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UK Nuclear Licensed Site – Semi-Automated Raft Cranes

A UK nuclear-licensed site had a pair of existing Goliath cranes that were beginning to fall short of the site’s increasingly demanding requirements. A wide range of factors needed addressing including operator safety, facility capacity, and future-proofing. To meet the challenge, SCX engineered one of the most advanced cranes it has ever produced. It called on every engineering discipline from mechanical, to electrical, to hydraulic, to controls and safety.

The Challenge

Our client has a facility handling nuclear processing materials at its site in north-west England. The waste is packaged into cement and steel cylinders and stored on two 330-metre long ‘rafts’.

The previous raft cranes were operated from the raft itself. This placed operators in controlled areas with an increased risk of exposure, and manual visual positioning meant that cylinders could only be stacked two high.

The Solution

Our solution was two semi-automated and remotely controlled ‘Goliath’ raft cranes, significantly reducing operator exposure and facilitating triple-stacking of cylinders to make better use of the storage facility.

SCX designed, built, tested and installed two cranes, each with a sophisticated rotating and latching grapple, to run on the existing raft rails. The solution has bespoke nuclear protection features including our MotoSuiveur load arrest devices, CCTV and load recovery.

Technical Details

Explore more specialist handling solutions from SCX