SC&RA “Rigging Jobs of the Year” Award Winners Named

May 19, 2005 — Every year, the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association (SC&RA), Fairfax, Va., salutes members that have successfully met extreme professional challenges encountered in unique rigging applications. Barnhart, Memphis, Tenn., and Taylor Crane & Rigging, Inc., Coffeyville, Kan., came away with top honors this year, after being named “Rigging Job of the Year” award winners at the organization's annual conference held in Phoenix in mid April. Barnhart won in the $150,000 to $750,000 category, and Taylor Crane & Rigging, Inc., was recognized in the under $150,000 category.

Judges assessed each entry based on safety (30%), innovation and ingenuity (30%), engineering and planning (30%) and limitations (10%). The judging panel consisted of George Bragg, Bragg Crane Service; Randy Goddard, Atlas Industrial Contractors, Ltd.; Bernie Weir, Norris Brothers Co., Inc.; Doug Williams, Buckner HeavyLift Cranes; and George Young, George Young Company.

$150,000 and $750,000 Job

Enlarge Image Barnhart's lock gate replacement without cranes

Barnhart's winning entry involved replacing two lock gates for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the Black Warrior River in northern Alabama. These gates were 85 feet tall, 65 feet wide and 7 feet thick, weighing in at 360 tons each.

The key to the Barnhart rigging solution, which earned the company the Army Corps of Engineers Annual Safety Award, was a 500-ton containerized hoist that traveled across the lock on a wheeled trolley featuring a gripper system. The major structural components consisted of two 8-foot-deep, 150-foot box girders placed atop runways on either side of the lock, which also allowed for access to all of the hydraulic components. In the end, the new system resembled a massive version of a bridge crane, which enabled the gates to be handled in both the recessed and mitered positions.

Arriving via barge, the new gates were completely assembled before arriving on site. Barnhart's system allowed for the existing gates to

Enlarge Image Barnhart's job was awarded the Army Corps of Engineers Annual Safety Award.

be removed in one piece — and to be tailed and lowered onto a barge. The new g ates were then immediately received for installation. The installation process first involved attaching a temporary securement system that allowed the gates to be tied back to the lock wall while the lock was still filled from the lower pool. These securements remained in place until the lock was dewatered. Following the dewatering process, the new gates were lifted and set upon their new bases, giving the Corps' subcontractors the ability to work “in the dry.”

Past replacement procedures required gates to be lifted using barge-mounted cranes and work to be carried out using divers and submersible equipment. The Barnhart method enabled crews to work in a safer manner with standard equipment and on dry foundations. Barnhart completed assembly, removal, replacement, dewatering procedure and permanent installation lifting within 15 days.

Under $150,000 Job

Enlarge Image Taylor's move and installation of a diesel generator

After the city of Clay Center, Kan. purchased a 340,000-pound V-18 power generator package for additional electrical generation capacity from Fairbanks Morse Engine Company, Beloit, Wis., Taylor Crane and Rigging, Inc., was tasked with moving and installing the equipment.

Taylor Crane used its 600-ton jacking system to lift and transfer the generator package from a rail car to a dual-lane transport dolly system. The 40-mile haul from Manhattan, Kan., required Kansas Department of Transportation approval for movement over long span bridges.

After transporting the generator package to the plant, Taylor Crane met the challenge of moving the equipment through a narrow doorway over a suspended floor and then lowering the package approximately 10 feet to its foundation in the plant. Taylor Crane custom-designed, engineered, and fabricated two 8-inch-thick transfer beams and additional rigging gear to accomplish the tight movement through the door and onto the foundation.

The entire job was performed without incident or injury to personnel, equipment or property and to the satisfaction of Fairbanks Morse (the client), the City of Clay Center (the power plant owner), and the Kansas Department of Transportation.