The RIX Group – Anchor plates

In March 2018 HLD was engaged by The Rix Group to design a set of anchor plates for the Sydney Metro infrastructure project.

The Sydney Metro project is the largest public transport project in Australia. Currently under construction, the project will connect North West Sydney with Bankstown via a new harbour crossing and a number of new stations.

As part of the construction of the Metro, the anchor plates were designed to be installed with a varying number of post tensioned strands at different angles as required…

Crane Studies in the Pilbara

In January 2018 HLD was engaged by RCR Tomlinson to develop the installation planning and technical lift studies at Pilbara Mineral’s Pilgangoora Lithium-Tantalum Project. The mine is located in Western Australia’s remote Pilberra region, 120 kilometres south of Port Headland.

HLD was also recently engaged by RCR Tomlinson on their $33 million contract to design, construct and manufacture a five-kilometre relocatable conveyor system for Fortescue Metals Group…

News HLD plans 118 tonne new bridge lift for WestConnex

HLD was recently engaged by Joyce Krane to develop a series of lift planning studies for the construction of a new 70-metre bridge over Alexandria Canal in Sydney.

The new Campbell Road Bridge is part of the major WestConnex transport project currently under construction. As part of the project, Campbell Road is being extended eastwards across the canal to Bourke Road, Alexandria, easing congestion in the area.

Crawler crane lifts on Christmas Island

HLD was engaged by Indian Ocean Oil Co. to provide a peer review on a series of lift studies developed to replace a ship-loading facility’s redundant trusses. The ship loading facility was part of a major phosphate processing facility on Christmas Island.

A Demag CC2200 crawler crane was used to remove seven-tonne trusses off the ship-loading facility in preparation for a newly built truss. HLD was then engaged to take over the management of all future lift studies required on the project. Due to the project’s tight construction timeframe, a number of urgent studies were completed over 48 hours.

Sydney’s transport infrastructure boom; HLD on WestConnex and NorthConnex mega projects.

Sydney is currently amid a major transport infrastructure boom dominated by the construction of three major projects; the WestConnex motorway project, the NorthConnex tunnel project and the Sydney Metro Project, the largest public transport project in Australia’s history.

The new 33-kilometre WestConnex motorway will eventually connect two of Sydney’s main motorways – the M4 in western Sydney and the M5 in south-western Sydney and will provide vital links to Sydney’s main international gateways at Sydney Airport and Port Botany.

Season’s Greetings from Heavy Lift Designs

It’s hard to believe it’s that time of year again already, but that’s probably a good thing. It indicates we’ve had a very busy and successful year and the time has flown by!

We wish you a safe and merry Christmas and happy and prosperous New Year… and look forward to keeping you up-to-date with our news throughout 2018.

Lifting Locomotives in Western Australia

At HLD we undertake technical lift studies for a wide range of unique heavy machinery on major projects around the country; from graders, diggers and excavating machines to tunnel boring machines and even mobile cranes themselves.

However, it’s not often that we get to plan the technical lift for a 195-tonne locomotive engine! Our recently opened Western Australian office planned the lift of a 195-tonne locomotive engine using a dual crane set up of two Liebherr’s, the LTM1400 (400t) and the LTM1350 (350t) mobile cranes.

HLD Appointed as Heavy Lift Consultant to Perth Airport Rail Link

HLD has been recently appointed by the Salini Imregilo & NRW Joint Venture to undertake all heavy lift consultancy requirements on Perth’s new Forrestfield-Airport Link rail line.

HLD is undertaking both third party verification works, technical lift studies and on-ground lift coordination on the $1.87 billion project, that commenced construction in May 2017.

The project, jointly funded by both the Federal and State governments will include three new stations; Belmont, Airport Central and Forrestfield. It is expected to be completed by late 2020.

At completion the rail link will provide an 18-minute commute from the Perth Airport to the Perth CBD and will terminate in the eastern foothills of the city.

Hitachi Crawler Crane Study – Westconnex

The Westconnex Joint Venture, comprising CPB, Dragados and Samsung C&T, recently purchased two Hitachi Sumitomo Crawler Cranes for ongoing use at the project’s Arncliffe staging site.

HLD developed the technical lift study that determined the 275 tonne, Japanese made crawler cranes were suitable for the sites requirements. The study determined that the cranes could lift up to three-tones around a radius of nearly 45 metres.

