SC&RA Job of the Year winners

This year’s SC&RA Job of the Year competitions had 21 entries – 13 hauling and eight rigging – with seven winners announced during the annual conference closing night awards and recognition dinner in Orlando, Florida at the end of April.

Hauling

The following winners were recognised for shipment routing, planning, overcoming physical elements, safety considerations and execution:

Moving (using specialized equipment, such as self propelled transporters, dollies and crawler assemblies): Berard Transportation based in New Iberia, Louisiana, moved a 1,300-ton (1,179 tonnes) cold box from the fabrication site to an oceangoing ship. This move involved roll on to a deck barge, transit offshore to a deepwater port, then driving the load directly from the floating barge onto the floating ship.

Over 160,000 pounds (net): Intermountain Rigging and HeavyHaul (IRH) based in Salt Lake City, Utah, delivered two large transformers from Thoreau, New Mexico and a connecting throat from Houston, Texas to Monticello in Utah. The project also included the jacking and sliding of the transformers and moving them a short distance on a self propelled modular transporter (SPMT).

Under 160,000 pounds (net): Clackamas, Oregon-based Emmert International transported a 155,613 pound FTO vessel, measuring 34 feet 6 inches (10.5 metres) long by 27 feet 9 inches (8.5 m) wide by 18 feet (5.4 m) high, from Mississippi to Texas. Emmert successfully handled overhead obstructions, barge coordination, and municipality notification along a 520 mile (837 km) route that included narrow roads, tight turns, and an open ocean roll-on, roll-off dock.

Rigging

The focus of each of the winners was on ingenuity, hard word and a concern for safety:

Over US$ 2 million: When the world’s largest tunnel boring machine broke down beneath downtown Seattle, Washington, the Rosharon, Texas branch of Mammoet was called in to complete the recovery design, structural engineering, fabrication and construction of the gantry system necessary for the company to extract the cutter head from a 120 foot (36.5 m) deep recovery shaft. The company then returned the part and reconnected it to the machine after repair.

$750,000 to $2 million: Barnhart in Memphis, Tennessee, installed a 400,000 pound (181,400 kg) package into an elevated wall opening. The boiler needed to be tracked 130 feet (40 m), elevated down a 20 foot (6.1 m) wide alley on a turntable and slid into the building. The clearance on the sides of the boiler while making the rotation into the building on the 450 ton (408 tonne) gantries was no more than a few inches.

$150,000 to $750,000: Able Rigging Contractors based in Deer Park, New York, dismantled and lowered a Potain MR 415 electric tower crane from the roof of the tallest residential building in the Western Hemisphere. Able used a 70,000 pound (31,750 kg) capacity Timberland ASD 35/120 Stiffleg Derrick, and a GP500 hoist pack with 50,000 pound (22,680 kg) single part line pull as the primary hoisting package for the derrick.

Under $150,000: Barnhart in Memphis, Tennessee, removed a motor gear box and a compressor for maintenance from a refinery in a single shift, and then returned seven days later to replace them in another shift. Using custom tools and equipment to design the joust system, Barnhart was able to complete the project within the customer’s tight timeframe.

You can read on the SC&RA Jobs of the Year in the June issue of International Cranes and Specialized Transport magazine.