Capital Equipment News April 2021

HEAVY LIFTING

Breaking the blueprint

single drive. Digital mapping integration can establish the shortest overall transport route. On site, load cells will calculate a module’s centre of gravity to minute accuracy – clarifying what is stable and what is not. But things haven’t always been this good Some 40 years ago, lift preparations were a painstaking manual process, undertaken using the humble pencil by rows of engineers at drawing boards. Projects would be mapped out in meticulous detail; each image bespoke, uncontrolled and resource-hungry. “Any heavy lifting or transportation project requires thorough, expert planning before equipment gets anywhere near to the project site. This planning stage is an important opportunity to discuss client requirements in detail in order to develop

T he role of engineered heavy lifting has always been to support the incredible feats of others; by offering guidance on the possible and impossible. By establishing early on how loads can be lifted, transported or even divided, decisions can be made that pay out many times over throughout the life of a project. The modern engineer has many tools at their disposal. LIDAR route surveys can establish whether roads have the necessary clearance, during the course of a Digital technology allows organisations to collaborate early, forming new, more efficient and safer ways of working. While its implementation is easy for uniform processes in bulk, things get tricky when working at a rarer size and scale. However, technology exists that can make planning heavy lift projects as simple as walking around site – months or years before the site even exists.

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