A crane being used to remove HVAC units from a building roof. It might be among the most routine things you'll see (if you accept as routine the ability to easily move something that weighs many tons).
Now add that it's taking place in a dense, urban area. On a busy weekend. On the same street as a major sports arena (yes, it's hosting an event). You begin to see how something so apparently “routine” isn't really routine at all.
“It took about 11 months to plan this operation,” said Brian Meek, project manager of ALL Erection & Crane Rental, a flagship branch of the ALL Family of Companies.
ALL specified a 770-ton Liebherr LTM 1650-8.1 all-terrain crane to perform the work, provided to its customer, Shippers Highway Express. “Together, this is our wheelhouse,” said Meek. “ALL and Shippers have been doing these kinds of downtown weekend jobs together for generations.”
They make it look easy. It is, in fact, not easy.
The Job
The building that needed four HVAC units removed is located on E. 9th Street in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, a major lakefront thoroughfare that delivers motorists to the heart of the city's downtown nightlife, including bars, restaurants, a casino, MLB's Progressive Field and the NBA's Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse. Setting up a crane there required the total closure of E. 9th. “From curb to curb,” as Meek put it.
The first street closure was on a Friday evening. The crane, six truckloads of counterweight and an assist crane were delivered to the site, and the large AT was assembled.
The street closed again early Saturday morning. At that time, the crane, configured with 187,000 lbs. of counterweight, 227 ft. of main boom, and 43 ft. of hydraulic offsetable jib, began removal of the HVAC units. The team had only a few hours to remove four units from the building's roof, each weighing approximately 15,000 lbs.
“The city of Cleveland wanted us out of there by late Saturday afternoon because there was a hockey game at Rocket Mortgage Fieldhouse that evening,” said Meek. “We completed all four lifts, disassembled the crane, and were on our way by 1 p.m.”
Months of Preparation
ALL Crane photo
