Besides lay pipe. I've been a member of the local 18 operating engineers for almost a year now (I work building maintenance though, not construction) so I suppose it's time to start learning something about the primary purpose of my union. I've seen them before, and asked myself the above question idly, but when the union news letter came out recently with a cover picture of a side boom pipe layer it really got me wondering, what do they DO? I mean what can they do that could not be accomplished with an excavator and some chain, or a crawler crane?
They lift a heck of a lot! It would take a large crane, or a HUGE excavator to lift what they can.
They are used primarily in pipeline construction, being able to lift huge amounts and carry the weight with ease. They are able to perform in wet/muddy conditions and are very tough and will take abuse. There are now a lot of hydraulic units that are fairly easy to operate but before hydraulics units they were all mechanical drawworks that included an additional transmission and clutch that operated the boom and load line. Basically sidebooms are much more efficient at doing their job of moving and handling pipe in all jobsite conditions. Excavators & cranes will do a lot of the same but not as mobile or as efficient in no way.
Don't forget that sidebooms are a staple in railroad accident recovery and cleanup.
That's right, Hulcher Emergency Services uses them for railroad accidents. I actually thought about them for employment years back, but they are military strict there. I took these pictures of some big pipe layers on a pipeline job from Texas to Florida. Massive looking machines.
Crawler cranes are not known for being able to pull hills, and they have to be fairly level to make a pick. And if the ground is not firm they need mats. And a big crane needs a lot of room for the swing radius. Pipelines cross all kinds of terrain, and they go through landowners property, so it has to be restored to the original contours. If you have ever seen a pipeline right of way, they are only so wide and that's it. You can't just go onto someone's property because you need the room, you need equipment that can work in the narrow confines of the right of way, and still let the welders and everybody get their trucks past you. If they're driving in a river section they can have a spread of 3, 4, 5 or however many tractors pick a section of pipe that could be hundreds of feet long, and then track down the right of way with it, up and down hills, through mud, whatever. They do use track hoes for it in some situations, often when they're lowering in they'll have a track hoe along with the booms, sometimes they'll use them to hold the weights down on the tractors. And they do use cranes a lot on directional boring, because then the crane can stay stationary. (The drill rig pulls the pipe) But when they're tieing in and you need to hold the pipe in the clamps for the welders, a hydraulic hoe might drift down while they're making the weld. Can't have that. One advantage of cable machines operated by clutches and brakes is that if it's adjusted right, it shouldn't drift when it's dogged off.
why don't they have cabs or ROPS ?
The boom lines route directly in front and over the top of the operators station for one reason, the load line would not interfere with a ROP because it is directly in front of your chest area. A ROP could be modified to one with some retrofitting.
One pipelayer carrying another: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xwghZoeFs04 Also it shows the weights pivoted out to the side. Andrew
Thank you all for the info. There is pipeline going in around where I live, part of it goes through my sis in laws back yard ,and a lot of farm land.
It lays pipe, just like me. Sorry couldn't resist that one
That Fiat is HUGE in the video. It is worth watching the converted HD41 carrying a 594, and making it look small.