3D Lift Planning Software: Case Study

ALL Crane's 3D Lift Plan Application Aids Lid Replacement at Lakewood (Ohio) Wastewater Treatment Plant

When the City of Lakewood, Ohio, said "put a lid on it," they meant they needed to replace two old, deteriorated floating lids on the secondary digester tanks at their Lakewood Wastewater Treatment Plant.

The city is using federal economic stimulus funding to make improvements to the sludge-handling equipment that will allow the use of a process known as two-stage mesophilic/thermophilic digestion. But that means the digesters needed new fixed covers, which work better than floating covers in the new sludge-digestion process.

To lift and place the new 50,000+-lb lids, heavy equipment was definitely required. Lakewood called ALL Erection & Crane Rental Corp. of Cleveland, Ohio, to supply a Grove GMK 5240 240-ton all terrain crane. But the job site is tight and required the crane to be positioned between the two digester tanks.

After taking measurements and surveying the surrounding area, Marty LaCava, the ALL sales representative, decided to use the company's 3D Lift Plan to plan the pick. The 3D Lift Plan Internet-based application is a true 3D lift-planning and crane selection application that is available on all onboard crane computers in the ALL fleet. With the increased ability to calculate and view every detail, ALL's lift-planning experts can find the most economical crane and rigging configurations for a specific pick, plan around obstructions on a jobsite, and view the site from all angles, saving time and increasing efficiency on the job. Most importantly, thorough lift planning improves lift safety by improving foresight and real-time lift accuracy.

LaCava says the 3D Lift Plan was critical to the lift because they were able to not only simulate the entire pick, but also to establish the perfect placement of the crane. Due to the tight area, the crane was determined to need an exact pick radius of 70' and a swing radius of 18' 3". That allowed the actual swing radius to be within 3' of the plan. In addition, the ground had to be slightly altered to allow for the pads and outriggers. The 3D Lift Plan also determined the exact weight of the load-in this case, the domed lid plus the weight of the rigging block was 60,270 lbs.

The lids, which were built on the ground, were picked one at a time and set perfectly in place, thanks to the reliably accurate 3D Lift Plan application.

At ALL, lift-planning service is free and helps ensure an accurate, safe, and cost-effective pick-one that is well planned before work begins at the actual site. By simulating the environment of the lift, ALL is able to help customers properly plan an efficient lift day.

LaCava points out that the 3D Lift Plan is a valuable asset, but it is secondary to ALL's understanding and practical application of value engineering, combined with daily practical experience with erection and lift engineering.

For more information, contact ALL Erection & Crane Rental Corp. at 216-524-6550 or toll free at 800-232-4100.