HEAVY HAULAGE - 300 Metric Tons of Steel on the Move | Full Documentary

300 tons of steel on the move a heavy haulage double bill a 100 kilometer obstacle course narrow roads become bottlenecks [Music] at railroad crossings the overhead contact lines are hung too low small bridges that wouldn't bear the weight without special reinforcements miserable weather slush and the use of special equipment and inclines that can only be climbed by two tractor units working as one the danube near ashakh in upper austria two real steel monsters have arrived here by ship autoclaves in other words industrial ovens that have to be transported from here to an aircraft component company by road to lift the 140 and 160 ton autoclaves out of the ship the heavy haulage company has set up a gigantic crane with ballast it weighs almost 800 tons and can lift up to 750 tons nevertheless lifting the autoclaves out of the ship is problematic project manager guntavima is tense the ship can't be completely fixed in position in the danube of course so the unloading process is always difficult because the ship could start to sway so we really have to watch out that we don't touch the side walls because that would damage both the freight and the ship so that the steel giants don't lose their balance when lifted the haulage company employees attach a roughly 10 meter long cross beam to the crane hook each end of the cross beam is fitted with a gigantic shackle with two slings each of which can withstand a load of a hundred tons installing them is very hard work while modern crane technology makes some things easier a lot of the work still has to be done by hand each of the steel shackles for example weighs 425 kilograms that means watching out for your feet as you can see pulling the textile slings isn't something the guys can do sitting down but it keeps you in shape careful watch your fingers the boom needs we're screwed oh lower boom over you there stop stop stop stop stop no no no yeah perfect on the road behind the crane the first trailer unit is moving into position a tractor unit with 650 horsepower and three drive axles the load will be put on this low bed trailer it has a total of 12 axles that can be steered by remote control for better load distribution each axle has eight wheels the tractor trailer unit has an overall length of around 45 meters the crane raises the crossbeam and slews it towards the ship things are now getting pretty serious for crane operator jan peter cuona the challenge with these loads is to lift them up absolutely precisely you need an experienced team and to work with radios his contact on board the ship is manfred capela he's also a crane operator and knows exactly what damage the 1.2 million euro monster can do if even the slightest mistake is made you can't imagine what could happen the crossbeam has to be centered precisely over the autoclave otherwise it will sling uncontrollably in the ship when it's lifted i'm ready okay okay it's beginning we can start lifting now that means we'll inform the water police so that they can stop shipping traffic on the danube as soon as i have their okay we can start lifting hey we'd like to start if that's okay with you thanks crane operator yan peter kerna now takes up the slack very slowly the autoclave only swings slightly when it's lifted from the ship floor stop the ship's moving a bit the autoclave's moving and we're clear raise cable [Music] the first lift went smoothly the 140-ton steel colossus is set down safely on the low bed trailer the autoclave has to be precisely in the center otherwise the transporter could start to tilt so that the load doesn't slip during the journey it's secured with tensioning chains the second autoclave should be lifted out of the ship now but nothing's happening we have a problem the stud where the slings attached is down there there are two boxes there as well i don't want to tear the boxes off so we're going to put something in there now project manager takes the square timbers on board himself between the load and the side wall and slides the timbers behind the sling over the boxes between and beneath them nancy raise cable please now the second lift can start too [Music] hey so we've raised the second autoclave because this autoclave weighs 20 metric tons more we have to change the radius in the ballast to do that we're now going to push the ballast trailer out an additional meter that means we have to balance the crane too much ballast at the rear would mean the crane would fall over backwards to a little ballast at the rear and the same would happen forwards we don't want that because that would be a complete disaster [Music] after five hours both of the autoclaves have been transferred almost precisely on schedule yeah we have to deal with the 35 minute delay because of the additional timber we had to improvise but otherwise we're ready to set off let's hope the weather stays like this that it doesn't get any colder of course the worst that could happen is sleet then we'll be forced to wait and that would really disrupt the tight schedule exactly three days remain for 100 kilometers of country roads with innumerable obstacles the mega cargo's destination is a big factory in reichersberg upper austria facc manufactures aircraft parts from interior cabin trims and wing elements to