SC&RA Job of the Year winners

The six winning entries have been announced for the 2011 SC&RA Job of the Year competition.

Entries both for the Hauling and Rigging categories were exceptionally strong contenders, SC&RA said. The winners, as listed below, were announced during the Annual Conference Closing Night Awards and Recognition Dinner on Saturday 16 April.

Hauling

Moving (using specialized equipment, for example, self-propelled transporters, dollies and crawler assemblies): Emmert International, Clackamas, Oregon, USA, for transporting four replacement steam generators from the Port of Long Beach to San Onefre in California. Each vessel was 67 feet long, 23 feet 8 inches wide and 21 feet 1 inch high and weighed 1,352,300 pounds.

Over 160,000 pounds net: Barnhart, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, for transporting a steam turbine generator from Port Allen, Louisiana, through the Appalachian Mountains to St. Paul, Virginia. The 304,000-pound generator - measuring 35 feet 11 inches long by 18 feet 7 inches wide by 17 feet one inch high - was the largest single item ever hauled in Tennessee and Virginia.

Under 160,000 pounds net: Tradelossa, Durango, Mexico, relocated three mills from a mine in Zacatecas, Mexico, to two different mines in the state of Chihuahua. The mills measured 22 feet long by 16 feet nine inches in diameter and weighed 110,231 pounds. Challenges included passage through traffic, narrow roads, tollbooths small towns, tight clearances and turns.

Rigging

Over US$750,000: Fagioli, Inc., Houston, Texas, USA, removed and replaced two stators at a nuclear power plant in Veracruz, Mexico. The job included many challenges, including the heavy weight of the stators (720,000 pounds each); the restricted working area; the insufficient capacity of the existing overhead crane; and unavailability of time to test the fitting of the system.

Rigging $150,000 to $750,000: Barnhart, Memphis, Tennessee, USA, erected 11 prefabricated sections into one 420,000 pound final coffer dam for a San Diego Water Authority Project, lowered the coffer dam into the water and onto the dam wall at a 6 degree angle, and held the load in a stationary position to allow divers to secure it to the face of the San Vicente Dam (5-10 days). Equipment included 60 x 130-foot strands, two 30 US ton strand jacks, three 450 ton strand jacks and five floating anchors.

Under $150,000: Barnhart, Memphis, Tennessee, USA removed two vessels from an existing structure and replaced with new vessels during a refinery turnaround. The first vessel weighed 14,310 pounds and measured 4 feet 6 inches in diameter and was 16 feet long. The second vessel weighed 29,349 pounds and was 8 feet in diameter and 20 feet long.

Look out for full details of the 2011 Job of the Year Winners and entries in upcoming issues of SC&RA's official magazines, International Cranes and Specialized Transport and American Cranes & Transport.