Able Rigging Dismantles 3 Cranes In 5 Days

NEW YORK—February 25, 2009— ABLE Rigging successfully demobilized three cranes in five days to beat the deadline for New York’s annual crane moratorium. The ABLE team had to jump down three cranes before November 23, 2009 in order to save the contractors over a hundred thousand dollars during the moratorium. The three locations were all in Manhattan in close proximity to subways and commercial towers. All three jobs required multiple street closures.

The demobilization of the three cranes began on Wednesday, November 18, on West 51st Street, a nighttime job that began at 10 p.m., followed by a second crane demobilized at 123 Washington Street on Saturday, November 21, and a third on 45th Street on Sunday, November 22.

The first crane dismantled was a freestanding, 11-section Favco 220 90’ boom, used at maximum height on West 51st Street. The job site was close to Rockefeller Center, home to television network NBC and the Radio City Music Hall as well as several other commercial towers. ABLE crews had to work at night to minimize the disruption to these businesses. The crane was erected in September 2009 for the fabrication of a concrete superstructure lifting a Max 18K concrete bucket. The crew used a Liebherr LTM 1250, 77K counterweight and a Terex RT 335 second assist to complete the job. The dismantling took 11 hours.

The crane used at the Washington Street site was a Liebherr 540 HC-L 131 boom 100K counterweight erected to maximum height, plus a 700’ external climber, with six external building tie-ins erected to 38 20’ sections (760’). A Liebherr LTM 1250, 159K counterweight, 204 boom, half outriggers and Link-Belt RTC 8040 second assist were used in the demobilization of the crane. The crane was erected in September 2008 for the erection of concrete superstructure exterior curtain wall. The job took 16.5 hours while crews worked in a very restricted space that only allowed the use of half outriggers on both sides of the crane.

At the West 45th Street site, a freestanding Favco 220 105’ Boom erected 35 sections 455’ using a Luffer, externally-tied external climbing unit with four building tie-ins. The crane took 12.5 hrs to take down 3 days to remove all tie ins and 22 sections using a Liebherr LTM 1250, 104K counterweight, 204 Boom and a Link-Belt RTC 8040, second assist. The crane was erected in August 2008 for the erection of a concrete superstructure exterior curtain wall and HVAC units.

The ultimate challenge with these jobs was the logistics. ABLE crews had to move more than 40 trailer loads out of the city with no staging area at any of the three job sites. With all three sites in close proximity to subways, ABLE crews had to carefully monitor the ground loadings put down by the assist crane. They also had to identify subsurface structures and plan supports and mats to minimize ground pressure. The absolute bare minimum counterweight needed in order to keep outrigger loads as low as possible.

ABLE Rigging works as a standalone rigging company and utilized the same crew for all three jumps. Master rigger Robert LaChapelle served as supervisor for all three job sites with a crew of tower crane demobilization specialists led by rigging foreman Vincent J. Bill.
“All that any of us do is run cranes, rig them and disassemble them,” said LaChapelle. “That day in day out experience is the only thing that makes this work safe. Experience, professionalism and preparation were the keys to ABLE Rigging’s ability to execute these three unique and challenging jobs in such a short time frame.”

ABOUT THE ABLE ORGANIZATION
Founded in 1986, The ABLE Organization is a family-owned and certified women-owned business enterprise that includes ABLE Equipment Rental, ABLE Rigging Contractors, and ABLE Power Rental. The ABLE Organization’s dedicated team of specialists provides reliable products and attentive service for construction projects throughout the New York metropolitan area.

Able Equipment Rental. ABLE Equipment Rental, Inc. offers an extensive range of aerial and construction equipment, as well as mechanical equipment applications for facilities critical infrastructure support and contingency planning. In addition to being a premier rental and service department, ABLE Equipment Rental is an authorized sales representative for some of the top equipment manufacturers in the United States, including Sullair, JLG, Genie, Gradall, Lull and Multiquip. For more information on ABLE Equipment Rental, please visit www.ableequipment.com.

Able Rigging Contractors. ABLE Rigging Contractors, Inc. is comprised of rigging service professionals dedicated to the safety and timely completion of specialized rigging projects. ABLE Rigging Contractors’ licensed Master Riggers excel at engineering analysis, millwright contract trades, derrick solutions, tower crane erection, warehousing, elevator shaft rigging, oversized load transport and escort services, permits and trucking. For more information on ABLE Rigging Contractors, please visit www.ablerigging.com.