Propson Construction embraces the trend of using rotating telehandlers for residential builds, citing benefits like increased efficiency, cost savings, and improved safety. The Manitou MRT 3050's versatility and remote operation capabilities make it a valuable asset on construction sites.
Photo courtesy of Manitou
Propson Construction is a family-owned and operated business that prides itself on bringing its customers’ visions to life, enjoying the process and creating a great working atmosphere among employees.
"We build homes, build up people and build dreams."
Those words are at the heart of Propson Construction — a family-owned and operated business that prides itself on bringing its customers' visions to life, enjoying the process and creating a great working atmosphere among employees.
The Wisconsin-based company specializes in framing large, custom residential homes, readying them for subcontractors to complete the shingles, heating, plumbing and other finishing touches.
As Dave Propson, owner of Propson Construction, puts it, "We're giving the house its bones."
Along the way, the company doesn't shy away from a challenge.
Photo courtesy of Manitou
Many of the large builds Propson Construction works on are on smaller lots, with limited access to the properties. At times, the crew may be almost completely cut off from the backside of the lot, a circumstance that requires expertise to navigate and a bit of ingenuity.
"We have to find unique ways to do as much work with some foresight," said Propson. "We put a lot of thought into executing everything that we can into larger components and setting those in place with equipment rather than moving materials using a strong back and weak mind. It's a lot of just getting ahead of the issues rather than saying that we'll figure it out later."
Having the right equipment is critical, which is why Propson relies on the Manitou MRT 3050 rotating telehandler that he purchased from dealer partner, Ideal Crane. It is among the many pieces of Manitou equipment the company has had over the years, due to what Propson cites as the brand's durability and innovation.
More importantly, it represents a growing trend of homebuilders embracing the flexibility that a rotating telehandler provides their construction site. It allows them to have fewer machines on their site and in their fleet, and it performs all of the critical tasks required in residential construction up to two stories and over a larger footprint.
Propson has owned and operated Manitou rotating telehandlers for more than 10 years — and he sees them as a unique benefit to a framing and homebuilding industry that evolves working habits to focus on worker wellbeing as well as productivity.
"We see a machine that increases our longevity of what we can do because we're not working ourselves to the point of physical exhaustion — we're going to make our money and we're going to build houses with our brains and not with our backs."
Central Role of Rotating Telehandler On Custom Home Build
The company recently took on a large build in Sturgeon Bay, Wis., — a 6,000-sq.- ft. residential home directly on the channel. The design was intricate with a large pergola mezzanine that sits over the living structure on the backside, along with large screened in porches. The second story of the house required a significant amount of beam work to hold up everything.
"On this build, we're essentially chasing the main structure from interior to exterior to hold it all up. And accomplishing that is a culmination of dealing with the builder, the designers of our components and the homeowner to make sure that they're still getting what they want so that at the end it looks right. And if it is right, it'll stand up forever," said Propson.
Photo courtesy of Manitou
The Manitou rotating telehandler, which has a lifting height of 97 ft. 5 in. and a lifting capacity of 10,998 lbs., was just the right solution for the job for several reasons — among them its size and versatility, and its ability to play three roles in one on a construction site: a material handler, a work platform and a jib.
"One of the nicest capabilities of the Manitou MRT is its small footprint. We had that machine stuck up in the front corner of the building for two weeks. We could work around it. It wasn't in our way, yet that machine can work around the entire property," he said. "So, it's nice to have something that can do so much with no real negative impact on the things around it."
Propson added that he and the crew were able to place the telehandler's attachments in one area, set off to the side, because the machine provided enough reach and accessibility to get to them.
Among those attachments were a large extendable jib winch that provided depth of reach when needed, along with a PT 1500, which is a 3,300-lb. jib winch. The company also had 360-degree continuous rotation forks and a 16-ft. collapsible man basket. Combined, these attachments make the rotating telehandler a true multi-purpose machine.
"With the Manitou, we have one machine that can accomplish many different applications on a construction site. So rather than having a self-propelled lift and a crane and a couple of telehandlers, we have one machine that's capable of doing all that with a three-minute switch out of an attachment," Propson said. "We can set an entire roof of trusses and we can turn right around with the same machine, never leave the footprint, and we can start sheeting that roof. There's no tear down. There's no waiting."
Kristin Chose, director of business development of Ideal Crane, found that multi-purpose functionality on the build to be impressive.
"Something that was neat to see on this site was the different use of the attachments that Dave utilizes on a daily basis," she said. "There are a lot of great aspects to the Manitou rotating telehandler, it saves time, keeps everything on budget, and it's a really efficient machine."
Having a multi-purpose machine doesn't just provide time savings. It also garners cost savings.
"[Machines] cost money, so we're happy with the MRT because it's [one machine] and it does so much. It's less general insurance that we have to buy for multiple machines to do multiple things, too," Propson said. "To have a product that can do it all and do it all as one makes life super convenient and less expensive for us."
Safety is an additional factor that makes the Manitou rotating telehandler the right machine for Propson Construction.
"For us, the MRT is the machine that we look towards when we can't get to where we need to be, when we can't throw the beam up on our shoulder and push it up ladders," said Propson, emphasizing that the equipment has improved safety on the job site and can prevent back and other injuries. "The safety factor behind it is tremendous."
The rotating telehandler's remote operation capabilities add to the safety aspect of the machine. The remote's digital interface provides valuable data, including fuel percentage and DEF percentage, and more importantly, a load chart system that indicates what the weight of the load is and if it's working within the machine's operating capacity. That gives Propson and his crew the ability to know how close they are to maxing out load before it happens.
"If we have a deep load and we're not sure we're able to take that and swing it out, we check the digital interface. We can see, for example, that we have 500 pounds to spare. We'll be safe. It'll be perfect," he said. "That gives us peace of mind rather than guessing what capacity we think is going to be there."
Photo courtesy of Manitou
The remote also gives the operator full sight of what they're doing by standing closer to the workspace — and that proximity allows them to have conversations with their coworkers in the area, further improving jobsite awareness and safety.
"We're able to watch the rotator, as well as watching the work being done. It's given us the ability to get rid of any blind spots. On this recent build, the entire back screen porch was a total blind spot if you were an operator from a cab," Propson said. "It takes out the guesswork and all the hand signals and the chance for miscommunication. This is a great machine, hands down. But when you throw the remote into the equation, it's an untouchable machine."
It also provides the flexibility to adjust to smaller or larger crews by way of the remote and is easy to transport between job sites within a 10- to 15-mi. radius. The machine is legal to drive on the road and features lights for safety, so Propson's crew doesn't need to load it onto a trailer.
The Manitou rotating telehandler was the best solution for Propson Construction's recent build, and Propson knows it will continue to provide the performance the company needs for other projects.
"It's just like another tool in their tool belt. They're able to use it to accomplish so many tasks. It covers the forklift portion of it and the manlift portion of it," said Kurt Kalhagen, vice president of operations, Ideal Crane. "They were running it with the remote one minute and then at the next minute, the crew was able to go back to pounding nails or lining up the next wall set and hooking the load. The versatility of the machine makes the projects run that much smoother."
According to Propson, they don't run into many things that this machine can't accomplish on a build.
"The rotating telehandler is a capstone of our business. We rely on it. Without it, can we build a house? Yes. Do we want to build a house without it? No," Propson said. "There's this general belief that you've got to kill yourself out here to make a dollar and that's not a good belief. There are machines like this that you can use and get your guys going home feeling good. Their weekends aren't two days of physical recuperation. It's two days of time with their family." CEG
(Steve Kiskunas is product manager of Manitou.)
This story also appears on Crane Equipment Guide.
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