Valla Pick and Carry Cranes in the Petro Chemical sector
Hird has supplied a Valla 120D pick and carry crane to Shell Ireland for maintenance work within a new gas plant.
Valla pick and carry cranes offer maintenance and lifting solutions that are not always taken into account by project managers or engineers, who are not always aware of the lifting solutions available.
Often, large cranes are used, adding huge hire costs and down time for relatively minor lifting problems.
As a lifting solution, the pick and carry crane can get into very tight areas, where headroom and access is a problem.
The pick and carry crane can often be a single point handling solution, lifting the load from point A and carrying the load directly to point B, without the need for additional transport or the need for carrying stillages or frames. This saves on downtime and cost.
Using a pick and carry crane will mean fewer people and less equipment are involved with the lift. It will also reduce the lift area. This will reduce the impact on the rest of the plant.
It will also further reduce hazards and should improve the safety record, keeping plant operators, project managers and health, safety and environment managers happy.
The Valla pick and carry crane supplied to Shell is a Valla 120D, with a 12,000kg max lift capacity and a diesel engine.
Valla makes pick and carry cranes with diesel power or DC electric power options.
After consultation, it was decided that the Valla 120D was the ideal option for the maintenance work within the plant for several reasons.
It is simple to operate by the maintenance staff who, after basic operator training, found the crane to be user-friendly and a valuable tool.
The maintenance staff do not need to be solely employed as a pick and carry crane driver. They can incorporate its use with other maintenance duties.
The Valla 120D is an effective lifting solution without burdening the plant with producing complicated lift plans, plant closures or employing stand-alone pick and carry crane operators and banksmen, plus added hire cost.
The need for carrying out risk assessment, lift plans and method statements is still very important and must be carried out.
However, in most cases, because the pick and carry crane is able to get close to the lift and carries the load to its destination, for example the maintenance workshop, the method statement, risk assessment and lift plan are far easier to produce.
This has saved Shell additional, large crane hire costs for removing relatively low weight units, in this case up to 4,000kg, which is the weight of the heaviest valve packs.
Due to the size of the pick and carry crane, with a foot print of 4.24m x 2.1m, a height of 2.295m and a weight of 14,000kg, the crane can move in very tight areas around the plant where height restrictions of pipe racks and walkways can cause access problems.
Shell found this Valla 120D to be the best option to access all areas.
The crane supplied had an additional hydraulic fly jib, giving an overall maximum lift height of 13 metres and 40 degree sweep, with a maximum load of 3,000kgs and an outreach of just over 10m.
On a flat stick the crane is still capable of lifting 1,000kg.
The Valla 120D can pick and carry up to a maximum of 12,000kg at minimum radius from the front of the crane.
Throughout the load chart the crane can carry out a full range of pick and carry duties. With the machine’s 3B6 load movement indicator, the operator can see, at all times, the weight carried, what is allowable, and its position.
Valla Cranes supply a range of pick and carry cranes from 2,000kgs up to 90,000kgs lift capacities. All available through Hird.
Carl Cooper
Valla Cranes Sales and Aftersales
Mob: 07585 716 825
Email: [email protected]