Certified lift engineering, rigging design and execution for the heaviest and most awkward components on an industrial site — from single critical lifts to sustained multi-crane dismantling campaigns.
- Lift capacity accessed
- Up to 750 t via project crane partners
- Methods
- Mobile & crawler crane · tandem · skid · jack · SPMT
- Engineering output
- Categorised lift plan with calculation pack
- Supervision
- Appointed person · lift supervisor · slinger-signaller
A heavy lift is decided long before the crane arrives. Ground bearing pressure, crane configuration, radius, obstruction envelope, centre of gravity, rigging geometry, wind limits and contingency positions are all determined at the desk. On site, the crew executes a plan — they do not improvise one.
DDMS Global provides appointed-person lift engineering across our own dismantling programmes and as a standalone service to owners and contractors. Every lift above the routine threshold is categorised, engineered, drawn, calculated and independently reviewed. Rigging is selected against certified capacity with documented factors, and every item of gear is inspected and logged before it goes to the hook.
We are frequently brought in for the loads that other plans could not accommodate: a reactor with an unrecorded centre of gravity, a transformer with no clear crane standing, a stator that has to come out through a roof opening narrower than the component. Those are engineering problems, and they are solved with analysis before they are solved with steel.
Scope coverage
- Critical lift planning and engineering
- Multi-crane tandem and synchronised lifts
- Vessel, column and reactor removal
- Transformer and generator lifting
- Skidding, jacking and SPMT operations
- Rigging design, gear selection and certification
- Load path and ground bearing analysis
- Lift supervision and appointed-person cover
Load definition
Confirmed weight, dimensional envelope, centre of gravity and lifting-point capacity. Where records are absent or unreliable — common on legacy assets — we establish these by survey and calculation rather than assumption.
Lift categorisation
Each lift is classified as basic, standard or critical against defined criteria. Category determines the level of engineering, the review requirement and the supervision structure applied.
Crane and method selection
Crane type, configuration, counterweight, boom arrangement and standing position selected against radius, obstruction envelope and site access. Alternatives such as skidding, jacking or SPMT transport are evaluated where craneage is impractical.
Ground and structure verification
Ground bearing capacity, mat and outrigger loading, and — for lifts staged on structure — verification that the supporting slab or steel can carry the imposed load.
Rigging design
Sling angles, spreader and lifting-beam selection, shackle and shackle-pin capacity, tag-line arrangement and lift-point verification, all calculated with documented safety factors.
Lift plan and briefing
Drawn lift plan issued, reviewed and briefed to the full crew including crane operator, appointed person, slinger-signaller and banksman. Exclusion zone, wind limit and abort criteria are confirmed on site.
Execution and set-down
The lift is executed under continuous supervision with defined communication protocol, controlled set-down and post-lift inspection of both load and gear.
Engineered, reviewed, certified
Critical lifts are calculated and independently reviewed, with the lift plan, gear certification and inspection records forming part of the project file.
Alternatives properly evaluated
Where craneage is constrained, skidding, jacking and SPMT transport are assessed on engineering merit rather than defaulted past.
Legacy assets handled
Missing weights, unrecorded lifting points and unreliable drawings are resolved by survey and calculation before a plan is issued.
Standalone or integrated
Available as a discrete lift-engineering service or embedded within a full DDMS Global dismantling programme.
- Lift capacity accessed
- Up to 750 t via project crane partners
- Methods
- Mobile & crawler crane · tandem · skid · jack · SPMT
- Engineering output
- Categorised lift plan with calculation pack
- Supervision
- Appointed person · lift supervisor · slinger-signaller
- Gear control
- Certified, inspected and logged before every lift
Answered directly by the engineers who deliver this scope.
Typically one or more of: proximity to live plant or personnel, use of more than one crane, a load exceeding a defined percentage of rated capacity, an unknown or uncertain centre of gravity, lifting over a structure that cannot be evacuated, or a load whose replacement value or lead time makes failure unacceptable. Category drives the engineering and supervision applied.
We engineer and supervise the lift, and mobilise craneage through long-standing project partners selected against the specific configuration required. That separation means crane selection is driven by the engineering rather than by what happens to be in our own yard.
We establish it — from original fabrication drawings where they exist, by dimensional survey and material calculation where they do not, and by load-cell verification at first lift where uncertainty remains. We do not proceed on an estimate for a critical lift.
Frequently. Skidding systems, climbing and strand jacks, gantry arrangements and SPMT transport all extend what is achievable where crane access, radius or ground conditions rule out conventional lifting. These are evaluated during method selection.
Limits are set per lift against the load's sail area, rigging arrangement and crane configuration, and are stated explicitly in the lift plan with defined abort criteria. On-site wind is monitored continuously and the appointed person holds unconditional authority to stop.
Talk to us about heavy lifting & rigging.
Send the asset, the constraint and the date. We will come back with a method and a realistic programme before anyone discusses price.