Schueck Steel completes Nucor Mill with the Link-Belt LS-248H II

The Schueck Steel Company of Little Rock, Ark., completed Nucor Corporation’s newest steel mill thanks in part to detailed planning, technical expertise, and state-of-the-art equipment. Located near Charleston, S.C., the one million-ton capacity steel mill began production last fall.

Before beginning a new project, Schueck Steel thoroughly studies the job. "The first thing we do before we go looking for a crane is to study the job," says Jerry Sutherland, project superintendent. "After about 10 years of experience we pretty much know what to expect on a steel mill, but there is always that one exception that could cost you a bundle if it were overlooked. Once we have determined the parameters of the job, then we go looking for a crane. There are a lot of cranes for rent out there, but only a very few we feel very comfortable with."

To complete the project, Schueck Steel had to conquer adverse weather, rough terrain, restricted work space, and variety of other challenges. These conditions required Schueck Steel to use one 200-ton crawler crane, and two 250-ton crawler cranes. "My preference for erecting steel on any big job is a large crawler crane, like the Link-Belt machines that we have on this job." says Sutherland.

"I realize a number of companies are switching to hydraulic machines, but you can’t easily move hydraulic truck cranes around in the mud, slop and the uneven terrain we have to contend with and not get the safety and stability we want. With hydraulic machines you must constantly set up, break down, move and reset the crane for the next lift. On a long-term job, give me a crawler any day."

The type of crawler cranes Schueck Steel is using on the Nucor project are the Link-Belt LS-248H II Hydraulic Lattice Boom Crawler Crane and the Link-Belt LS-718 Lattice Boom Crawler Crane.

The next challenge is rigging, hoisting and moving the roof joists from 500 feet away to the structure. Sutherland knew there could be some potential problems once they reached the halfway point. There is no place inside the 29 feet by 104 feet wide by 93 feet high structure to store any steel. The nearest storage space was about 500 feet away. On top of that, there was a steep ramp going down to the work floor inside it. "If we were required to walk the crane up and out of the laydown area, it would be a time consuming, and a potentially tricky round-trip move," says Sutherland.

The tricky round trip maneuver is exactly what the Schueck crew had to do. First, the crane operator had to re-position the 240 feet main boom and 30 feet jib into a position that wouldn’t hinder the operation. "In effect," says Sutherland, "the boom and the jib became a part of the counterweight during each of these moves. Each joist weighs 12,300 pounds and measures 105 feet by 5 feet. The crane operator had to move the machine up the ramp, across the road and get to where he could reach the joists."

Once the joist is rigged, the operator moves the crane back onto the road, close enough to reach the building’s skeleton. The joist is then lifted over the 90 feet high steel framework and lowered to the work floor for final assembly. Once that was completed, the boom was lowered, then the crane was moved back down the steep ramp to where the final placement of the roof truss could be made. This procedure was used for each roof truss.

A common obstacle Schueck Steel faces with erecting steel mills is the lack of laydown and shakeout space near the cranes. "It would not be unusual," says Sutherland, "to have the Link-Belt cranes on this job reaching out one hundred to one hundred twenty-five feet to pick up a piece of steel from the laydown area.

"You have to be ready on a Nucor steel job. They (Nucor) have been a real good customer for Schueck Steel. They want you to get it (the project) up, get it right the first time, and do it as quick as you can so they can get the mill into production. They don’t have an income producing property while the mill isn’t complete.

"Fortunately for us, we could maneuver the big 298,000 pound-plus Link-Belt machine, with the extra counterweights on the crawlers, just about anyplace on the site, no matter how crowded."

A steel mill is essentially a massive overhead crane runway system with a roof over it. Since the production of steel requires the moving of molten metals, the crane runway system is the lifeblood of the facility. The double-girder overhead cranes that handle the materials in these mills will sometimes go as much as 300,000 pounds per girder. In most cases, they require a two-crane combination lift using two of the three Link-Belt cranes on site.

The weights of steel for the Nucor project presented many lifting challenges for the Schueck crew. A diagonal or angle brace might only weigh a couple hundred pounds. On the other hand, some of the larger columns or crane girders will go as much as 50 tons, and sometimes exceed that. "The heaviest lift so far with the LS-248H II has been a double-legged steel column, which weigh 84,000 pounds each and its bracing for the caster building. There have been a number of 40 feet support beams weighing 32,000 pounds each. Some of these were placed 50 feet in the air at a 70.6 foot radius and a crane boom angle of 70 degrees," says Sutherland.

The sensitivity of the cranes also plays an essential role in the project. The technological advancements in today’s cranes enable the user to operate the crane faster, smoother, more precise and significantly more safe than a dozen years ago.

An example of the crane’s sensitivity would be when the Schueck crew is lifting the 10-ton overhead crane rail girders. The operation involves four men — the crane operator, two connector men and one tag-line man. The connectors sit more than 50 feet in the air, and there is approximately one inch for them to "play" with to make the proper fit. "That’s about a half inch apiece and, believe it, the crane can give them that anytime they want it," says Ken Smith, project foreman.

Safety is Schueck Steel’s first concern. "Without exception, the companies we work for share our philosophy that safety is paramount on every job we do," says Sutherland. "One of the best ways to assure this is by leasing only state-of-the-art equipment. That is one of the reasons why Schueck Steel leased a new Link-Belt LS-248H II crane from Carlisle Worldwide Crane Rental Service for this project."

They also have leased two 250-ton capacity Link-Belt LS-718 cranes on this job. "After all," Sutherland said, "I have the safety of my men to consider first and the safety of the job second. I know I personally don’t want to be working around a crane hanging heavy iron that I am not 100 percent happy with."

"If you provide a safe work environment for your workforce, you will have a productive project. Nothing slows a job as quickly as the word of a serious accident sweeping across it. The one variable that we can’t totally control in safety is the human element," says Nucor General Manager-Construction, Norman Maero.

Maero continued to say that they must reduce all the other hazardous factors in the job, while at the same time maintain strict work force safety compliance.

Although 95 percent of their projects involve erecting steel mills, Schueck Steel also erects steel for shopping malls, coliseums, stadiums and office buildings. Some of Schueck’s clients include Birmingham Steel, Gallatin Steel and Northstar Steel.

Schueck Steel does not own any high-capacity lifting cranes. "We must have the most reliable cranes built, and get the maximum utilization from them in order to stay competitive in our specialty field of steel erection. Because we work on many different types of heavy civil construction projects, the company owns no high-capacity lifting cranes. We have determined that it is to our advantage to rent or lease machines," says Sutherland.

Although they cost more, Smith likes the larger cranes. "It’s like buying an insurance policy. It seems that someone will ask us to lift something that we haven’t planned on. If we have the extra lifting capacity we will not go home with egg on our face. Doing it this way has paid off for us."

Link-Belt Construction Equipment Company, with headquarters in Lexington, Kentucky, manufactures a full line of telescopic boom and lattice boom cranes for the construction industry worldwide.