engine components like these thrust reverser elements they consist of carbon fibers synthetic resin and special honeycomb cores the individual materials have to be bonded together to form highly resilient components that's done in gigantic ovens called autoclaves here the composite elements are heated under pressure and harden for four hours at 180 degrees celsius the company currently operates 15 such autoclaves because its order books are full the factory is eagerly awaiting the two new ones which if all goes well should arrive in three days delivery has now been delayed for over a week so we now have to make sure that we get the autoclaves up and running as quickly as possible so we can implement our expansion plans the heavy haulage vehicle is due to set off in a few minutes transport escort company boss franz kuba is carrying out a final inspection we have to watch the height and our width the most important thing is the height every cable is hazardous whether it's an electric or a telephone cable telephone that's important it's well lit it's lashed down properly it's completely okay that means the transporter is ready to go 7 pm the convoy departs on sections without obstacles the transport speed is up to 20 kilometers per hour after about one kilometer the heavy haulage vehicles have to stop briefly we're waiting because we've got permission to shut the power off in the next two places starting at 8pm some cables have to be shut off because we can't keep to the safety clearance and some have to be taken down during the first stage there are some places that will almost certainly be without power for an hour because we have to get through them with both transporters ten minutes later the convoy sets off again each of the two tractor trailer units is 45 meters long but because the low bed trailer module's axles can be steered individually the curves along the route won't pose a problem gunta vima always drives ahead of the transporters he's familiar with each of the numerous obstacles we've got about another 500 meters to go then we'll reach the first bridge that isn't statically strong enough for the heavy load so we have to carry out the first special action there so that we can cross this bridge structural engineers have calculated the carrying capacity of this bridge to be 220 tons which means the tractor trailer unit with the heavier of the two autoclaves is 12 tons too heavy the men therefore uncouple the 35-ton tractor unit from the trailer the tractor unit then drives to the other end of the bridge the transport crew connects the tractor unit and the low bed trailer with slings we're going to tow the trailer over the bridge so that the weight of the tractor unit isn't on it the trailer will be steered by remote control so that it remains on track the tractor unit moves off slowly and the slings take up the tension while crossing the load has to remain precisely in the center so that the loads at the sides of the bridge are the same because that too could severely damage the structure half an hour after reaching the bridge the first autoclave has passed the obstacle the second one is 20 tons lighter so the conditions for crossing the bridge are different it can drive normally over the bridge at five kilometers an hour there's nothing stopping us now off we go the road ahead is clear for the next few minutes the first bottleneck crops up in effeding at this intersection the heavy haulage vehicles should actually turn right we can't turn right because the intersection's too tight on the inside there's also a house that's in the way so now we have to change direction that's done by attaching the tractor unit that was at the front to the rear of the low bed trailer in the other direction crossing the intersection now no longer poses a problem for the two heavy-duty haulage vehicles as the convoy moves on the advance party is already sorting out the next problematic area a large roundabout here the men from the transport escort service place heavy steel plates onto the traffic islands [Applause] we put the steel plates down so the grass isn't damaged and the low bed trailer doesn't sink in wooden wedges are placed against the sharp edged curbs otherwise the transport vehicle's tires could be severely damaged and in the worst case could even burst several traffic signs also have to be removed the majority can simply be pulled out once their ground anchor has been released others offer more resistance the use of a special tool built by the transport escort company also proves unsuccessful franz kruba the boss has to lend a hand as well just in time because the transport convoy is already coming after the preparatory work crossing the traffic islands is no problem the low bed trailer's axle modules actually remain horizontal the swing axles balance out the height differences each wheel pair can individually move upwards over an obstacle or compensate downwards project manager gunta vima has painstakingly listed all of the obstacles along the route in advance and stored them on his tablet this is the tool that we constantly need so we can give the drivers instructions go left at the traffic island go right and we always have to coordinate with utility companies or cable providers and the telephone company for all the telephone cables transporters had also assumed that