Luxury extras abound on NZ's tallest tower crane

The crane being built on the Commercial Bay site in Auckland.

More than 40 seat adjustment options and a camera on the end of the giant hook are luxury extras on what will be New Zealand's tallest tower crane.

Mark Clayton, Fletcher Construction's tower cranes and hoists manager, told of features on the new German-built Liebherr 357 Luffing Crane on Precinct Properties' $850 million Commercial Bay site.

The crane operator's life was easier due to the sophisticated features, Clayton said.

"He's got all the latest state-of-the art-equipment in there including something which is produced exclusively by Fletchers, which is a hook camera system. He's got a screen about the size of an iPad in his cabin and there's a camera attached to the crane hook and he can see directly down. For every metre in height, he's got a metre in width, so he's got everything going for him.

"Even the seat in the operator's cab - he's got over 40 adjustment because when he's up there eight to 10 hours, he needs to be as comfortable as he can," Clayton said.

The crane will be 97m tall initially but then to climb to almost a quarter of a kilometre high as the building rises.

"As the building climbs up, the crane will follow it in seven separate increments of climbing," Clayton said, telling how the crane would be secured back to the PwC tower.

The crane will has a massive boom of 45m, with 37 tonnes of counter-weight, he said.

It can lift 32 tonnes, and specialised chains and rigging were purchased because existing equipment was inadequate.

Four cranes are being used on the site, nicknamed Eenie, Meenie, Miney and Mo. In a jibe at its height and might, the tallest crane was nicknamed Eenie.

A Liebherr 357 Luffing Crane like Fletcher's.

Clayton said the driver's climb from the ground into the cab can take up to a quarter of an hour.

"This will normally take 10 to 15 minutes because he's doing his daily checks at the time," he said.