United States Coast Guard – Motor Relocation
Matthew Clifford, Digging & Rigging, Inc.
In late-August of 2020, Digging & Rigging was contacted by the U.S. Coast Guard (through a third-party transportation company) to look at a project involving a 250,000 lb. ship motor then located at the USCG Yard at Hawkins Point in Baltimore MD.
This motor needed to be removed from its temporary storage, relocated to the ship pier, and loaded onto a barge to be transported to the Pacific Northwest. Its destination was the USCG icebreaker Healy – the largest ship in the Coast Guard fleet and the most technologically advanced icebreaker.
Digging & Rigging jumped at the chance to tackle such a unique and high-profile project.
Digging & Rigging representatives visited the Coast Guard Yard to conduct a site survey and determine the best means of accomplishing this task. It was quickly determined that the site conditions – storage racks of chemicals, existing structures, and fencing – severely limited the possible crane setup area. It would take a combination of on-site assessment and offsite computer lift planning to find the best path forward.
The first inclination for crane sizing was to utilize a single crane to hoist this 250,000 lb. motor. 3D Lift Plan was extremely useful at this planning stage for two reasons: first, we were able to determine that nothing short of Digging & Rigging’s 900-ton capacity crane could hoist the motor given the minimum radius dictated by the site conditions; and second, we were also able to determine that those same site conditions prevented us from utilizing such a large crane without forcing our customer to completely dismantle the surrounding structures. As the customer was hesitant to make significant changes to this portion of their facility, we had to look for other options.
The next logical step was to consider a tandem crane lift. Once again considering the site conditions, 3D Lift Plan allowed us to determine the perfect combination of paired crane tonnage that would allow us to safely accomplish this lift and crane footprints that would minimize the impact on the customer’s facility. 3D Lift Plan’s rigging design tool also allowed us to determine the best rigging layout to maximize safety and minimize the necessary rigging headroom. Two of Digging & Rigging 275-ton cranes, operating on either side of the motor and utilizing a rigging configuration that would pick perfectly vertically off the four lifting lugs, would require the removal of only a small amount of fencing while still maintaining an acceptable load-to-capacity safety factor – both of which impressed our customer.
When it came time to complete this lift, 3D Lift Plan enabled our operators and crews to have the most accurate information on the proposed crane placement and lifting procedure without ever having previously seen the jobsite. This was instrumental in helping Digging & Rigging to achieve its primary goal – customer satisfaction with zero safety incidents.
3D Lift Plan was an invaluable tool throughout the process of completing this project. It’s unique blend of technical accuracy and graphics artistry produce a final product unparalleled in the industry. Digging & Rigging will continue to rely on 3D Lift Plan as the standard in crane planning software.