The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA) announced the winners of the Rigging Job of the Year Awards during the SC&RA Annual Conference, April 26-30, at the Hilton Orlando Bonnet Creek, Orlando, Fla. The winning entries demonstrated how SC&RA members successfully meet professional challenges encountered in rigging with a focus on ingenuity, hard work and a concern for safety.
The awards went to Mammoet, Rosharon, Texas, in the Jobs over $2 million category; Barnhart Crane & Rigging, Memphis, Tenn., in both the Jobs between $750,000 and $2 million category and the Jobs under $150,000 category; and Able Rigging Contractors, Deer Park, N.Y., in the Jobs between $150,000 and $750,000 category.
Over $2 Million: Mammoet Rescues Giant Tunnel Boring Machine
When the world’s largest tunnel-boring machine broke down beneath downtown Seattle, Wash., Mammoet was called in to complete the recovery design, structural engineering, fabrication and construction of a gantry system necessary for the company to extract the 4.4 million-pound cutter head from a 120-foot-deep recovery shaft and then return the part and reconnect it to the machine after repair. Mammoet designed and built a 2,000-ton specialized gantry tower system that could lift, slide and tilt. Due to foundation issues, the forces underneath the towers had to be equalized to prevent torque on the foundation beam supporting the gantry tower system.
The jobsite had to fit a 350-foot long crane path, a Liebherr LR-1300 crawler crane, a Terex CC-2800 crawler crane with a 500-ton super-lift and the specialized gantry system, which was built from 2,200 tons of components. To streamline traffic, equipment was staged at outlying truck stops. Equipment was sent in the order of assembly so the lay-down area stayed clear. Other challenges included working with the local unions and providing safety training to ensure everyone understood the project execution plan.
$750,000 to $2 Million: Barnhart Installs Package Boiler in Paper Mill
Barnhart installed a 400,000-pound package boiler, measuring 40 feet long by 20 feet wide by 28 feet high, into a paper mill facility in Green Bay, Wis. Particularly challenging was the boiler’s offset center of gravity.
Barnhart rolled the boiler onto a barge two miles down the Fox River and rolled it off at the mill; transported it to the alleyway outside of the installation location; lifted the boiler to the opening on the side of the building; rotated and slid the transformer into the building; rotated the boiler again and slid it into its location; and jacked and set the boiler onto its supports.
Among the innovations Barnhart devised to complete this job were a leveling system that ensured maneuvering in the tight window of the alleyway and a design that allowed three-axes of movement as well as rotation by installing two perpendicular slide systems and a turntable. Sliding on three slide beams
counteracted some of the problems posed by the offset center of gravity when spanning into the building.
$150,000-$750,000: Able Rigging Contractors Remove Large Crane from Skyscraper Roof
Able Rigging Contractors dismantled and lowered a Potain Mr415 electric tower crane from the roof of the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere, which topped out at 1,428 feet. Able used a 70,000 pound capacity Timberland ASD 35/120 Stiffleg Derrick, and a GP500 hoist pack with 50,000 pound single part line pull as the primary hoisting package for the derrick.
While it appeared the Potain was freestanding, the bottom of the Mr415 started at the 75th floor at an elevation of 1,285 feet. The top of the crane stood at an elevation of more than 1,500 feet. Most of the lifts were made at a 70-foot radius, leaving 25-feet of clearance to the face of the building. Two 1,500-foot taglines were used for pieces with larger surface areas. When performing empty lifts to the roof, Able used 4,000 pounds of overhaul weight in combination with a 35-ton, 850-pound ball.
About five days were lost due to high wind or rain. Clouds and fog were a constant problem. The job was performed safely with no accidents in less than 30 days.
Under $150,000: Barnhart Removes and Later Reinstalls Refinery Components
Barnhart removed a motor, gear box and compressor from a refinery in a single shift for maintenance then returned seven days later to reinstall them in another shift. The components were located inside a structure full of piping and electrical work; removal by a crane was not possible because of overhead structures and utilities. Using custom tools and equipment to design the Joust System, Barnhart was able to complete the project within the customer’s tight timeframe.
The system involved placing gantries atop a 6-line self-propelled modular transporter (SPMT). Using the SPMT provided the necessary mobility and allowed assembly of the system in the staging yard. The system could be driven into place and would allow the road to remain open during the turnaround, an important customer request. Barnhart engineering included all stability calculations to ensure that the center of gravity of the cantilever beam was always safety in between the two gantries. Barnhart also had to size and locate the counterweight on the cantilever beam so that the center of gravity of the composite lifting system was always within the stability triangle in both the unloaded and loaded configuration.
Other entries included:
Rigging $750,000-$2 million
Fagioli replaced an old blast furnace composed of four rings (ranging in weight from 250 to 460 tons) with a new unit that had five sections (ranging in weight between 284 and 592 tons). First the old sections were lowered, skidded and transported by SPTs to a storage area. Once the old unit was dismantled, the new furnace sections were skidded and installed. The equipment and structural components used for lowering old BF rings and installation of new BF rings were a mix of strand jacking, tower lift and skidding system.
Rigging $150,000-$750,000
Barnhart removed a Pinion Stand gearbox. While the facility did have an overhead crane, the Pinion Stand was located outside of its radius. Barnhart fabricated two three-foot jack housing stands to fit into the limited floor space. A Barnhart-engineered cantilever slide system was installed over the gearbox. The slide system allowed Barnhart’s team the ability to get the gearbox into the radius of the overhead crane to lift it out.
Rigging under $150,000
Emmert International removed an old transformer, off-loaded a new transformer from a rail car and transported it to a power plant in San Antonio, Texas. Fully dressed for installation, the new transformer weighed 545,920 pounds and had an overall length of 43 feet 9 inches, a width of 21 feet 9 inches and a height of 26 feet 10 inches. Emmert used two customized transporters; each one performing at different stages. One transporter was used to offload the transformer and transport the load to the plant; the other to maneuver the tight turning radius of the confined work space of the power plant.
International Industrial Contracting Corporation (IICC) switched locations of two overhead bridge cranes from a stamping facility. IICC’s team determined that the 220,000 pound crane could be rotated and lowered sufficiently to pass the other crane over without having to take the crane apart. IICC used two Riggers 600 EZ Lift gantry legs with a pair of W14X426 foot wide headers above and below Lift System’s 550-ton capacity rotation station to raise the crane six inches to clear the crane rails during rotation. The crane was rotated 90 degrees and the gantry legs were then lowered approximately 13 feet. The process took 65 minutes from start of lift to finish.
