Crane operations for panel rotation

Working with concrete elements? This page is a guide to erection methods when rotating panels.

Step-by-step overview:

1. Initial lift

• The panel is lifted directly from the transport truck using the auxiliary winch.
• The rigging equipment is connected to lift anchors on the long top edge of the panel.

2. Mid-air rotation

• Once suspended and the transport truck moved, the panel is oriented with tag lines or other devices to align the panel that will be rotated in-line with the crane boom.

3. Final erection

• Rigging equipment from the main hook (winch) are attached to anchors on the side edge of the panel.
• This rigging equipment will be used to assist in the rotation of the panel vertically.
• Once the main hook (winch) has taken the full load, the auxiliary rigging equipment can be disconnected, secured, and positioned away from the panel.
• The panel will be positioned into its final location.

Pickup

For pickup from the delivery truck, the crane boom should be perpendicular to the truck body.

Crane and truck position

Crane and truck position

Mid-air rotation

When rotating a panel, the main axis of the panel must be in-line with the boom, both hoist ropes are aligned with the sheaves which prevents side loading of the rope on the head sheaves.

The load is transferred from the anchors in the horizontal edge to the vertical edge.

Mid-air rotation

There are two types of erection method:

Main winch erection rigging

Main winch erection rigging is the standard method used for installing precast concrete panels. The process involves coordinated use of both the main and auxiliary winches to safely lift, rotate, and position the panel.

Rigging from the main winch are attached to anchors in the short top edge and used to erect the panel in the vertical orientation after mid-air rotation.

Auxiliary winch erection rigging

This method may be required on some sites. This method is limited to cranes where the capacities of both main and auxiliary winches is enough to lift the full load.

The panel is lifted from the truck using the auxiliary winch attached to rigging from anchors in the top edge.