Steel Mill Emergency Outage

PROJECTS

Scope of Work

At CCI, we pride ourselves on being problem solvers. We welcome the challenges inherent in heavy machinery moving. When our rigging and transport teams show up at your job, you can trust they are committed to providing you with the quality, safety, and value you expect from your heavy-industrial contractors. When Michigan’s AK Steel hired CCI to replace an obsolete transformer and switchgear at their steel mill in Dearborn, CCI didn’t hesitate to tackle the complex project. We served as the turnkey rigging contractor, and the project required a good deal of advanced planning.

Our teams specialize in safe, efficient removal, transport and reinstallation of heavy equipment with minimal downtime. Our engineers determined the offloading and rigging activities for AK Steel would best be accomplished using a 240-ton mobile crane and a 75-ton tri-lifter forklift. The 75-ton tri-lifter forklift has the benefit of massive lifting capability combined with a low profile. It is designed to move very heavy loads in confined spaces and can assume various configurations depending on the requirements of the move. Using a mobile crane for the project provided the added flexibility and ease of set-up needed for the project to succeed.

When considering equipment at this scale, complex planning and engineering are required to ensure safe, efficient operations. Following are some of the elements that were considered for AK Steel:

• Certified weight of the load
• The load-bearing capacity of the ground and roads
• Boom-length calculations
• Potential obstructions to the machine’s counterweight
• Potential clearance issues in transport
• Hook-height requirements
• Potential site-access issues

Once the loading and offloading challenges had been addressed, the method for moving the equipment required some creative problem-solving. The weight of AK’s transformer and switchgear presented some special challenges in terms of both equipment and cost. Choosing a rail car for transport was key to the success of the project. Trains can bear a tremendous amount of weight in comparison to trucks at a relatively low fuel cost. A train was able to move the transformer and switchgear for AK Steel swiftly and unencumbered by the delays often associated with road transport. Choosing a rail car to move the equipment helped us meet our just-in-time delivery goal with little impact to plant operations.

The stakes are high when executing heavy industrial rigging and transport. Even a minor misstep can result in catastrophic financial loss or serious injury. Safety is not just a component of CCI’s service; it is built into every phase of every project we do, from planning through final inspection. CCI provided AK Steel with a detailed rigging and execution plan, which included the highest standards for safety. Our managers and field teams are accustomed to staying closely engaged with the client’s project personnel to ensure we maintain compliance with our client’s specifications as well as their expectations. We consistently reassess site-specific safety hazards and conditions and call safety meetings and inspections regularly. At CCI, we are serious about our goal to maintain zero accidents, injuries or incidents on every job we do. CCI was able to self-perform the entire transformer shutdown and replacement project for AK Steel. Our clients appreciate our extensive track record with safe, cost-effective machinery extraction, transport and reinstallation. Our goal is always to provide our clients with safe, on-time delivery and minimal overall impact to plant operations.