the tv cable they now have to pass beneath had been hung higher by the cable provider unfortunately this quickly proves to be incorrect [Music] did you hit the cable cables that haven't been removed are removed it's also a real close shave at the roof gutter of the next house too close we'll have to see tomorrow in daylight whether anything's damaged the tv cable has been torn off either because the company that was supposed to remove it isn't there right now or something else it's down now anyway basically we've removed the cable ourselves will contact the cable provider and the owner of the house with the possibly damaged roof gutter tomorrow he has other concerns right now a railroad crossing [Music] the guys have been putting their foot on the gas a bit too hard now we're slightly ahead of schedule so we'll have to wait until the railroad team arrives they arrive five minutes later first a work locomotive whose crew has to deal with the voltage in the overhead contact line then a truck on rail wheels to lift the line on one side of the railroad crossing on the other side a unimog with a cherry picker is going to raise the overhead contact line to do that the railroad workers mounted on the rails using auxiliary running gear however the men can only approach the overhead contact line once it's certain that the electricity has been shut off we have that we've grounded the contact line with the vehicle and the grounding bar we put it on and that grounds the contact line that means the overhead contact line has been connected to the rails via the locomotive grounding is always important because there are 900 volts in there you have to switch off check there's no voltage ground and short circuit we can't work with voltage there that would be fatal for us next step lifting the tensioning weights which ensure that the overhead contact line doesn't sag during normal operation only now can the men in the cherry pickers release the overhead contact line's bolts and raise the line on both sides of the crossing the lines have to be raised two and a half meters so that the heavy haulage vehicles can pass beneath them [Music] [Music] the convoy is now approaching the most critical point of tonight's journey in pumbaa the route is extremely tight it passes between the houses and past trees but before the transporter reaches this extreme bottleneck there are two unexpected obstacles in the way lanterns that are sticking out over the road a company was supposed to move them out of the way now the street lighting has to be swung to the side at the last minute then comes the nightmare situation that the transport crew has encountered on previous missions a balcony that narrows the roadway to precisely 6 meters 52 at 6 meters 45 the autoclaves are only 7 centimeters [Music] narrower the first attempt has failed the transporter has to back up and try again [Music] this time the truck driver keeps further to the right but a securely mounted street lamp is in the way the only option is to lower the transporter a little using the hydraulic system the second attempt [Music] yes you're good that's true that fits how am i interested if we got space at the back fast that fits okay okay okay it fits perfectly done the first transporter is through things will be easier for the second one the crew knows how far the low bed trailer has to be lowered and the optimal angle for approaching the obstacle project manager kunta vima is relieved and very pleased with his team it's not just the truck driver it's the whole team everyone has to work together from start to finish if things don't work out the balcony comes down and i think the house owner is waiting for the right company to pay for it as things stand that's not us this year but we'll be back one and a half hours after reaching the town the convoy finally makes it through now it's only a few kilometers to the destination of the first leg the first stopover is here in this parking area in the town of waizen kiechen after 30 kilometers the convoy with the two autoclaves took almost six hours to reach it today actually went quite well we removed the cable like professionals the cable company will have to reinstall tomorrow nevertheless the difficulties and challenges continue finally the transport crew has completed the first leg three still to go and the 70 kilometers to the final destination are going to be far from easy day two of the heavy duty transport it's almost 10 am this morning the transport crew can take things easy at first because today's route includes an obstacle that first has to be prepared bridge over a stream if crossed normally it could collapse under the weight of the transporters a special solution is required is an expert for cases like this he's arrived with a big setup team among experts the system intended to keep the bridge from collapsing is called a flyover it's tomato and we've got a hydraulic bridge crossing system that means it rests on each of the bridges columns at the front and the rear it's used to drive over the bridge with a ramp system without directly loading the bridge the crossing system is a bridge over the bridge so to speak it weighs 30 tons is 15 meters long three meters wide and can hold a weight of 500 tons hydraulic bridges are mounted on the crossing system with their help the steel construction can