Edwards Moving & Rigging is using a variety of equipment, including a 150-tonne capacity Hydra-Slide skidding system to swap transformers at a high security power plant in the USA.
The two-year project is scheduled to be completed in late 2019.
Each change of transformer takes three to four days, about every eight weeks. Each existing transformer weighs around 10,000 lbs (4.54 tonnes) measures 1.67 m long, 2.56 m wide, and 1.98 m high and the replacement units are a similar size and weight.
The Kentucky-based heavy hauling and rigging services provider is employing rollers, hydraulic jacks, aluminum cribbing, a modular tower, and Hydra-Slide equipment, together with the building’s own overhead crane.
All components of the XLP150 extreme low profile system being used are capable of being moved by hand, says Edwards, and it is ideal for areas with restricted access.
Bill Watts, vice president of operations at Edwards, said that the main challenges are low headroom, a confined workspace, and no access for forklift trucks. Also, the site does not allow gasoline motors or any flammable materials, such as wood. The only viable alternative to the Hydra-Slide system would have been to employ overhead trolleys to move the loads across the length of a beam, but the XLP150 presented a myriad of safety and productivity advantages, he added.
