Making Room Where There Wasn't Any
When a boiler replacement called for precision rigging inside Aviagen’s Watertown facility, Trimble Services helped keep the project moving—working within tight clearances and around existing process piping to remove two boilers and rig their 1,400-pound replacements into position.
Quick Project Facts
Location: Aviagen | Watertown, NY
Client: Hyde- Stone Mechanical Contractors
🏗 Services: Rigging and millwrighting
Equipment: Custom Built gantry header, chain falls, machinery skates, rigging bars, 5K forklift and 12K telehandler
Completion: September 24
Two Boilers. One Very Tight Mechanical Room.
Working for Hyde-Stone Mechanical Contractors at Aviagen’s Watertown, New York facility, Trimble Services was brought in to support the removal and replacement of two boilers inside a tightly packed mechanical room. The scope included receiving and storing the replacement units, removing the existing boilers, delivering the new equipment to the site and rigging both replacements into their final positions.
Each replacement boiler measured approximately 6 feet long, 3 feet wide and 5 feet tall, weighing roughly 1,400 pounds.
While an overhead door provided direct exterior access to the boiler room, getting through the door was the easy part. Inside, existing process piping and holding tanks created an extremely restricted path to the installation area, with less than an inch of clearance in places. Overhead piping further limited the space available for rigging.
The Plan Worked—Until the Ceiling Got in the Way
Before arriving onsite, Trimble had already accounted for the known overhead process piping.
A custom gantry header was fabricated by Trimble Services specifically for the project, allowing the rigging system to work around piping hanging from the ceiling.
But as the replacement boilers reached their final installation area, the crew encountered additional headroom restrictions that left insufficient space to complete the installation using the original setup.
The equipment was there. The path was clear.
There just wasn’t enough room above it.
When Every Inch Counts
The existing boilers were installed one above the other, with a structural frame supporting the upper unit.
That configuration meant the boilers couldn’t simply be rolled out and replaced.
Trimble first suspended the upper boiler from a custom gantry, allowing the supporting stand to be removed. The lower boiler could then be placed on machinery skates and moved out of the mechanical room.
Once the lower unit was clear, the upper boiler was lowered to the floor and skated out as well.
With the old equipment removed, the crew was ready to reverse the process.
Then the available headroom got even tighter.
If You Can't Rig Under It, Rig Through It
Rather than allowing the unexpected clearance issue to stop the job, the crew adapted the rigging plan in the field.
Trimble incorporated their Caterpillar TL 1255C and utilized the existing exhaust-stack opening above the boiler room. Rigging was fed through the opening, giving the crew access to the overhead space needed to suspend the upper replacement boiler.
With the upper boiler held in position, the supporting stand and lower replacement boiler could be installed beneath it.
Built for the Job. Adapted for the Site.
This project required more than one piece of equipment to solve the access challenges inside the mechanical room.
Trimble’s crew utilized a custom-fabricated gantry header, chain falls, machinery skates, rigging bars, a 5,000-pound forklift and a 12,000-pound telehandler throughout the removal and installation process.
The custom gantry was designed around the facility’s overhead piping and handled the initial removal work, while the telehandler became a critical part of the revised installation plan when field conditions required a different approach.
Having multiple rigging options onsite gave the crew the flexibility to adapt without bringing the project to a stop.
Ready When the Jobsite Was
There was another logistical challenge on this project before rigging ever began.
Issues involving a temporary rental boiler had delayed the project schedule. Trimble had already received the replacement boilers and was able to store the equipment until the facility was ready for installation.
Industrial equipment deliveries don’t always line up perfectly with shutdowns, construction schedules or site readiness.
Trimble Services provides short- and long-term equipment storage, allowing equipment to be received, secured and held until a customer is ready for delivery or installation.
One Day. Three-Man Crew. Problem Solved.
Despite the tight clearances and unexpected headroom restriction, Trimble’s three-person crew completed the boiler removal and replacement work in one day.
The project demonstrated something that doesn’t always show up on a lift plan: successful machinery moving depends on more than equipment capacity.
Site conditions change. Clearances get tighter. What works on paper doesn’t always work once the equipment reaches its final position.
The custom gantry got this project started.
A telehandler, an existing opening and an experienced crew helped get it finished.
Trimble Services would like to thank Hyde-Stone Mechanical Contractors for the opportunity to support this project and Aviagen for allowing our crew to work within their Watertown facility. We appreciate the coordination and cooperation that helped make the project a success.
