All the Work You Don't See

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, 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 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

The job first went out for bid almost a year ago. The project owner awarded the contract to Shippers, who chose ALL as its crane supplier. The two entities sketched out a rough work plan at that time.

A few months before the tentative lift date, planning revved up in greater detail.

"It was around January when we really dived in," said Meek. "The Shippers and ALL teams started putting together the plans and procedures of how we wanted to execute the job. About two months out, we're doing ground scans, choosing where we want to place the crane and checking that the equipment we've specified for hoisting matches up to the weights of what we've selected."

Shippers and ALL were in regular contact throughout the months leading up to the project, contact that became more frequent the closer the calendar got to lift day.

"Everyone got their lift day teams finalized, and we all made a site visit — Shippers, us, the project owner," said Meek. "By now, we're having weekly check-ins. In the couple weeks immediately prior, we're talking every day."

They're checking and re-checking the lift plan but also accounting for factors such as wind and weather. They have to choose a few backup dates that work for everyone in case lift day is a late scratch.

As all of this is happening, the Shippers' crew is nailing down its permits to perform work on a downtown street while ALL is coordinating travel permits for the AT. All-terrain cranes have axles and tires but still require special permitting because of their physical weight. It's not just a simple phone call, either. Depending on whether the crane will need to travel on state, county or municipal roads, ALL has to get permits from all three types of government.

"And if we're going through multiple counties and cities to reach our destination, each county and city has to issue its own permit," said Meek.

There's an old saying that a picture hanger doesn't charge for the nail; he charges for knowing where to hammer. The ins and outs that ALL and Shippers have learned about the nuances of urban construction might exemplify that thought on a macro scale. Meek, who's been with ALL for more than two decades and started out as a crane operator himself, describes it like this:

"This relationship between ALL and Shippers was already in place when I came along," he said. "I learned from the old-school guys who came before me. Now, we have young guys coming up who are learning the same, time-tested methods. It involves generations at this point. There's no substitute for that kind of learned experience. It's why a job that's actually pretty complex can be thought of as simple or routine … because everyone involved makes it look easy. I assure you, it's not."

For more information, visit allcrane.com.