Moving a Large Fuel Tank at Lillooet Seton Hydro Station
The Seton Hydro Station in Lillooet was shut down for repairs and required a team of highly skilled crane operators to perform a very difficult and high-risk job of mobilizing a 61,000 litre fuel tank.
To assess the scope of work, a team of professional linemen and technicians were brought in to work out a plan of action with our crane operators. An initial project meeting was completed allowing the team to develop a comprehensive project plan. The key factors considered were the safety of everyone involved, the extremely tight working conditions, the intricacy of the positioning of the fuel tank and the very high-risk and minimal height distance between the fuel tank and the high voltage 61,000 kb power lines along with the narrow path to manoeuvre the trucks in. If the equipment got too close to the power lines, the team could be in danger of static from the power lines which could be very harmful. This was a critical and complicated lift, only to be executed by very skilled and highly qualified professionals.
To begin, our crane truck had to be grounded to ensure the safety of our operators and everyone involved on site. The area was measured between the ground and the power lines using a laser to ensure proper clearance. Three crew members were assigned to both crane operators and an additional member was assigned to monitor the blind spots of the crane operators every move.
The fuel tank was resting on a 16 ft lowbed trailer, to ensure that there was ample distance between the power lines above and the final transition point. Our crane operator backed up the trailer as much as possible, close to the area where the tank was to be to be transitioned to, right underneath the power lines. Considering the intricate positioning and heavy weight of the tank, another 47-ton knuckle boom crane truck joined our 60-ton crane to perform a tandem lift to offload the tank from the lowbed. This was a critical lift, as they had to focus and stay within the parameters of the small enclosing on the narrow path they were on and to ensure that they stayed clear of the power lines just a few feet above.
This entire job was executed safely and successfully over a weekend! Needless to say, the Hydro Station crew was very impressed with the Can Ridge team and just one week later, they specifically requested our team to come back to the power plant and execute the job of transitioning 3 transformers that weighed 20,000 pounds each and 3 (2,000 kilowatt) generators! Can Ridge was more than happy to execute the job!
