A custom jig for hands-off rigging

In a bid to trim its carbon footprint, Worsley Alumina has achieved a significant milestone by converting its first coal-fired boiler to natural gas. The M&IS MMS team supported this project as a primary structural, mechanical, and piping (SMP) contractor for the transformative project.

Challenged with the task of removing coal nozzles on the boiler corners, which usually involves using rigging gear and pry bars in a restricted work area, the team leant into Monadelphous' recent focus on hand and finger risks and searched for a safer way.

The solution was a custom-made coal nozzle lifting jig, with an offset lifting design for easy removal and placement using the recently embedded hands-off rigging approach. Replacing the need to use pry bars and rigging equipment, Supervisor, Todd Lyons, designed and obtained engineering approval from the customer to fabricate the jig.

With the new jig, the crew removed the nozzles from the tight location using chain blocks, with the vertical load on one lug and transferring the load horizontally with the other lug. This method can also be used in reverse for replacing the nozzles.

For both removal and replacement, this innovation significantly reduced the potential for dropped objects, eliminated potential pinch points, and mitigated musculoskeletal strains from manual handling by using rigging and mechanical aids.

A big congratulations to the M&IS MMS Team at Worsley for finding the Safe Way and for their nomination for the 2023-2024 Monadelphous Managing Director's Safety Innovation Award.