virtually unload itself from the truck once the hydraulic rams are fully extended the low bed trailer moves forward the crossing system then lowers again but it can't be set down on the bridge foundations just yet load distributor plates first have to be placed under the ends of the construction so that the weight isn't placed directly on the bridge foundation these are the safety pins three of them are inserted and the ramp is then practically held on with these bolts so it can't slip away when it's driven on the access ramps are six meters long and weigh around two tons each while they're being positioned at the front the setup crew is already unbolting the hydraulic bridges from the crossing system as you can see here the bridge has been coated with sand it's like coarse sandpaper we us that prevents the tyres from spinning when driving on due to the traction now the hydraulic bridges have to be taken down from the crossing system they're set down next to the bridge vana helper staffer takes a look at the whole construction from the side here come on the cracks you can see there indicate that the bridge has already suffered a lot of strain in its lifetime and you can clearly see that we're positioned ahead of the cracks that means nothing will happen when we drive over the truck with the crane drives onto the construct first the front hydraulic bridge also has to be removed before the descent ramps can be positioned at the end of the bridge just as the setup work is coming to an end the transport convoy with the two giant autoclaves arrives the first crossing begins with a weight of 232 tons [Music] precision work once again the transporter has to remain precisely on track because there's minimum clearance on both sides despite the height difference between the road and the crossing system the transporter remains horizontal the axle module's hydraulic system balances out the difference in levels [Music] crossing the stream has taken almost three hours including setting up the crossing system super functioning setup took maybe 20 minutes longer than expected but that's always the case the first time the team's faster the second time and the third time they set records like in the formula one have a space titan now we're clear again all the way to today's second destination unless something unforeseen were to happen the next few kilometers are initially unproblematic country roads without towns with tight spots and only elongated curves it's almost like taking a break for the drivers of the 650 horsepower tractor units skip the striking we have the root plan and it's helpful if you read through it of course you don't have to be familiar with the entire route but it's good if you know where the most difficult spots are no problems are really expected over the following route section the road winds through the forest alongside a stream [Music] but in combination with the wet road the incline is tricky suddenly the convoy comes to a halt [Music] the tractor unit's wheels are no longer gripping it's slippery here wet starting off again under these conditions too hazardous but the specialists have also planned for events like this pushing truck that's what is therefore the truck that always drives between the transporters is now coupled to the back of the low bed trailer to push it with combined forces the journey resumes the tractor unit might also have managed on its own but that could have seriously damaged the 35-ton vehicle's power train this hop teamer is in maybe the main problem is always that enormous forces act in the tractor unit and at some point little ailments crop up because of too much force when starting off and that leads to repairs that cost a lot of money just before nightfall the heavy haulage vehicle double bill reaches the second day's destination the two steel giants are parked for the night at a gas station in the town of yagon a three of the heavy duty transport just before setting off the truck drivers have to top up the hydraulic units on the axle modules the hydraulic system needs oil to steer the low bed trailers to raise and lower them and to keep them horizontal the convoy with the two 45 meter long tractor trailer transporters then sets off on the third leg today they have to cover 34 kilometers that doesn't sound like much but the convoy constantly has to stop over the first few kilometers branches are hanging so far over the road that they could damage the red covered attachments on the 1.2 million euro autoclaves these compulsory breaks give the team up ahead time to deal with an invisible but hazardous problem area there's a pipe running underneath the road we've got a gas pipeline under here and to protect it because it isn't buried deep enough we've now got to put these steel plates down so that we distribute the pressure over a wider area okay let's get on with it project manager gunta vima also lends a hand so the plates are put down faster without these plates the underground gas pipe could be damaged and we don't even want to think what could happen then or to put it plainly a complete catastrophe the pipeline could rupture and then we can have a gigantic [Music] explosion [Music] everything went well the convoy has passed the danger point however at the intersection after the pipeline yet another stop the 45 meter long transporters