First tower crane comes down on Frankston Hospital redevelopment site

The first of four tower cranes on the Frankston Hospital redevelopment site has been taken down, as the redevelopment enters its final year of construction.

The crane was the first to arrive on the site in March 2023. Capable of hoisting up to 14 tonnes of materials at a time, the crane supported major structural works on the new multi-deck carpark and eastern side of the new hospital tower.

The space left behind by the crane will now be filled in with concrete slabs, making way for internal works to be finished.

The remaining three tower cranes will be taken down progressively when they’re no longer needed, and as the project shifts its focus from the remaining external works to internal fit-out and finishing works.

How we disassembled the first tower crane

Weighing around 138 tonnes, the process to take down the first tower crane on the redevelopment site required a coordinated approach. The crane crew pays special attention to keeping everything balanced, only undoing bolts and pins when each section is safely rigged and weighted.

The process:

1. The tower crane was taken down piece by piece by another crane on the site. (When there’s no other crane close by, often a mobile crane will be temporarily set up to help with dismantling.)
2. The jib was lowered horizontally to its lowest turning radius. The jib is the long arm extending out from the crane which carries the load.
3. For this crane, the jib was split into two pieces and each piece lifted to the ground separately.
4. The various components of the crane, including the hoist drum and power pack, were then lifted down.
5. We continued to remove the components on the deck, including the A-frame. The A-frame is a structure used for leverage, allowing tower cranes to lift heavier weights.
6. The ‘towers’ (which are what gives the tower crane its height) were then lifted down, one section at a time.
7. Finally, all the components were loaded into trucks waiting on the ground and then transferred off-site, ready for the next build.