The Arncliffe staging site is now being used to deploy tunnelling machines towards Bexley and St Peters, through two tunnel shafts that penetrate 65 metres below ground.

HLD relocates its Sydney HQ to Balmain

With four staff now operating out of our head office, more space was required, so in July this year we moved from our Darlinghurst office, to new digs in Balmain.

We are loving the new location and all that historic Balmain has to offer… including all the old pubs to explore!

The new office is located at 1-15 Barr Street, Balmain and visitors are always welcome.

Procedural Review on the Sydney Light Rail project

Currently under construction, the CBD South East Light Rail line will span 12 kilometres and feature 19 stops, stretching from Circular Quay to Sydney’s south eastern suburbs. A tunnel underneath Moore Park and a bridge over the Eastern Distributor roadway will facilitate access to Randwick, Kensington and Kingsford.

The CBD South East Light Rail will redefine travel through the city, decongesting key routes in the CBD and linking up with important locations such as the sporting and entertainment facilities in Moore Park and Randwick, along with the University of NSW, TAFE and hospital precincts. The project will be completed and services will start running in 2019.

Acciona, the company responsible for delivering the project, appointed HLD to perform an independent technical review of the crane and lifting operations procedures for the project.

HLD Appointed by CPB, Dragados and Samsung C&T JV for WestConnex

Currently under construction, WestConnex is the largest transport infrastructure project in Sydney since the Sydney Harbour Bridge and is due for completion in 2023.

The new 33-kilometre motorway will eventually connect two of Sydney’s main motorways – the M4 in western Sydney and the M5 in south-western Sydney and will provide vital links to Sydney’s main international gateways at Sydney Airport and Port Botany.

Lifting Bridges at Narellan

The Australian and New South Wales Governments are funding a $114 million upgrade of 6.8 kilometres of Narellan Road, to reduce congestion and improve safety and travel times across South Western Sydney.

Engineering and construction contractor Seymour Whyte Constructions are currently building the second stage of the upgrade, which is expected to complete by mid-2018.

The current stage of works involves widening the northern bridge over the Hume Motorway and erecting a new pedestrian bridge on the southern side of Narellan Road.

Prefab Panel Lifting at Hornsby Mixed-use Development

HLD was recently appointed by DNK Developments to design a highly technical lift solution for a residential/mixed-use site in the Northern Sydney suburb of Hornsby.

The project, designed by Mackenzie Architects will feature ground floor retail below three storeys of residential apartments, located within immediate proximity to the Hornsby CBD and transport interchange.

HLD attending Crane Association of NZ

HLD will be presenting at the 2017 Annual Crane Conference hosted by the Crane Association of New Zealand (CANZ). The conference will be held on July 19 – 21 in Rotorua, New Zealand.

HLD Property Development Services

On major commercial, industrial or high-rise residential developments, long-term crane hire costs can run into many millions of dollars. Without assistance from specialist engineers, often complex decisions are required to be made by the developer concerning the design, placement, installation, purchase or hire of large cranes.

HLD Sponsors CICA’s 2016 Annual Conference

HLD recently had the pleasure of sponsoring the national Crane Industry Council of Australia’s (CICA) annual conference in Cairns, Queensland held over three days in late September 2016.

HLD Managing Director, Blake Hammon attended the conference along with over 300 delegates representing crane suppliers, engineering companies, contracting firms and rigging gear suppliers from all over the world.

HLD Customises Crane at Residential Project The One, Hurstville

HLD recently erected a fully customised Italian TLX-1350 crane at the construction site for an upcoming residential tower, “The One” in Hurstville, New South Wales. HLD was commissioned by the project’s construction contractor, GenCorp to solve a highly technical crane requirement; GenCorp required a crane installation in close proximity to a heavy-rail line on a construction site with major physical constraints and height restrictions.

Technical Lift Verification at NorthConnex

As part of Lendlease’s Global Minimum Requirements, an independent engineer must verify all lifts greater than 20 tonnes, using two or more cranes on a lift or those that have a complex rigging arrangement on its construction sites around the world. HLD has been engaged by Lendlease as its preferred supplier of all third-party lift verifications on NorthConnex.

HLD Launches Mobile Crane Verification Portal

HLD has recently launched a digital portal specially designed for the planning of mobile crane-lift requirements. Backed by HLD’s experienced team of engineers, the portal is a subscription based service that allows three, five or ten lift plans per month.