Spider gets creative at wind farm

American Energy Inc. (AEI), a general contractor, needed a unique access solution at Mehoopany Wind in Noxen, PA. The job required spacers being added between three 2,000-foot conductor lines that spanned the wind farm’s valley to prevent the lines from coming in contact with one another and with surrounding vegetation. Normally the area would be accessed by a helicopter but obstructions prevented air access and instead called for another solution.

Spider, a division of SafeWorks, LLC, provided a complete suspended access solution for the installation of spacers along conductor lines the wind farm.

Spider supplied a design/build solution that fully met the requirements of the customer and site owner. The company created a 30-foot swingstage equipped with custom rollers that enabled the platform to travel along the conductor. SC1000 traction hoists were removed from the platform and installed at the base of the tower to reduce the platform’s total live load. Multi-tier suspended scaffold ladders were added to both ends of the platforms and suspended from the rigging trolleys to enable workers to climb to access the two outer conductors. Four sets of 1,500-foot wire rope were successfully managed while the platform traveled in both directions.

Spider also designed and installed a fall protection system that allowed for self-rescue from a height of up to 450 feet above the ground. Hoists that allowed for primary and secondary wire ropes enabled the workers to tie-off to an engineered anchor point on the overhead rigging beam, successfully meeting the strict fall protection and self-rescue requirements.

Lastly, Spider provided user training and onsite supervision to ensure the five-day project was completed on time, within budget and without incident.

“Spider’s execution on this project was exceptional,” said DJ Frame, Project Manager with AEI. “They responded to each and every unique challenge with expertise and timeliness, often working after hours to ensure all engineering requirements were met safely and on time. We couldn’t be happier with the results.”