TOWERING AHEAD!

The desire for luxurious living has created a demand for a larger number of residential buildings with grand interiors. These growing construction activities in India have created the demand for cranes.

Infrastructure and industrial development have played a crucial role in the Indian economy over the past few years. The Indian government is expected to increase its spending on public infrastructure to meet its ambitious development plans. Furthermore, the government’s plans, such as 100 smart cities, are expected to boost construction activity in the country and increase the demand for construction equipment. These increased investments and the growing construction sector are expected to drive the Indian crane market further in the future.

In February 2020, the National Buildings Construction Corporation (NBCC) in India planned the redevelopment of three government projects worth INR 32,000 crore in the national capital and is expected to complete the work within the next three years. The industry is poised for rapid growth in the coming years, with major investment plans in infrastructure and construction. The demand is likely to be driven by an increase in investment in the industries across India, by both domestic and international companies.

Market Trends

Over the past few years, the construction industry has seen a huge growth, which has created a demand for construction equipment.

The crane market in India started growing post-2016, as the Central government and various state governments initiated heavy construction projects like Smart City projects, metro rail projects. Moreover, projects like Dedicated Freight Corridor is also expected to boost the construction industry, thereby creating a demand for cranes.

India needs approximately USD 7 trillion over the next seven years. This demand itself would trigger a construction equipment (CE) business of around USD 180-200 billion at the current rate of equipment penetration over the next decade. In 2019, the Central government announced plans to increase the investment in the infrastructure sector by investing about USD 1.39 trillion over the next five years.

Indian roadways are the second-largest in the world. Owing to the increasing number of vehicles and traffic, the government is planning to further extend the roadways in the coming years. Moreover, the Ministry of Road Transport and Highway is planning to award road projects with a total length of around 4,500 km worth USD 7.15 billion. Increasing investments in the infrastructure sector and other strategic initiatives of the government are expected to boost the construction sector in the country, in turn, propelling the demand for cranes in the country.

Moreover, the construction of new cities becomes an epicenter of infrastructure activities like construction of bridges, flyover, laying of pipelines, etc., creating a demand for cranes. For instance, the state government of Gujarat is developing Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), which is India’s first operational smart city and international finances services center. The city is likely to cover a construction area of 8.5 million square meters, with 200 skyscrapers. The state government is also developing double corridor metro system to connect GIFT city to the nearby airport and various parts of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar.

The government of India is also constructing one of the largest greenfield airport projects in the world named Navi Mumbai International Airport (NMIA). The first phase of the airport will be able to handle more than 20 million passengers annually and the airport will be expanded to handle more than 90 million passengers annually.

Thus, the ongoing projects and the growing investment from the foreign players and government side are driving the crane market in the country. Therefore, the market studied is anticipated to grow.

Product

The flat-top tower crane market was having a revenue share of over 15% in 2018 and are gaining demand due to the safety and easy handling features in newly developed machines. The flat-top models offer easy & fast erection as compared to other models due to fewer jib interferences, leading to huge cost savings. These machines are suitable for multi-crane worksites and application areas with height restrictions. These cranes can be easily dismantled and will reduce interference in cases of overflying cranes. The utilization of these models will also limit the cost of procuring several cranes at various construction & mining sites. The flat-top models find applications in congested worksites such as airports, power plants, etc., further contributing to industry growth.

Design

Top slewing cranes are witnessing increasing demand due to their suitability for medium to high-rise building projects and longer duration needs. These cranes have stationary features and rest on structural & steel bases, providing stability in weightlifting operations. Growing needs to transfer heavy loads from one place to the other in utility & construction applications are increasing the demand for top slewing models, further developing the tower crane market. Several manufacturers in the industry are working on improving the machinery features and have developed various models that include top-slewing crane features. For instance, in December 2018, Manitowoc announced the launch of its new internal mast operator model for the top slewing category. The company’s new lift allows elevator access & simultaneous ladder & meets the French design regulations.

Lifting Capacity

In the tower crane market, the 6 to 20 metric tons segment is anticipated to grow at 8% CAGR. The segment is gaining traction owing to the availability of flat-top, hammerhead, and luffing jib machines with these specifications. These are the medium-range machines that can lift loads ranging from 6 to 20 metric tons. Several load handling & transporting operations in the oil & gas and energy sector is adding up to the demand for these machines. Various technical specifications, reduced pollution levels, and enhanced software integrated features are supporting high machinery utilization, further driving the tower crane market growth.

According to GMinsights.com, the rapid expansion of the real-estate sector and the emergence of high-end infrastructure projects across several countries are supporting the utilization of tower crane market products. In the global construction industry, these machines are becoming popular due to the ability to work efficiently at high-rise building sites. Additionally, to address the growing construction & infrastructure demand, machine manufacturers are offering specific distributor allocation & customer specific product mix. Efficient customer support and the provision of capacity-specific products by manufacturers are fostering the growth of construction applications in the tower crane market. These machines find applications in the construction of dams, bridges, and other public & private infrastructure facilities.

Industry by background

The tower crane market is highly competitive due to the presence of major construction & industrial equipment manufacturers across the globe. The industry is witnessing the requirement for more models with heavy lifting capacities and the ability to work in confined work sites. This is creating pressure for new product development strategies for manufacturers. The machinery providers are working on enhancing the crane specifications and ensuring integration of more safety features to provide worker & public safety. Moreover, the industry is also witnessing a huge demand for rental models owing to the high equipment cost and the unavailability of several machines with a single contractor.

Safety Management

The main causes of tower crane accidents are carelessness, negligence or misjudgment of participants, inadequate training, sub-contracting operators, and pressure from tight schedules.

Carelessness is often cited in conjunction with other factors, such as working too close to a high-voltage line or being struck by a moving load. Therefore, safety management and safety culture on site are crucial for the decrease of accident rates related to tower cranes.

The following factors influence on-site safety performance.

The length of work shift for tower crane operators usually extend beyond normal working hours because materials are often delivered before and after work hours. Hence, the crane operators are typically the first to arrive and the last to leave. Further, due to the time and effort required for operators to get into the crane cab, managers tend to minimize shift changes. The long, repetitive, and monotonous work may cause the crane operator to lose focus and alertness. With the increase of both physical and mental fatigue, the chances of accidents increase as well.

• Operator aids includes crane monitoring and the information received from signalers and crews. Communications between operators and signalers are usually achieved by radio or similar technologies, where the instructions from a signaler plays an important role. Hence, signaler shall be trained to properly instruct crane operations. Crane safety monitoring systems include digital-display load indictors, 2D/3D crane operation graphic displays, GPS based weather and wind warning systems, anti-collision and zoning systems for sites with overlapping cranes, and video cameras that enable the operator follow the review of loading. These new technologies often compensate for human fallibility and prevents accidents.
• Human resource management helps to ensure that the operator has the characteristics required to ensure a safe working environment. Objective measures of operator skills include formal training and certifications, accumulated experience and safety record.

To sum up, the chances of tower crane-related accidents significantly increases when safety management is deficient. Tower crane safety can be achieved through site-level and company-level actions. Site-level actions include training, preventive actions, monitoring, on-going inspections and balanced rewards and punishments. Safety for company-level management are usually measured by the allocation of resources, planning and scheduling, and strictly enforced inspection policies and procedures.

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