Temporary Monorails and Gantry Crane Tracks

Thompson Miller Specialty Rigging

The Challenge

Yorkville Village Shopping Centre in Toronto's Yorkville District underwent a major renovation to completely update the look and function of the building and meet LEED silver standards. As part of this renovation, Thompson Miller Specialty Rigging was retained to install the roof-top HVAC units, but could not use a crane. Objective Engineering Inc. designed a rigging system of monorails and gantry crane tracks that routed the 12-ton units through the existing building and onto the roof and penthouse.

The installation of the HVAC units was already behind schedule and the monorail structures were temporary, so the solution had to be simple and with quick installation. The major challenges addressed were:

1. Verification of the suitability of the route through the existing building.

2. Very small clearances were available, as little as 3" in the loading bay and the units were required to be lifted from the base.

3. Moving the HVAC units required using the existing building structure.

4. To maneuver the units, the entire system had to work using only manual chain hoists, gantries, skates, dollies, and person power.

5. To prevent alteration of the steel and minimize field welding, the monorails were designed to clamp to the existing steel structure.

6. The monorails were positioned to accommodate the units passing between the monorails themselves using gantries located above.

7. Limiting alterations, modifications, and rebuilding of the building components.

The Solution

JADE Engineers Inc. (now Objective Engineering Inc.) was able to create a simple system for a challenging situation. The outcomes included:

1. Closure of Avenue Rd. was no longer required and allowed normal traffic flow.

2. Minimal disruption to retail tenants, shoppers, and building residents.

3. Economical design with easy installation and dismantling kept the project on budget and minimized time overruns.

4. Installation was completed in half of the scheduled time using the system we designed.

5. The owner, our client, and our contractors were all very satisfied with the outcome of our design.

About Thompson Miller Specialty Rigging

With their team of machinery movers, crane operators and engineers, they can develop a solution for every difficult equipment move. They offer turnkey solutions including structural steel, concrete work, excavation, and demolition to support their customers' requirements. Visit their website Thompson Miller Specialty Rigging.