Maxim Crane Works, a leading provider of crane-related services in North America, is consistently working to meet the growing demands of its customers. The Maxim team is committed to recognizing regional and national needs to ensure it is providing the necessary coverage, safety, personnel and equipment to not only meet but also exceed its customers' expectations.
Maxim was recently contracted to provide lifting services for a mechanical contractor in a New Jersey power plant. Maxim's scope was to lift air-cooled condenser (ACC) units from a heavy-haul unit and set them into place on top of a 75-foot-tall structure. A total of 12 lifts were required, consisting of eight double- ACC module lifts (520,000 pounds each) and four single-ACC module lifts (260,000 pounds each). The crane was to be "hook ready" June 26.
The pre-planning for this project started in early 2017, at which time a Manitowoc 18000 with MAX- ER was selected to make the lifts for the project. In mid-April, Maxim's engineering group was consulted and tasked with the development of a wood-mat support system, lift plans and rigging designs. Several key factors were evaluated early on: hook height, capacity, rigging arrangement and rigging weight. The group determined traditional spreader- bar systems were too heavy and consumed excessive vertical space for the crane to make the lifts, given the crane configuration and ACC module lift weights. Additionally, as the project progressed, the weight of the double-ACC module was increased to 590,400 pounds, a 14-percent increase over the already challenging pre-planning lift weight. The increase in weight necessitated a careful review of each piece of rigging.
It was determined for the 18000 to complete this project effectively, an alternative approach would be needed for the rigging. A lift-frame concept was conceived and adopted, and the official notice to proceed to design for the system was received June 7. A major driver of the design was the requirement to use off-the-shelf materials due to the extremely compressed schedule. Because the crane was approaching capacity limitations, it was essential the lift frame be structurally efficient. From designing to load testing the lift frame only took 19 working days. Each member of the project team contributed to make this happen. The load test was successfully completed July 5, with the 300-ton rated lift frame lifting a weight of 755,630 pounds (377.8 tons). Immediately following the load test, the lifting frame was disassembled and shipped to the project site for the first lift July 7.
For more information, visit www. maximcrane.com or call (877) 629-5438.
