Electrical Switchgear

Electrical switchgear equipment was lifted by helicopter and fitted into place

Most projects in a downtown area have buildings spaced out far enough to use a crane, but in West downtown Dallas, the spaces were so tight, MEI substituted a helicopter for traditional crane rigging. The helicopter never touched the ground, using a 3 story parking structure as a temporary helipad. The operation was scheduled for Friday overnight into early Saturday morning so as to not disrupt neighboring businesses. As the electrical switchgear equipment was lifted by helicopter and fitted into place, the client’s operation was still running, requiring shutting down only one line at a time. Precision timing and placement were critical.

The project involved a large volume electric gear, ranging from under a 1000 pounds to over 23,000 pounds, was completed without any disruption, whatsoever, in business for the client. Each piece of electrical switchgear equipment took less than a minute to move by helicopter as all the equipment had been pre-rigged for flight.

“Certainly using a helicopter as an air crane cut our rigging time in half,” says Chuck Lane, our Dallas Sales Manager, “but the excitement was simply just the payoff from 3 months of planning and a well-executed project.”

MEI also provided storage and transportation services coupled with overall advice to the client team on how to best facilitate each phase of this moving project to maximize the client’s budget.

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