HIAB Testing in Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec

Imagine this, testing a customer’s crane in temperatures down to -14°C, winds and sleet that could scour a frying pan clean, and watching a snowstorm brewing. Those are the conditions that two of our brave employees found themselves a couple weeks ago in Northern Quebec.

Two of our experienced technical experts, Stirling Robertson and Marc Mayodon, travelled to the site to carry out and supervise stability testing for a HIAB 477HiPro crane with the Variable Stability Limit (VSL) in the town of Havre-Saint-Pierre, Quebec. The crane was mounted on a rail service vehicle made by Mecfor. The HIAB 477HiPro is used to maintain the track, which shuttles people and equipment in and out of the titanium mine. The time taken by this train ride was about 50 minutes.

The crane was put through an intense day of testing. During the time of testing, the climate posed quite a challenge. The staff and HIAB 477HiPro had to work in the midst of sleet and hail. The crane first handled the material, i.e. the rail in this case, without its stabilizing legs being deployed. The HIAB crane control system was used to perform additional hydraulic functions on the rail car itself. It also monitored the position of an auxiliary high rail system. HIAB’s latest generation crane control systems improve lifting efficiency and cuts fuel consumption to reduce the environmental impact.

The crane easily handled the tough environment and scored top marks on its test! This stability test further strengthened our confidence in the ability of our cranes to perform exceedingly well all across Canada. And our staff deserves full marks for braving the winter conditions.