Wasel helps with cathedral

Heavy lift company Wasel from Bergheim in Germany helped dismantle two hanging scaffold structures from the north tower of Cologne Cathedral.

One of the scaffold structures was at a height of 100 metres. To carry out the tasks, a Liebherr LTM 1750-9.1 configured with a maximum hook height of 154 metres was used.

One of the largest pieces of scaffolding was removed in three sections, a company spokesperson said. Once the sections were separated the LTM 1750-9.1 was able to lift the scaffold off the cathedral. The sections measured 7 m wide and 33 metres high.

To carry out the lifts the crane was erected on the station forecourt at Cologne Central Station, Germany. A result of this meant the operators could only assemble the boom at night.

Jürgen Oprée, Wasel technical manager, said, "In the run-up to this job, the assembly gave us some headaches. We had to consider station evacuation plans in our assembly schedules and also had to keep the escape and rescue routes free at all times. As well as all this, we were given a very tight time window for the set-up work."

Further difficulties presented to Wasel during the project included a small assembly site of 90 m. A result of this was that the boom had to be assembled in a suspended position. In total it took eight hours to configure the basic crane with supports, telescopic boom guys and a telescopic boom extension, including pivot section and ballast, a company spokesperson said.

During the lifts the scaffold sections were lifted between the cathedral towers and positioned in front of the main entrance of the cathedral. A Liebherr LTM 1070-4.2 helped with the final positioning of the sections.

"Just a few years ago a job like this wouldn't have been possible in this manner," explained Oprée, "from a technical aspect, maybe, but certainly not within the short time frame. And probably another crane would have also caused problems in terms of the support pressure. The LTM 1750-9.1 was ideal for this job on the cathedral."

In total, the task took four hours.