Demolition Men

In December 2013 a number of units at the Essar Stanlow Refinery were being brought back on line following a maintenance shutdown. During the process a small pocket of gas was inadvertently ignited within one of the furnaces resulting in an explosion that caused significant damage to the furnace walls and floor. Following an initial survey Essar of the furnace it was determined that the roof and the internal chrome alloy tubes were relatively undamaged.

The challenge was to formulate a plan to support the roof and tubes in their current position, whilst dismantling the walls and floor in a live refinery environment.

Essar contracted industrial dismantling company J. Bryan (Victoria) to undertake the project. Due to the complexity of the task and the request from Essar to undertake the work as soon as possible J. Bryan mobilised a team of specialists that included Mammoet, Westlakes structural engineers and Techlift.

Over the Christmas holiday period the team developed an ambitious plan to suspend the furnace roof and tubes in place by using a strand jack system supported on steel beams and columns that were positioned amongst the myriad of pipes, ducting, gantries and structures that surrounded the furnace.

The team were given a 12 week window to construct the strand jack lifting / support gantry, strip off all the ductwork and pipes from the furnace roof with a 750te crane, then remove the furnace walls and floor. Working around the clock in close proximity to live plant and in the depths of winter, the team successfully completed the project with 3 days to spare.

Techlift were delighted to have played our part in the successful completion of a most challenging and unusual project.

In the autumn of 2014 the complexity of the project and the skills of the companies involved were recognised at the World Demolition Awards in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, where J. Bryan (Victoria) were voted winners of the Collaboration category.