Project Highlight: Crane Support Analysis

An Interview with Jeff Thoms, PE

Project: Crane Support Analysis for Pier 5 at the Philadelphia Naval Business Center
Client: Rhoads Marine Industries

Describe the project:
A Chiquita Cargo Ship required its on-board crane to be serviced. To do so, several cranes were required to be positioned on the pier to achieve the pick. One of these cranes, a 600T mobile crane, is the largest of its kind on the east coast. SSM was tasked with mapping the exact locations of the crane outriggers to ensure there were no impacts to the pier.

Next to Pier 5 is Drydock #2 for which SSM performs biennial inspections for the City of Philadelphia.  In this photo is the caisson that keeps the Delaware River out of the drydock.  This location happens to be the approach flight path for Philadelphia Int’l Airport.

What was the service SSM provided?
SSM has conducted thorough inspections of Pier 5, both outside, underneath and dive inspection oversight. We know this pier and what it’s capable of doing. SSM was provided with the crane loading information for the pick and marked the locations for cribbing on the peer.

What makes this project one of your favorites?
What inspired me about this project is depicted in the top photo. This is the kind of activity that this pier is meant for and to see it in action was awe-inspiring.

SSM continues design and engineering work for the pier through inspections and design of repairs.

Jeff Thoms, PE is a Senior Structural Engineer in SSM’s Facilities Division. He has been a part of the SSM team for 7 years. He’s a girl dad, a dog dad, and a winter-time fun connoisseur.

#ProblemSolved: Our Facilities Team is here to help. Send an email to Patrick McCoy, PE, LEED AP, CSDP at patrick.mccoy@ssmgroup.com or give a call to 610-898-3008