Heavy process machinery lift

Category	Heavy process machinery lift
Project	Lifting of rapeseed cooking vessels
Project type	Contract lift
Client	Cargill
Location	Hull
Sector	Food and agriculture

Challenge

Cargill commissioned Hird to lift a new 72-tonne rapeseed cooking vessel into place at its processing plant. The next step was to lift out two redundant 26-tonne cooking vessels.

The area where the lift had to take place was confined, so the crane boom had to operate at a significant radius of 26m.

The cooking vessel was transported to the site on its side. So, a tandem lift was needed to lift it and turn it upright.

The vessel could then be lowered on to four legs already in place. Removing the two redundant cookers presented the biggest challenge, as they had to be lifted vertically in a very confined space, then up and over the new cooker.

Client benefits

Cargill could draw on Hird’s significant experience in carrying out heavy lifts of manufacturing process machinery.
Full assurance that all health and safety issues were considered, with a method statement and risk assessment management system (RAMS) in place.
Both elements of the lift were completed successfully.
The second phase – lifting out the redundant cookers – was carried out in one day, not the designated two days – saving the client money and reducing on-site disruption.

Hird comment

“This lift project presented some challenges, both in terms of planning needed to overcome site restrictions, and operationally during the lifts themselves.

“Our ability to operate flexibly and safely, within the framework of a carefully thought through lift plan and associated risk assessment and method statement, resulted in a lift completed within the window required by Cargill to meet its operational objectives.”

Mick Bradshaw, Cranes and Machinery Moving Manager

Project

Hird deployed 750-tonne mobile crane and a 200-tonne crane.

Due to high winds, the vessel first lifted off the transporting vehicle onto the ground, still in its carrying frame.

On day two, with wind reduced to safe levels, the two cranes were used to lift the vessel out of the frame.

The lift was achieved, not without some difficulty. This was because the manufacturer had fitted two pairs of lifting trunnions at each end of the cooker, which was not the ideal lifting solution.

The 200-tonne crane was used to hold the cooker with lifting strops fitted to the trunnions at its base, while the 750-tonne crane lifted the vessel vertical.

The 750-tonne crane was then used to lift the cooker on to four 1.8m-high support legs. Despite challenges that delayed the lift until the afternoon, the cooker was safely in place and ready to be commissioned by Cargill’s operational team.

Phase 2 – lifting out the two redundant cooking vessels

A week later, Hird brought a 500-tonne mobile crane to site to remove the two redundant cookers.

These were located behind the new cooking vessel and surrounded by scaffolding, significantly restricting the space within which the cookers could be lifted.

First, holes were cut in each cooker to allow lifting chains to be taken through to a 50tonne lifting beam. Then, the first cooker had the weight taken by the crane, before its support legs were cut off.

This reduced its height enough for it to be lifted out of the space it had stood in. The crane was then slewed round to allow the vessel to be lowered to the ground ready for dismantling.

The process was repeated to remove the second cooker.

It had been planned to lift out the two cookers on two consecutive days. However, the first lift went so smoothly, that it was clear both could be lifted out in one day.

The Hird lifting team worked later than planned to achieve this goal, reducing significantly both the cost of the lift project, and the potential disruption to site operations.