Crosby|SP load cell weighs Christmas trees

In the oil and gas industry, a Christmas tree is the set of valves, spools and fittings used to regulate the flow of pipes. The trees are being stored in Nacala-Porto on the northern coast of Mozambique from where they will be sold on by an oilfield services company.

Sarens is responsible for offloading the trees from a vessel, transporting them to the site prior to temporary storage. It selected a 250t capacity Demag CC1100 crawler crane to complete lifting operations.

Julio Paco, lifting operations supervisor at Sarens, said: “Generally my role includes preparing the daily lift plan, supervising each lifting operation, leading talks with the personnel involved in each operation, and sending weekly and monthly reports to the office.” Paco further explained that the company’s scope of work also includes testing and inspection to ensure that the trees are working properly before they are moved onto a jobsite.

The trees are identical and measure approximately 5.4m by 5m. For each lift various rigging gear including chains, slings and shackles were sourced from Sarens’ local stock.

Paco added: “We had to supply two crane operators and two banksmen to cover two shifts. As is always the case in this sector, speed and efficiency of service is paramount to delivery of our services. Knowing the weight of items as they follow their supply chain to the point of use is a necessary component of that work. With the Radiolink plus we can take readings at a safe distance using a [handheld] device.”