Welcome to the latest edition of On the Hook. There’s plenty happening across the Heavy Lift business, and I’m pleased to share some of our recent highlights as we head into the second half of the year.
After many months of planning, it was fantastic to finally welcome our new hybrid cranes and celebrate their arrival with our team, customers and industry partners at Bibra Lake. As the first cranes of their kind in Australia, this is a milestone we should all be proud of. The two 250 tonne hybrid cranes are the latest addition to our growing Heavy Lift fleet and strengthen our ability to support customers across the Pilbara and beyond. They will be based at Fortescue's Solomon and Eliwana mine sites, where they will support iron ore operations and help advance lower-emissions lifting solutions.
I'd like to thank everyone involved in bringing these cranes into service. From procurement and engineering through to operations and project delivery, this achievement was the result of a genuine team effort. It's exciting to see us continuing to build capability for the future, create new opportunities for our people and help our customers achieve their goals.
That focus on capability continues across our projects. We recently mobilised to the Nullagine Pilot Wind Farm in less than four weeks from contract award, and already have five cranes on site. We’ve successfully deployed our new 250 tonne SANY Telecrawler to Brockman for its first assignment on the Rio Tinto Digger Shutdowns campaign, securing an initial three months of continuous work.
At Jimblebar, the team recently mobilised our 700 tonne crawler crane and successfully installed the first module for the TLO project. Meanwhile, at CD4, our CC88 crawler crane, the mighty Rubino, has been assembled and is being prepared for the major shutdown later this year.
Dave Muirhead and the Alevro team continue to deliver outstanding results. Another key milestone was reached on Pluto Train 1 with the successful transport of the final major module to site. Weighing more than 4,500 tonnes, the NGL North module completed a highly complex journey from port to site, bringing all three major module deliveries safely to completion. It’s a significant achievement and another example of the skill, planning and teamwork required to deliver projects of this scale.
From an HSE perspective, Travis Gaspar and the team have continued to drive strong safety performance across the business. While we did experience a significant vehicle incident in June involving a crane operator affected by fatigue, fortunately there were no injuries. It serves as an important reminder of the risks associated with long-distance travel and the critical importance of following our Driving Lifesaving Rules. If you’re feeling fatigued, stop, speak up and take the time to rest.
I’m always encouraged by the safety initiatives being developed across our operations. At Fortescue Crane Services, our teams are trialling a new wearable "buddy system" that provides a direct stop-work alert between riggers and crane operators should communications be lost. Our new hybrid cranes are also equipped with hook block camera technology, providing the crane operator with a view looking directly over the load, improving visibility during lifting activities and further strengthening our ability to drive safe outcomes.
Looking ahead, we have some exciting developments on the horizon. We have commenced work on establishing a new facility in Tom Price, which will further strengthen our presence and support capability across the Pilbara. This will enable us to lean into the significant work we have at inland Pilbara sites.
We’re also approaching an important milestone in our Dynamics 365 journey. From 24 August, planning activities will begin transitioning into Dynamics as part of the first stage of implementation. This will provide better visibility, improved reporting and a stronger platform to support the way we work into the future. I encourage everyone to engage with the upcoming training and site roadshow sessions and support the teams involved in making this transition a success.
Thank you again for your commitment, teamwork and the pride you bring to your work every day. It’s exciting to see the Heavy Lift business continuing to grow, and I’m looking forward to what we can achieve together over the remainder of the year.
Stay safe and keep looking out for one another.
Daniel