Barnhart Crane & Rigging has completed the complex installation of eight overhead cranes at a new shipbuiding facility in Alabama supporting US Navy submarine production.
Each 140 ft (42.67 m)-long crane was originally planned to be lifted into position through the roof of shipbuilder Austal using a large crane.
However, delays in delivery from the Italian manufacturer meant the building roof was already complete when the cranes arrived, creating additional cost, schedule and construction challenges.
Defence supply chain
“None of our competitors were able to come up with a way to do it with cranes,” said Kyle Adamsproject sales director at Barnhart. “So they [Austal] came to us and we looked at it and we had some alternative methods that didn’t really involve cranes.”
This alternative solution meant utilising its Push-Up Unit (BPU) System. After a laser scan of the facility in Mobile, Alabama, the company transported each overhead crane from an offsite staging area into the building on a trailer.
Two cranes then lifted each unit onto the BPU stand, where 16 BPU barrels raised the 226,000-lb (102.5-tonne) cranes 70 ft (21.34 m) into position.
The new facility bays will be used to manufacture submarine components for the US Navy, supporting expansion of a strategically important part of the country’s defence supply chain.
