29.10.2014

What kind of wheel?

Spotted in the centre of Marseille, France, a team putting up a Ferris wheel or is it a wheel of Death ....Wish?

The team was installing the large Ferris wheel near the Vieux Port in the city centre yesterday evening, and while they were clearly very experienced and skilled at their job, the access and lifting methods certainly looked a little questionable. Especially if you compare them with a similar set of photos we have from the installation of a similar wheel in Washington DC a month or two ago, where they even used a 180ft Genie boom for some of the access.
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Spot the man in the wheel - no 180ft boom for him

In this case most of the work at height methods appeared to be down to good old fashioned climbing. But one of the more worrying aspects was the use of a short boom extension on one to the cranes. It looked like a home made fabrication for the specific job at hand. The crane boom itself looked like it has been ‘around the block a few times', but the addition looked a tad boxy and was unpainted – suggesting that it might not be a highly engineered manufacturer approved option?
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So is this handy attachment a highly engineered manufacturer's option?

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Or something knocked up in the workshop?

Definitely some photos for our Death Wish series