Fibre Reinforced Facade Encyclopedia: Installation
Crane lift planning is the process of selecting a lifting method, a machine and a rigging arrangement for each facade panel, and of proving by calculation that the chosen combination can place the panel at its required radius and height within safe working limits. It begins with panel weight and finishes with a lift study prepared by the installer’s engineer. On a lightweight facade it is often the item that determines the whole installation strategy, because a panel light enough to be placed by a spider crane or an inverted vacuum lifter does not need tower crane time, and tower crane time is usually the scarcest resource on a high rise site.
A 3 m by 1.5 m panel weighs about 25 kg in ShapeShell-RT FRP at the light end of its range, about 200 kg in glass fibre reinforced concrete (GRC), and about 1.6 tonnes in 150 mm precast concrete. Those three numbers require three completely different lifting methods.
At a glance
| Property | Typical value | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Manual handling limit | Governed by a risk assessment, not a fixed number | Team lifts and mechanical aids used well below any nominal limit |
| Panel weight, ShapeShell-RT FRP | 5 to 32 kg/m2 | Published range; many panels are within mechanical aid territory |
| Panel weight, ShapeShell-RC GRC | 30 to 50 kg/m2 | Published range including frame or ribs |
| Panel weight, 150 mm precast | about 360 kg/m2 | For comparison; a crane item in every case |
| Spider crane capacity | 0.5 to 3 tonnes at short radius | Fits in a lift car and works on a completed slab |
| Vacuum lifter capacity | 150 to 1,000 kg typical | Needs a smooth, non-porous, airtight face |
| Mobile crane classes | City, all terrain and crawler | Selected on radius, height and ground bearing pressure |
| Wind limit on lifting | Set by the crane manufacturer’s chart for the load | Large panels sail; the limit falls as area rises |
| Lift study | Prepared by the installer’s engineer | Site specific; no generic chart substitutes for it |
Method follows weight, and weight follows material
The first question in any lift plan is how much the panel weighs, which is why panel weights belong on the shop drawing schedule rather than being calculated on site. Weight then sorts panels into broad method bands. Very light panels can be handled by a two person team with mechanical assistance and placed from an elevating work platform. Panels in the low hundreds of kilograms suit a spider crane, a monorail and trolley, a davit arm or a material handler. Heavier units require a mobile or tower crane, and above a tonne or so the crane choice starts to drive the site layout.
This is where a lightweight facade pays for itself twice. Lighter panels reduce the crane class needed, and they also allow the facade to progress independently of the tower crane, so the facade trade is not queueing behind formwork and steel deliveries. On recladding work the effect is stronger still, because there is often no crane on site at all and the alternative to a light panel is erecting one.
Machines and attachments
- Mobile cranes: city cranes for tight urban sites, all terrain for reach, crawler cranes where ground conditions and long duration favour tracks. Ground bearing pressure and outrigger loads must be checked against the slab or the ground, and against any basement below
- Tower cranes: available but usually contested; facade lifts compete with structure and services
- Spider cranes: compact tracked cranes that pass through a doorway or a lift car and set up on a completed floor, widely used for internal atria and for recladding
- Vacuum lifters: place panels with a smooth, non-porous, airtight face without edge slings. They need a face that can be sealed against and a power and vacuum reserve with an alarm
- Monorails, davits, gantries and gin wheels: fixed lifting arrangements used where a crane cannot reach, common on occupied buildings
- Elevating work platforms and telehandlers: placing and adjustment rather than primary lifting
Lifting points and rigging
Lifting points are designed into the panel, not improvised. In GRC and precast they are cast in: ferrules, lifting eyes, swift lift anchors or plates welded to the stud frame, with the local frame or reinforcement built up to suit. In fibre reinforced polymer they are laminated in: bonded inserts, backing plates or through-bolted spreaders with the laminate locally thickened around them, because a fastener bearing on a thin laminate will pull through.
Rigging then has to match. Sling angles increase the force in each leg, so a wide two-leg sling can double the load on a lifting point that was designed for a vertical pull. Spreader beams keep the pull vertical on tall panels, tag lines control rotation, and a dynamic factor is applied to account for acceleration during the lift. Every lifting point and every accessory carries a rated capacity and an inspection record.
The lift study, exclusion zones and wind
The lift study is the controlling document and it is prepared by the installer’s engineer for the specific site, the specific crane and the specific panels. It records the crane configuration and counterweight, the load radius and the corresponding rated capacity, ground or slab bearing checks, the rigging arrangement, the position of the crane relative to structures and services, the exclusion zone, the lift sequence and the emergency arrangements. Nothing on this page substitutes for it.
Exclusion zones are set so that no person is beneath a suspended load or within the fall zone, which on a facade lift usually means closing footpaths, roads or balconies, coordinating with adjacent trades, and posting spotters. Lifting is supervised by a licensed dogger or rigger, and the crane operator holds the relevant high risk work licence.
Standards and references
- AS 1418 series, cranes, hoists and winches, including AS 1418.1 general requirements
- AS 2550 series, cranes, safe use, including AS 2550.1 general requirements and AS 2550.5 mobile cranes
- AS 3850 parts 1 and 2, prefabricated concrete elements, for lifting inserts, temporary bracing and handling
- AS 4991, lifting devices, and AS 1666 and AS 3775 for slings and chain slings
- Model Work Health and Safety Regulations, high risk work licensing and the requirements for a safe work method statement
- AS/NZS 1170.2 wind actions, for the wind data underlying the site wind assessment
Related terms
Questions specifiers ask
Do lightweight facade panels always avoid a crane?
No, but they widen the options. Panels in the tens of kilograms per square metre can often be placed with a spider crane, a vacuum lifter, a monorail or an elevating work platform, which avoids competing for tower crane time and can avoid bringing a crane to site at all.
Who prepares the lift study?
The installer’s engineer, for the specific site, crane and panels. It is a site specific document covering crane configuration, radius and capacity, ground or slab bearing, rigging, exclusion zones and sequence.
How are lifting points provided in a composite panel?
They are designed in. GRC and precast use cast-in ferrules, lifting eyes or plates welded to the stud frame. FRP uses laminated-in inserts, backing plates or through-bolted spreaders with locally thickened laminate, because thin laminate will not take a bearing load.
What wind speed stops a facade lift?
There is no single figure. The limit comes from the crane manufacturer’s chart for the actual load area and falls as panel area rises, so large light panels stop earlier than compact heavy ones. It is read at lift height from a site anemometer.
Why do sling angles matter?
Because the force in each sling leg rises as the angle from vertical increases. A wide two-leg sling can put roughly double the vertical load into a lifting point, which is how correctly rated inserts still fail.
Working out how a facade can be installed without tower crane time? Our lightweight GRC and FRP panels open up smaller lifting methods. Talk to our project team
Reviewed by Richard Halvorsen, General Manager, ShapeShift Technologies. Last updated September 2026.