can't get around the corner the only thing they can do is change direction to do this the tractor unit has to be unhitched from the front of the low bed trailer turn and be recoupled at the back just changing direction is always tricky it's a 90 certainty that the coupling won't work exactly when you needed to you have to plan the schedule a bit more generously so you can stick to it roughly now the convoy can cover some distance and make good on some kilometers but it's barely back on schedule again when the next involuntary stop crops up a power line over the road is hanging too low and has to be raised but the preparations haven't been completed yet for the transport crew it's a welcome opportunity for a light snack franz cuba the boss of the transport escort company has a trunk full of sausage and baked goods a simple but welcomed meal i'd say you have to take what you can get right even if france's shoes are next to it cheesy sausage there are still 20 kilometers to go to the destination facc which manufactures aircraft parts at its plant preparations for the autoclave's arrival are already underway in a newly built hall one of them is destined for this pit in the floor it will only be secured on one foundation strip on the others it will be able to shift because the autoclave expands when the aircraft components are heated the employees of the setup crew position heavy supports in a recess in the foundation pit they bridge the difference in height versus the edge of the foundation with an african hardwood that's also called red ironwood due to its hardness the construction is required as a substructure because rails are now being installed over a length of 35 meters on both sides of the foundation our crane will be put on the train tracks that means four boots with two beams and once the autoclave is in we'll take it over with the crane and position it on the foundation the setup team has to hurry because the autoclaves are due to arrive here in 24 hours the heavy haulage vehicles with the two autoclaves are now coming up to another difficult obstacle the a8 freeway which they have to cross the two steel giants on the low bed trailers won't fit through the underpass because they have a transport height of almost eight meters that's why we have to use a neighboring bridge over the freeway it's the same old story there too one transporter is statically okay but the second one with the 160 ton autoclave is too heavy that means we need a special solution to cross the bridge again and that's rather complicated the transport crew has to remove the rear four axle module from the low bed trailer a very strenuous job first the front axle module connecting bolts are removed then the men crawl underneath the load to remove the tie rods that are used to steer the individual axles the axle module can't be taken away just yet first the conversion crew has to position supports under the autoclave's rear beams and raise them slightly with wood [Music] then they hydraulically lower the rear axle module so that the supports take over the load and a tractor unit can remove the module beneath the autoclave now the heavy load industry's all-purpose weapon comes into play an spmt a self-propelled modular transporter steered by remote control it has four axles two of which are driven hydraulically a six-cylinder diesel engine with 690 horsepower delivers the necessary power the spmt now moves beneath the autoclave the men fasten it to the remainder of the low bed trailer with a gigantic coupling pin tomorrow the spmt will push the 160-ton steel giant over the freeway bridge an undertaking that may prove difficult because the weather forecast is terrible 7 am day 4 of the transport sleet the crucial question is whether to start crossing over the freeway now or whether to wait and hope it stops snowing the transport crew decides to start right away the bridge over the freeway is 60 meters long before the convoy can cross there's some preparatory work to be done because the authority's structural engineers have imposed clear conditions depending both transporters have to drive precisely in the center of the bridge the smaller one can deviate by 20 centimeters either side the bigger one only by 10 centimeters now we have to mark the roadway accordingly of course the weather's well really awful once again we've got exactly what we didn't want or need today but you have to make the best of things the first of the two autoclaves approaches because it weighs 20 tons less than the other it can cross the bridge with its tractor unit you're on exactly so i can't stop now the tractor unit barely has any grip on the slush if it stopped it would be unable to start off again fortunately the first transporter makes it over in one go it was the right decision not to wait to start right away as you can see when you look at the bridge it's getting worse every five ten minutes not good for the second transporter with the 160 ton steel giant the tractor unit drives onto the bridge there the transport crew uncouples it from the low bed trailer otherwise it would be too much weight for the bridge now the remote controlled spmt has to transport the load over the bridge by itself [Music] stefan get over get over get over it [Music] over done everyone involved is relieved particularly the driver of the tractor