Engineered Rigging Expands Rental Fleet with JS500

2,200-ton Capacity Jack-Up System Accelerates Bridge Building

 RUSSELLVILLE, ARK. —  Engineered Rigging is now accepting rental reservations for its new Enerpac JS500 Jack-up System. This innovative heavy lifting technology, with its 2,200-ton capacity, will be in high demand as states and municipalities launch new bridge projects funded by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

When Engineered Rigging takes delivery of the JS500 system in May, the heavy lifting company will be the first to have this model available for rental with technical support in the United States. The JS500 can facilitate numerous civil construction applications, including bridge building and demolition, subway construction and renovations, and port construction. The timing of the JS500 delivery correlates with the US federal government’s projected $27 billion investment in bridge improvements.

“By expanding Engineered Rigging’s rental fleet with the JS500 Jack-up System, we are well positioned to meet the surge in demand for accelerated bridge construction, as well as expedite other infrastructure projects that require the lifting of extremely heavy materials and equipment,” said Eddy Kitchen, co-founder and principal at Engineered Rigging.

The JS500 complements Engineered Rigging’s fleet of accelerated bridge construction equipment which includes the Cantilever Segmental Bridge Lift System, Rapid Rail Bridge Replacement System, power slide systems, synchronous hydraulic jacking and load leveling  systems, and high-capacity strand jack systems for falsework removal and bridge demolition.

Synchronous Lift and Mechanical Hold

Enerpac’s JS-Series of jack-up systems leverage a multi-point, synchronous heavy lifting design. Key benefits of the JS500 are its synchronous lift capabilities and mechanical hold features. The typical setup includes four 550-ton capacity jack-up units, one positioned under each corner of the load. This configuration can be expanded with additional units if needed.

To elevate heavy loads, such as preconstructed bridge decks and overpasses, crews follow the lift plan to arrange the JS500 bases under the load. The JS500’s self-contained hydraulics simultaneously raise the load, and once at height, the operator inserts barrels into each JS500 base and sets the load on the inserted barrel.  The hydraulics reset and repeat the process forming “lifting towers” which incrementally lift the load and mechanically lock it into place at the desired height. The JS500 achieves a lifting speed of approximately six barrels or 14 feet per hour. The jack-up system’s modular design offers flexibility, simple mobilization to site, and expedited setup and teardown which are key to accelerating project completion.

A Safe Way to Expedite Project Completion

To optimize control and safety, a remote operator uses a hand-held computer to direct the lifting and lowering functionality of the jack-up system. Each unit’s lifting and lowering operations occur simultaneously, and the computer control unit’s synchronous technology maintains the load balance.

Additional JS500 features include:

• Automatic and manual lifting settings,
• Synchronization of up to eight networked lift points,
• Center of gravity calculation,
• Overload and stroke alarm,
• Emergency stop switch at jack-up units and controls,
• Automated load balancing, and
• Self-contained hydraulics in each jack-up unit, enabling an uncluttered (and safer) work area.

Engineered Rigging is an authorized dealer and service provider of Enerpac Heavy Lifting Technology, which includes the JS-Series of jack-up systems, hydraulic gantries, cube jacks, low-height skidding systems and more. For information on renting the JS500 or other heavy lifting equipment, interested parties can contact Eddy Kitchen at 804.814.4844.