Crane Operation Amongst Largest Seen at Canary Wharf

Mechanical Movements have been working with Optimise Group this month on one of the largest and heaviest crane configuration set-ups Canary Wharf has ever seen!

Working at the iconic Credit Suisse building, our task was to complete the removal of all critical building services plant from the roof level of the 23 storey tower at One Cabot Square.

This substantial list of mechanical plant consisted of:

• 2 x 30-tonne generators
• 1 x 25-tonne boiler package plant room
• 3 x 7-tonne chiller units
• 2 x heat recovery units along with adjoining pipe work, pumps, and mezzanines.

Whilst constructing the 650-tonne crane rig throughout the Friday evening, with the help of a 100 tonne rigging crane, we were also simultaneously implementing road closures and exclusion zones, in preparation for the lifting operations to commence over the weekend.

The crane, with a Superlift and 63-metre Luffer, sat on 10 tonne matts (7m x 2.5m), creating an impressive 48-metre radius. However, even with such a considerably sized radius, we were required to break down the boiler package plant room and generators into smaller sections before removal, in order to achieve an acceptable lifting weight.

All of our rig was deconstructed and removed from the island throughout the night on Sunday, allowing for the Monday morning rush hour to take place in the busy business district without disruption.

Well done to our entire Mechanical Movements team for completing this considerably large job safely and successfully within the agreed timeframe.