COMPANY

The Old Tower Cemetery

DATE

Installed September 2020

LOCATION

Alblasserdam, Netherlands

PRODUCTs:

PORTAGANTRY

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REID Lifting distributor Boels was approached by the management of The Old Tower Cemetery in Alblasserdam to provide a lifting solution which could be used within the sensitive confines of a graveyard.

The background

There can be few more delicate lifting challenges than moving coffins and gravestones within a cemetery. However, in the Netherlands, there was a requirement to lift old coffins when the space was no longer needed and move gravestones around to allow new ones to be added.

The challenge

The management and supervisors at The Old Tower Cemetery needed a lifting solution which was lightweight and portable. There is very limited space around the graves to assemble or manoeuvre lifting equipment and the ground and surroundings have to be respected. The solution also needed to be able to be used regularly, but assembled and put away quickly and easily when not required.

The SOLUTION

Boels analysed the surroundings at the cemetery and judged that there was no room for standard lifting equipment and that forklifts would be too heavy for the ground and walkways. Instead, they recommended a lightweight, but extremely strong EN795:2012 Certified REID Lifting PORTAGANTRY PGAS03000I, with an 8400mm beam and capacity to safely lift up to 3000kg.

The A-Frame of the 3188mm high PORTAGANTRY weighs just 66kg, while the beam weighs 130kg. This is easily within the limits of what the ground can withstand and means that just two members of the maintenance team can manually assemble the system between them using the four bolts provided. In use, they can assemble the system on a paved location away from the graveyard and then manoeuvre it into position over the graves using the 360° lockable, swivel castors which come as standard.

Boels also supplied additional 500kg and 950kg cable hoists and cable to work with the adjustable height of the REID PORTAGANTRY to make lifting and lowering of the coffins and gravestones simple and easy.

When not in use, the portable PORTAGANTRY can be easily taken down and stored in a safe location. Because it is manufactured from anodised aluminium, even if it is not stored undercover, it is still protected from corrosion.

The feedback

The supervisors at The Old Tower found the REID PORTAGANTRY to be so useful that they ordered an additional, interchangeable 5500mm beam so that they can use the system in smaller spaces as well and have the flexibility to adjust the beam to fit the width of the paths in the cemetery.