Tandem lifting with a difference

Both cranes were set up with sideways superlift. The AC 500-1 (in red) also had a luffing fly jib. Photo: Tadano

Steel Carriers in India used two cranes working in tandem to lift a conveyor on a job with a difference.

High lifting capacity was needed but space was restricted and that created some challenges. The crane rental company chose two of its big Tadano all terrain wheeled mobile telescopic cranes, an AC 1000-9 and an AC 500-1 to lift the 50-tonne steel structure at a cement works in the state of Gujarat.

The AC 1000-9 is a 1,000 tonne capacity model and the AC 500-1 is rated at 500 tonnes. “It was definitely a job for our most powerful all terrain cranes,” commented Sunil Makad, Steel Carriers director.

The job was to lift a 50 metre, 50 tonne steel structure for a deep pan conveyor to a height of 60 metres between two silos. One challenge was the lift had to be made at a radius of 40 metres. Another challenge was the choice of cranes with their differences in capacity and configuration.

The cement plant was hit by a cyclone, damaging the conveyor bridge so badly it had to be replaced. “Obviously, we could have used one of our big Tadano lattice boom crawler cranes for this job,” said Makad. “But in this case, the all terrain cranes proved to be the better option. That’s partly because we could get them to the site quicker, and partly because they were easier to position in the very limited space available at the site.”

Getting on with it

After three days transporting the two cranes and 17 support trucks from the Steel Carriers base in Mumbai, the team then had the cranes erected on site in Gujarat two days later.

The AC 1000-9 was erected in HA‑SSL configuration with the 100 metre boom and Sideways Superlift. Available space was insufficient to assemble a fly jib. The AC 500‑1 was set up with a luffing fly jib and sideways superlift in WIHI-SSL configuration.

“The differing crane configurations and the fact that they have differing lifting capacities made the tandem lift that much more challenging for the operators to execute,” Sunil Makad explained.

Having lifted the load to the 60 metre height required it was rotated 90 degrees before being placed in its final position.

Steel Carriers had only five people on site for this job: two crane operators, two assistants and a site manager. Between them they did everything, including setting up the cranes, making the lift and then dismantling the cranes, all in just 15 days.

“It just goes to show how quickly and efficiently you can get even very difficult jobs done if you have a highly skilled and experienced team and the right cranes,” Makad said.

After lifting the conveyor bridge structure with the two Tadano all terrain cranes it had to be turned through 90 degrees before placing it in position. Photo: Tadano