the following link to learn more about how FiberMax® Crane Pads will outperform steel crane mats and outrigger pads by improving your bottom line and streamlining your mobilization process.
Crane mats are materials that are put on the ground for two reasons:
Crane mats are mostly used by companies in the construction industry.
These could be companies like:
They’re used when heavy machine needs to access areas or work in areas where there is a risk of eroding the ground because of the extreme weight of the plant.
Because of this risk of ground erosion, the heavy plant has to be kept stable by the mats. The worst-case scenario is the machinery tipping over, which could damage itself or other property, or worse, injure or kill someone.
The types of machinery that use crane mats can be things like:
These are heavy-plant vehicles that have tracks, wheels, or outriggers that could sink into the ground.
Some examples of projects that need crane matts are:
There are three styles of crane mats that are used for different reasons.
Liftable crane mats have different shapes and sizes.
Timber is the most popular choice of liftable crane mat. It comes in lengths that often look like railway sleepers. They can be between 100mm-200m (4”-8”) thick.
Timber is a favourite for many reasons. It’s easily accessible, environmentally friendly, and durable.
Because timber crane mats last a few years, they often get sold on when finished with. And when they do eventually wear down, the wood naturally breaks down by decomposing.
A timber crane mat prepared on a gantry for holding a 49t excavator.Timber isn’t the only material used. Crane mats can also be made of composite materials, fibreglass, high-density plastics, metals, and rubber.
To summarise, liftable crane mats can be made of:
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Liftable crane mats are either ‘handleable’ or ‘non-handleable’. Handleable crane mats are small and light enough to be picked up and carried by hand, whereas non-handleable crane mats need to be lifted in place by a machine.
Loose, compactible hardcore materials get used to cover large areas, or areas where liftable mat segments won’t suffice. It also gets used on top of concrete, where the concrete is either too thin or not level (i.e., on a slope).
The types of common materials used in hardcore crane mats are:
Crushed concrete is predominately used as a crane mat for piling rigs. In this instance, the mat is generally called a ‘piling mat’. The rigs might need to cover large areas to drill the piles. These types of machines need level ground to work on, because the work involves extreme precision.
But it’s not just a case of throwing a lot of crushed concrete down and levelling it off. A lot of the time, waste material has to be taken out of the ground first.
Before that, a survey is needed to determine levels. This will tell the contractor how much muck has to be extracted and how much crushed concrete is needed to go back in.
The survey also determines what services are in the ground before digging out. When digging, contractors don’t want to damage things like drainage, cables, or gas or water pipes.
In places where a lot of water might rest, membranes are sometimes laid out under the mat to help prevent fine soils from seeping into the mat.
A Geogrid is often used under the mat. This provides stability and support for the mat. It can also be used to reduce the thickness of the crushed concrete. This is because it can be incorporated as part of the mat, increasing the mat’s strength.
The crushed concrete is then put down in Iayers and compacted.
A concrete base crane mat is useful for a crawler crane that is to stay in one position to do its lifting for a long period. It might be chosen if working on tarmac or existing concrete that is not level or too thin, and that the contractor doesn’t want to dig out.
Crushed concrete can be built up on the existing ground as a base, then concrete gets poured on top within formwork. Steel mesh gets placed withing the concrete for added strength.
When finished, the concrete can be broken up and recycled to use as crushed concrete elsewhere.
Crane mat overall sizes are usually chosen within temporary works designs. The factors that affect the decisions are the size of and weight of the machinery, the type of ground, allowable ground bearing pressure, and outrigger load.
Also, with mats created with hardcore materials, the amount of loose material needed can vary. Again, this depends on the size and weight of the machinery, but also on how much waste needs to be extracted.
The amount of waste to be extracted can depend on the specific levels needed or if the ground is contaminated. A contamination test is often undertaken before excavation.
Crane mats are not the same as outrigger pads. A crane pad is a single piece of material up to 1m² that gets put under outrigger legs to spread the rig’s load.
Outrigger pads are usually light enough to be put in place by hand, but are strong enough to bear the weight of any type of mobile crane. They’re usually made of high-density plastics, like ultra-high-molecular-weight polyethylene (UHMW) or high-density polyethylene (HDPE).
However, if the crane is too heavy, wooden (or other material) mats get used instead to place under the outriggers. This is because the mats cover a larger area, so will spread weight further.
Crane pads are only suitable for bearing the weight of the outriggers, so the ground still needs to be suitable to bear the weight of the whole machine. If it isn’t suitable, this is where crane mats come in. Even a 1m² soft spot can be enough to unbalance a machine.
Hopefully, you now have a good understanding of what crane mats are and what they’re used for. If ever you do projects where mats are needed, you shouldn’t have to provide them yourself. The contractor doing the work will provide them. They will know all the specifications of what’s needed for what machine.
For more information, please visit Composite Outrigger Pads.