SC&RA Awards Rigging Job of the Year Winners
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| Enlarge Image Southern Industrial Constructors won the SC&RA Rigging Job of the Year in its category. |
April 27, 2007 • The Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association announced its Rigging Job of the Year Winners on the final night of its annual conference, held April 10-14 in
Under $150,000
Dresser-Rand, the prime contractor for a major retrofit of an existing cogeneration power plant at the
The condenser sat in an alcove area that was 12 feet above the floor of an adjacent and larger open bay area room. The ceiling height of the alcove area was 13 feet, leaving little headroom in the alcove area to operate. Because of the unique concrete structure supporting the old condenser, the company had access to the condenser through a pit opening below and also on each of the four sides of the condenser.
Making the job even more difficult, Southern Industrial could not handle any of the work from above due to the fact this work was performed inside an existing cogen plant in an area with no headroom in either the second floor alcove area or the open bay area room, thus eliminating the use of overhead cranes or overhead lifting systems for the transfer of the old condenser off of the alcove area into the open bay area room. The condenser had to be rigged out and back using jacks, beams, dollies, gantries, fabrication of a custom-built turntable, hard work from the riggers, direction of one of the company's most senior rigging superintendents, and the project supervision of the chairman.
Once the condenser was removed, each step had to be reversed to install the replacement unit, which was even larger and heavier. The entire job was completed safely and on schedule, according to Rocky Springer, vice president of Southern Industrial Constructors. Southern Industrial Constructors' founder, Earl Johnson Jr. started the company in 1962. Although he and his company have been members of the SC&RA for more than 40 years, this was the first time the company had submitted an entry for the contest.
Between $150,000 and $750,000
Emmert International was awarded the contract to deliver a low-speed diesel engine to the Clifton Pier Power Station located in the
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Emmert's award-winning job required the company to move an engine that weighed almost 1 million pounds.
Emmert's project team had six months to develop a plan to get the engine from the
The MANN-B&W diesel engine, which was shipped fully assembled and operational, had all of its pipe work, ducting, ladders, and platforms already attached to it, further reducing available clearances. The engine weighed 908,600 pounds, and was 52' long, 19'6” wide and 33'-6” tall. The opening in the building the engine had to go through was 22' wide and 52'-6” tall, leaving only inches of clearance on each side of the engine for gantry assembly and lifting operations, and only 6 feet of clearance for the trailer. The engine needed to then be lifted so it would clear the foundation resulting in less than 3 feet of clearance to the top of the opening as well.
When the engine arrived at the opening, crews discovered the platform at the top of the engine would interfere with the lifting beams that needed to be moved into position. The problem was solved by setting up the gantry lift outside, and lifting the engine up three feet. Oak cribbing blocks were placed under the engine for support, and the engine was re-lashed to the trailer and taken back to the entryway. Then crews began assembling the 700-ton gantry lift system around the engine and foundation within the tight confines of the plant.
The engine needed to be positioned in the entryway for the lift, so crews had to perform the assembly by coordinating the lifting between a heavy lift crane outside and a hoist inside the building. An 85-foot section of gantry rail had to be slid into position next to the engine under the walkway platform on each side. This rail section had to have part of its bracing placed directly on the trailer. The jacks for the gantry lift inside the building had to be lifted over the engine and into the building for placement. The towers ended up being placed narrower than the trailer the engine was resting on. With the towers installed, the header beams were maneuvered into position, which included two 60-foot main beams.
Once the gantry tower was complete, the lifting straps were ready to be installed, which posed another challenge. There were 12 lift points on the engine, and it was required that all the points be equally loaded during the lift. To ensure this equal loading, the load was lifted just enough to check the tension in each strap, and the header bars were shimmed with various thicknesses of steel until all of the straps had equal tension. The gantry was then raised to clear the engine's foundation. Once clear, the gantry rolled further into the building, placing the engine directly over its foundation. The crew then set the engine into place on the foundation.
