Industrial heavy lifting projects are becoming more complex. Larger loads in often difficult to reach places make it difficult or impractical for cranes to reach them and costly too. This means that heavy lift contractors need new ways to handle such projects. To address this issue, Enerpac is offering compact and easy to transport hydraulic heavy lifting systems.
Requirements for industrial moves are shaped by the size and complexity of the lift, the working environment, available space, and, of course, safety. In fact, safety is a key factor in planning heavy lift projects. Risks associated with suspended loads while using cranes can be reduced by considering alternative lifting methods such as a hydraulic gantry or jack-up system. In addition, space requirements and the costs of mobilisation are significantly less for gantry and jack-ups than for cranes.
Hydraulic telescopic gantries are the mainstay of many heavy lifting projects where their compactness and ability to handle loads up to 1100T are needed. The gantry’s telescopic leg can be folded down for ease of transportation, either on a flatbed trailer or in a container, such as the new SBL600 gantry.
Generator maintenance - Enerpac GantryMaking light work of generator lift
In a combined-cycle power plants maintenance of generators can be difficult within the confines of a power plant. Enerpac SBL1100 hydraulic gantry has been used to safely remove a 470T generator for maintenance. The gantry was used to lift the generator 4.1m onto supports, allowing maintenance work to be completed before it was lowered back into its housing.
As standard, the SBL1100, in common with other Enerpac gantries, include electronic controls and Intellilift wireless control system. The control systems allow users to operate the lift locally at each leg or use the Intellilift remote control for unobstructed views of the load. The wireless system ensures automatic synchronization of lifting within millimetres accuracy and automatic synchronization of travel. This is a significant safety feature allowing the operator to control the gantry from the best vantage point to safely manage the lift.
According to the heavy lift contractor, “The Enerpac SBL1100 is invaluable for this kind of lift where we have heavy loads and limited workspace. Ease of deployment and operation of the gantry has allowed us to safely conduct similar generator lift projects in another powerplant nearby.”
Compact heavy lifting Jack-up
Enerpac Jack-Up Systems have transformed the way that many heavy lift projects are handled. The Jack-Up system is a synchronised multipoint lifting and lowering system with self-contained hydraulics in each unit for uncluttered work areas. Loads are lifted in increments as steel boxes, called “barrels” are stacked together to form lifting towers to mechanically hold the load. A typical system setup includes four jack-up units positioned under each corner of a load. Jack-Up systems are available with lifting capacities ranging from 200 to 3,000 metric tons.
Flight Simulator Installation
Installing a Boeing 747 pilot training simulator for aviation training calls for care and precision. To install the 11T, 4.3 x 3.7 x 7.6m flight simulator, four Enerpac SCJ-50 cube jacks mounted on platforms lifted the simulator into position with synchronised lifting provided by an Enerpac hydraulic powerpack.
“A load of this kind is a challenge for any lifting contractor. In this case, we also had to consider the limited space, time constraints and comparatively high cube jack jacking height of 1.3m. We were able to easily transport the cube jacks. With the simulator resting on stands at 1.1m, we used the cube jacks to quickly complete the rest of the lift to a total height of 2.4m,” said the installer.
Port Crane Heightening
As ports grapple with the operational and logistical challenges of accommodating a new generation of super container vessels, their ability to upgrade existing crane facilities is critical. An Enerpac JS500 Jack-Up system was used to heighten a Portainer crane by 6m in just three days. It reduced the time for the heightening project to two weeks, compared with two months using conventional structural bracing methods.
Enerpac heavy lift systems also include strand jacks and EVO multipoint synchronous lifting systems for lifts up to 10,000 tons.
