Kishwaukee Health & Wellness
by Brent Genseke, Area Erectors Inc.
I have been an avid 3D Lift Plan user for 7+ years and have seen the benefits of what the program can bring to the field and those whom need to "see" the crane plan.
We use 3D Lift Plan in many different ways in relation to projects at Area Erectors. It starts in visual sequencing, heaviest/longest reach lift plans, and ends in the transfer of information to the operator and field foreman running the project.
In this scenario the miscellaneous metals scope was delayed in fabrication so we had to come up with a creative way to set a monumental stair. Insert the light bulb with the idea of scoping the boom of a crane through a window!!! Time move forward and the project evolved more and more towards enclosed and completion. Weather set in, windows were boxed out, and heat was put to the building for the interior trades. Yet the monumental stairs was not in the building yet.
Trying to cover owner requirements of a Department of Labor Certified Crane Inspection, find a vendor whom had a machine with it, and also a machine that could bring our idea to fruition was a challenge. Our Terex T340-1 had the certification, but in an off site trial run could not handle the weight. O’Donnell Crane our of DeKalb IL has a Grove TM500E-2, it had a DOL Certified Crane Inspection, now, would it do the job? Using 3D Lift Plan in conjunction with erection drawings and actual field measurements, I was able to build the Rotund and window opening. This would give me a tool to see if we could scope the boom through the window to pick up the prefab stairs for installation.
Field measurements of elevations were critical because the boom hinge point being off 6” to a foot and that translation in angle could cripple the idea. We had used 3D Lift Plan on a previous two crane lift that was required in order to set the Rotund steel so the general contractor and owners safely representative understood the value it brought to the table (Lift Plan attached also). The superintendent on site was not sure if this situation would work due to the complexity and the question arose what our back up plan was. We were not able to get a machine inside the building with capacity to set the stair, the engineer of record would not give the roof steel the capacity to rig off it, and our options had run out. The plan had to work. When the day came for the lift, we had an on site meeting with all parties involved. As a team we reviewed the drawings, the steps involved, as well as the precise placement of the equipment. As you see by the Lift Plan and the attached pictures the plan came to fruition, and with little room to spare.