A seemingly routine lift and set of a pump house from the dock onto a barge came to a halt when a client’s crane failed—significantly impacting a task with a tight delivery window.

An energy company employed a specialty contractor to fabricate and assemble an offshore motor control center (MCC) building. The structure to be moved weighed 98,775 lbs and measured 50’ long x 29’ wide x 14’ tall. After assembly, the contractor planned to use two of its own crawler cranes to lift and set the building on the barge for transport to the customer. However, one of the contractor's crawler cranes became inoperable as it was tracking into position to prepare for the lift. Due to time constraints, the crane could not be moved in time to meet the building’s delivery schedule.

Maximum Radius Limits

The contractor called on Deep South to develop a plan to lift and load the structure. The crane had to be able to lift, turn, and set the structure within a 90-ft. maximum radius window in order to avoid surrounding features and maneuver around the inoperable crane.

Further, because of the close proximity of the dock, the outrigger mats had to remain within 20’ of the edge of the dock.

Lift and Set

With limited space to maneuver, the Deep South team assembled a 550-ton Liebherr LTM 1450-8.1 crane as close to the building as possible. With its long-reach – maximum telescopic boom length of 279 feet—and high flexibility, this hydraulic, all-terrain crane proved ideal for the task.

The crane was assembled and outrigger mats placed close enough to the building to operate within the required radius. The assembly of the crane and the lift and set of the structure were completed on time and without incident.

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About Deep South: Deep South Crane & Rigging is a leading provider of heavy lift and transport solutions in the refining, chemical, and energy sectors and strives to provide its customers the best tools to complete the task at hand and is home of the VersaCrane fleet. The firm offers a complete range of services, from bare crane rental to turn-key heavy lift and transport solutions to clients in North and South America. It operates out of 7 locations including Baton Rouge, LA; Sulphur, LA; New Orleans, LA; Dequincy, LA; Beaumont, TX; Houston, TX; and Catlettsburg, KY. Sister company DS Americas operates out of Bogota, Colombia. Recent recognition includes 2020 Houston Business Roundtable (HBR) Best in Class Safety Excellence Award Finalist, 2022 Best in Class Safety Excellence Award in Crane and Rigging, and 2023 Mentor Award; 2020- 2023 Greater Baton Rouge Industry Alliance (GBRIA) Safety Excellence Award; 2018-2023 Specialized Carriers and Rigging Association (SCRA) Safety Award; 2018-2023 Louisiana Worker's Compensation Corporation (LWCC) Safest 70); 2021 Texas Mutual Platinum Safety Partner Award; and 2021 and 2023 Safety Council of Southwest Louisiana (SWLA) Silver Level Contractor Safety Performance Award.