Barnhart recognised in SC&RA Awards

In the Less than $150,000 category, Barnhart engineers custom-designed a 150,000-pound capacity tipstick to remove and replace two 100,000-pound spindles in a steel mill within a 24-hour window. Designed specifically to upend smaller diameter vessels through narrow openings, the tipstick was used in tandem with a small crane that lifted one end of each of the spindles. The tipstick tipped each spindle as necessary to get them past obstructions and feed them to the overhead crane via the pick point trolley. The entire job was completed over the course of two shifts.

The project that earned the $750,000-$2 million Job of the Year award required Barnhart’s engineering team to develop a custom-designed system to lift, stack, and relocate 10 prefabricated modules into a building in Texas. Each stack of modules measured 60 feet high by 60 feet wide and 480,000 pounds. Because the fabricator constructed the modules without lifting points, Barnhart designed and fabricated five different types of lifting lugs for a total of 61 and designed two 12-point rigging systems for load out at the fabrication site and for assembly at the project site.

Barnhart used a 500-ton Liebherr all-terrain crane to lift and stack the modules on their equipment and a customized slide system to move the two stacks of modules into the building. The team utilized pull-up gantry jacks to lift the modules inside and then reconfigured them on powered gantry bases to transport them to their foundations. Barnhart completed the project within the allotted four weeks of receiving the work.

Barnhart’s custom-designed system to lift, stack, and relocate 10 prefabricated modules won the SC&RA Rigging Award in the $750,000-$2 million category. 

In the Over $2 million category, Barnhart replaced a failed stator at a Missouri power plant with a stator that the company lifted and transported from a plant in Louisiana, some 700 miles away. The job was on an accelerated schedule due to the unexpected failure of the stator in Missouri. Nevertheless, Barnhart employed meticulous planning and keen attention to detail and safety to plan and complete the job in less than two months.

To access the replacement stator, Barnhart crews had to remove isolated-phase buses and structural steel before they could lift the 720,000-pound stator, which measured 40 feet long by 14 feet high by 15 feet four inches wide. Barnhart utilized a 500-ton hoist and 70-foot gantry truck to lift, transport, and set the stator on a rail car for movement to Missouri. Barnhart removed the failed stator and lifted and set the replacement stator. In all, more than 12,000 man-hours were involved, and the project was completed ahead of schedule and within budget, enabling the power plant to be at full capacity prior to the peak energy season.

“It is always great to be recognized by our peers, and we are thrilled to have the tremendous work of our engineers, riggers, and operators honored with these awards. The hours dedicated to site visits, designing customized solutions, and planning and executing jobs safely takes incredible teamwork and dedication. For us, though, the best reward is a happy customer and the satisfaction of a job well done,” said Jeff Latture, executive VP, Barnhart.

The Specialized Carriers & Rigging Association is an international trade association of more than 1,350 members from 46 nations.  The SC&RA awards program showcases how much its members value safety, ingenuity, perseverance, and altruism.