Software Upgrade Lets Wagstaff's Liebherr LTM 1750-9.1 Make Big Lift

 

 

Jan. 13, 2021 - Wagstaff Crane Service, Murray, Utah, provided services for installation of a 175’, 125,000-lb. sky bridge at the new Kathryn F. Kirk Center for Comprehensive Cancer Care and Women’s Cancers at Huntsman Cancer hospital in Salt Lake City.

Wagstaff Crane Service was subcontracted to unload, assemble, and set a steel pedestrian bridge on the north-side campus expansion.

Presented with the unique challenge of working near a congested area of the hospital with heavy traffic on the side of a mountain, Wagstaff used its flagship crane, the LTM 1750-9.1 with a recent software upgrade. The improved load charts made this lift possible. Without the upgrade, the lift would have been more than 90% of the crane’s capacity at the required radius.

Wagstaff had considered using a crawler crane, but that would have been more costly for everyone involved.

“We were planning for this lift about a year before this took place. Numerous configurations had been drawn up, including a proposal with plans showing a critical lift at 93%. The option to bring in a large crawler crane was also considered due to the fact that the lift was taking place over a functioning hospital clinic with close proximity to power lines, and active life flight helicopters,” said Wagstaff Project Manager Ronnie Wagstaff. “These risks coupled with a critical lift made some nervous to proceed, until the update was released, and we could present a new and improved lift plan that showed a safer lift.”

The LTM 1750-9.1 is popular among Liebherr customers because it is easy to travel, can fit in tight spaces, sets up quickly, has high lifting capacity, and offers a variable boom system. “The LTM 1750-9.1 was able to drive to the site with equipment installed with only an additional 11 truckloads of parts needed. The crane was assembled and ready to work in approximately 12 hours,” said Wagstaff.

“A combination of limited site space, constrained site access, fully open facilities adjacent to and below portions of the bridge, weight and distance of the pick, as well as the need for several different configurations for the offloading and ground pre-assembly of the bridge at close radius to the crane and setting of the support steel on the north east side of the Phase 3 building, were all determining factors in the use of the LTM 1750 for this project,” Wagstaff continued.

LTM 1750-9.1 with new software upgrade

An already impressive 900-ton, nine-axle, 18-wheel, all-terrain crane, the LTM 1750-9.1, is even more powerful with the newest crane upgrade kit. Refined static calculations have increased lifting capacity across the crane’s entire working range. Owners of the LTM 1750-9.1 can now update the crane software with the new tables and, if necessary, add any additional equipment required.

This latest software upgrade provides additional value due to the improved load charts. Lifting capacity tables for three wind speeds are now available for this crane and for all the latest new developments. The LTM 1750-9.1 has entered into a higher lifting capacity class due to the new luffing jib configuration used for wind power applications. This delivers significant additional support for customers, both during job planning and in operation. It takes a critical lift and brings it within requirements of the job specifications. During this project “several lifts that were critical – 90% or above, were reduced to 85% or lower,” said Project Manager, Ronnie Wagstaff.