trailer unit we were lucky it was icy on the bridge and we just had enough grip to get across because there was a small incline but everything went well the tractor unit is now coupled to the front of the transporter once the transport crew has positioned the supports beneath the autoclave side beams again the spmt moves out from under the load its work is done it's replaced with the original module again the convoy still has one big obstacle to overcome this was not what might be difficult is the next hill because it's still snowing if the snow remains and it freezes then we have a problem then we'll have to come up with a different solution because that road isn't gridded and not even a snow plow would help if there's ice on the incline the transport crew is taking no chances a second tractor unit is coupled to the front of the first one with a tow bar that should provide enough power to cope with the incline even if the road is slippery [Music] the crew of the second transporter is forced to wait the additional tractor unit returns once the first transporter has made it up the incline with a total of 1 300 horsepower the 20 ton heavier tractor trailer unit should make it up the hill as well off we go off we go [Music] because the driver of the rear tractor unit can't see ahead the front driver gives him instructions by radio we're coming up to the trees a right hand bend now there's a ditch on both sides we're stopping here and uncoupling done the third tractor unit won't be needed for the remainder of the route it's uncoupled after passing through a few small villages the two heavy-duty transporters part ways the first drives to a parking area because the foundation for the autoclave at the plant isn't ready yet the second larger one only has a couple of hundred meters to go after a total of 100 kilometers on the road it too has reached its destination the aircraft parts manufacturer facc in reichesbach but the heavy haulage company employees face another difficult task here as well they have to transport the autoclave into the foundation bed at the rear end of the hall in the new building the installation work is the highlight of the company employees day the tractor unit pushes the low bed trailer with freight into position if possible the 160 ton autoclave has to be centered beneath the lifting gantry so that the hydraulic rams on the one side are not loaded any more than those on the other side the transport crew has completed its mission on time although there were a few close shaves along the way we made it that's the most important thing the rest doesn't matter the weather was a bit stressful towards the end of the day that was a bit of a challenge maybe we needed that now we're going to hand it all over to our colleagues from the lift handling crew then they're responsible for unloading and rough adjustment on the foundation and that won't go as smoothly as planned the lifting department employees are just about to attach the 98 millimeter thick steel slings to the autoclave when the transport crew suddenly discovers that the hall is too low for the intended purpose so the transport crews work isn't finished just yet the low bed trailer has to back up a little well we've now discovered that the height isn't sufficient for us to get the unit beneath the autoclave and that means that the transport crew has to remove the hydraulic unit mounted onto the rear of the low bed trailer that takes time almost 20 minutes pass before the forklift truck can finally move the unit to the side then the heavy load team moves the autoclave back under the lifting gantry and attaches the steel lifting slings to the studs finally the tensioning chains that secured the freight during the journey have to be removed lifting can begin the hydraulic gantry raises the autoclave at a snail's pace once it's taken over the weight the low bed trailer can drive out of the hall with a load of 160 tons the lifting gantry moves centimeter by centimeter along the rails towards the foundation bed covering the 20 meters takes almost half an hour but the lifting gantry operator can't set the autoclave down on the foundation just yet first a cutting torch has to be used to remove a steel beam that was only welded onto the autoclave to transport it now finally the autoclave can be set down on the foundation the aircraft parts manufacturers plant manager is relieved after three weeks transport by ship and on the special transporter we've done it we've brought our baby home now we're going to prepare to install it over the next three months so we can start production immediately the transport took four days after lifting out of the ship 100 kilometers were covered by road through narrow towns in which mere millimeters were crucial and over bridges that had to be fitted with special crossing constructions 300 tons of steel on the move a heavy haulage double bill that cost around half a million euros [Music]

Channel: WELT Documentary

Views: 208,582

Keywords: full documentary, full documentaries, hd documentary, hd documentaries, free documentary, welt documentary, welt documentaries, full length documentaries, documentary film, top documentaries, reports, factual film, haulage, heavy haulage, transport, heavy transport

Id: Y6OUnz5nJZQ

Length: 49min 5sec (2945 seconds)

Published: Sun Aug 29 2021