A fertilizer production facility in Alberta, Canada, needed to replace a massive 570 ton, 100-foot-long horizontal converter at a live fertilizer plant. The facility produces and distributes over 28 million tons of potash, nitrogen, and phosphate products annually for agricultural and industrial customers worldwide. Getting the converter replacement right with minimal downtime was critical.
Myshak Crane and Rigging (MCR), a Canadian specialized rigging company, was retained to design and execute the move. The team had two major problems to solve:
- The converter was located inside a congested, active plant surrounded on all sides by piping that could not be moved.
- The team’s horizontal skidding system was rated for 300-tons, far less than the 570-ton converter.
In addition:
- The move also required maneuvering the 100-foot converter through a path with mere inches of clearance on either side for much of the move.
- The load needed to be raised and lowered mid-skid to clear overhead obstacles.
- The replacement converter needed to travel the same path, clear the same obstacles, and be placed at its installation point with extreme precision.
In this article, we’ll describe the process Myshak crews used to complete the move successfully. We’ll also introduce you to the hero of the story: the powerful JLS250 jacking load shoes.
The Team
Myshak Crane & Rigging is known for developing customized, cost-effective solutions for projects where standard techniques are not available.
Troy Burton, specialized rigging field manager at Myshak, described their approach: “Our group is what we consider a specialized rigging group that doesn’t focus on only large, complex projects, but the small ones also. We try to excel in coming up with the best way to achieve our customers’ goals in the most economical and safe way.
“We shine when a client allows us to think way outside the box to design and engineer to the needs of the project. In this case, the client wanted to replace the converter as efficiently as possible with minimal disturbance to the surrounding piping and other equipment.”
The central question Myshak crews needed to answer was this:
How could the crew move a 570-ton load when their skidding track system was only rated for 300 tons?
The answer: Six Hydra-Slide JLS250 jacking load shoes.
The Hero of the Story: Six JLS250 Jacking Load Shoes
JLS250s allow heavy items to be skidded across hydraulic skidding track systems. Rather than setting a load directly on the track, operators raise the load, then lower it onto these jacking shoes, which distribute weight evenly across multiple points.
If the skidding system’s rated capacity is below the weight of the load to be moved, additional load shoes can be added to increase the overall capacity of a system. In the case of the HT300 heavy track system, for every two additional skid shoes added to the support system, the system’s capacity increases by 300 tons.
At the fertilizer plant, Myshak crews used six JLS250s, increasing the HT300’s capacity from 300 tons to 900 tons, well above the converter’s 570-ton weight. In theory, this process can scale indefinitely. Twenty JLS250s on a standard HT300 track could yield 3,000 tons of capacity.
Using jacking shoes to raise and lower the converter vertically during the move
The six JLS250s did more than just scale the HT300’s capacity. They also enabled crews to raise and lower the load while it was being skidded. This was essential to navigate tight clearances while clearing overhead piping and overhead obstacles during the move.
The Move
MCR completed the move in three phases.
Phase 1: Preparation
First, the new replacement converter arrived by rail. MCR operators offloaded it and the accompanying basket using the HT300 skid system and placed them in storage until the plant could be shut down for the replacement phase of the move.
A spare basket was also removed from the facility and transported off-site to make room for the new, larger unit.
Phase 2: Removal
The second phase of the plan began on the day the plant began its shutdown. MCR operators raised the existing converter, placed it atop the six skidding shoes on the HT300 tracks, then skidded it more than 50 meters to an open area of the site.
From there, operators loaded the converter onto a self-propelled modular transporter for removal.
Phase 3: Replacement With Millimeter-Precise Placement
Once the old converter was removed, operators used the same process to skid the new converter along the same 50-meter path to its position within the plant.
Operators then lowered the converter onto its anchor bolts for final installation. The skidding system alone was used to move the converter to its final installation point, meaning millimeter-precise placement was critical to the success of the project.
As Burton described it: “Due to the very tight confines, we had only 2 inches of clearance in some areas, and when you add in that the ground conditions were soft, the load could even ‘tighten up’ some of those clearances. We had to lean the converter at one point to give us clearance down the side, then we got close to the top, so we had to lower it as we went out.”
On-site Equipment Support
For this move, two members of the Hydra-Slide team were on-site to provide support for the skidding systems—Don Mahnke, founder of Hydra-Slide, and Robert Young, director of operations. Their role was to ensure the team had everything they needed to operate their skidding systems with confidence, not to plan or direct the move itself, which was fully managed by Myshak Crane & Rigging.
As Young said: “We were happy to be on-site with the Myshak team and help them feel more confident in using their equipment.”
Burton added: “The equipment performed perfectly and made us look impeccable to our client.”
Takeaways
1. Using Additional JLS250 Skidding Shoes Empowers Crews to Increase the Capacity of the Skidding System
Removing and replacing a 570 ton piece of equipment is a major undertaking. MCR showed that skidding systems could be a central tool to accomplish the move successfully.
2. Specialized Moves Require Creative Problem-Solving
The combination of a large, very heavy object, tight clearances, and the need for millimeter-precise placement meant the team had to be creative in both the planning and execution phases of the project.
Is Hydraulic Skidding the Right Choice for Your Next Move?
If you need to move a very heavy item in an environment with limited clearance or overhead obstacles, reach out to our team at Hydra-Slide. We’d be happy to help you decide if hydraulic skidding is the right option for your needs.
