A self-erecting crane is a tower crane which arrives on site ready assembled but folded. When electric power is connected to the machine it can be erected by means of its inbuilt hydraulics and ropes. This greatly reduces both the time taken to mobilise and the associated costs with mobilisation taking place within a few hours. 

As a complementary alternative to telescopic handlers and large tower cranes, the self-erecting crane generally requires minimum erection and ground space for deployment, as well as just remote operations from ground level, which provides considerable speed and flexibility for lifting operations.