Project Summary
Project Overview
PROJECT OVERVIEW: As part of the form works installation inside the West Gate Tunnel, Premier was engaged by CPBJH to lift a telehandler into a designated position.
CHALLENGE: The overall site conditions were quite challenging due to a 6% slope on the crane set up area and a 9 metre excavation nearby.
Additionally, Premier was faced with limited set up area challenges during planning due to working around other ongoing works onsite. Moreover, there was a restricted head height at 500mm clearance from the tip of the boom to the closed gantry rail, requiring close supervision and precision lifting.
With 10% ground gradient, reversing the truck transporting the counterweights into the 1km long tunnel, was deemed too risky and required an alternative solution.
Given the unusual shape of the load being a piece of equipment, specialised rigging was required to ensure safe lift execution.
SOLUTION: Premier collaborated with the CPBJH make sure works were carried out within the safety guidelines and lift planning matrix.
As a result, Premier’s engineering team planned for custom rigging including a CMOD 50t square spreader bar and a 5 x 4 configuration to safely lift the telehandler.
Due to the poor site conditions, we carried out a ground bearing test which verified the ground condition was adequate to set up the crane.
In terms of the limited head height, we unloaded the telehandler using a tele chart, or in other words live boom condition, to maintain enough headroom between the girder and tunnel ceiling, while slewing.
Lastly, to mitigate the risk of reversing the trucks carrying the crane counterweight and other equipment into the tunnel, the planning team recommended using Premier’s 40t Franna to set up the LTM 1250.
As a result, the client was impressed with the clever engineering across the project planning and efficient execution by our field crews #TeamLifting