Deep South was contracted to provide turnkey heavy lift and heavy haul services for a refinery optimization project in the Southwest. During the course of the project, the late delivery of eight (8) exchangers, each weighing 118,000 pounds, caused concern about meeting the schedule.

In the original plans, the exchangers would be installed before the surrounding steel structure that supports other vessels and piping. However, because of the delivery delays, the steel structure was already in place when the exchangers arrived for installation.

Deep South’s Project Engineer Chris Warshaw explained, “We had about 1.5 feet of clearance for the exchangers and the necessary rigging. We could have used a jack-and-slide approach but that would have been more expensive and required more time.”

Instead, the team opted for a more cost and schedule friendly approach using a cantilever beam system. They used the 1,320-ton Terex AC-1000 hydraulic truck crane with 109-feet of main boom and 80-ton cantilever beam. Warshaw explains, “With the cantilever bar, which incorporates a compact counterweight design with customizable rigging attachment points, we were able to move each of the exchangers into position under the existing steel structure. The compact design worked very well for the tight clearances around the steel structure.”

The placement of the exchangers was completed in one week with no safety issues.

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In our industry, cantilever beams are also commonly referred to as cantilever bars.