Project Overview
This gantry was designed, manufactured and installed by Rope and Marine to aid with the replacement of pumps from a well. The purpose was to eliminate the need for any manual handling of the pumps, from street level to the bottom of the pump chamber and eliminate the risk of operators injuring themselves when handling pumps up the stairs and into the building.
Design and Engineering
Modelling the pump station itself was crucial to allow for the gantry to seamlessly integrate with the existing building structure. The main beam needed to sit as high as possible in the door frame to maximise headroom. A finite element analysis was conducted on the design using a load of twice the working load limit. It was observed that no stresses exceeded the yield strength of the material, and that deflection was below the LOLER limit of one five hundredth of the beam length.
Manufacture and Assembly
The gantry was made in our workshop from mild steel, universal beams and columns and plate. The plates were cut using our CNC plasma cutter to maintain precision of hole patterns. All plates were MIG welded to their respective beams. The main beam was cut into two sections to help aid with transport and installation as the total length was over eight metres.
Testing and Implementation
A site survey was conducted by civil engineers to determine the suitability of the existing groundwork. Due to the large pump cavity below, it was found that it was unsuitable to be used as part of the lifting structure. New concrete pads had to be installed for the gantry to be sat on top of. A part of the door had to be cut away for the new beam to pass through while still being able to lock the door. Once the gantry was installed it was load tested to the standard 1.25x the working load limit.
Outcomes and Lessons Learned
The gantry successfully allowed safe and efficient handling of pumps, eliminating manual lifting risks and improving maintenance workflow. Client feedback highlighted the ease of use, reliability, and robustness of the installation.
