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18 Tonne Back-Up Generator System Lifted By Helicopter Onto Roof

A helicopter lift in the heart of Birmingham, lifting a generator to the roof of the new West Midlands Government Hub

  • Kamov Ka32 — With a lifting capacity of 5000kg, this is the only helicopter in Europe with the capacity to lift the components.
  • Benefits — Apart from significantly reduced time on site, the use of a helicopter eliminated the need for any enabling works that would otherwise have been required.
  • Generator Components — The generator was lifted in 5 elements – base, generator, housing, inlet and outlet attenuators. The maximum weight was 4500kg.
  • Speed — The generator was lifted to the roof by helicopter in 21 mins, removing the disruption and inconvenience to the area that would have resulted from a large crane.

A new office development in central Birmingham has been fitted-out by ISG. The UK Government is preparing to bring over 3500 civil servants into the city, that are currently spread around the region, to be housed in this new facility.

3 Arena Central, in Centenary Square, will provide a new consolidated West Midlands hub for HM Revenue & Customs, the Department of Work and Pensions and other UK Government staff.

HMRC is reducing its UK footprint from 170 offices to 13 regional hubs, and it was announced in 2017 that Arena Central had been chosen for the West Midlands base.

As part of this fit out, a new back-up generator was required on the roof. The surrounding development area has significant basements which was limiting the bearing capacity for craneage. A helicopter lift was determined to be by far the easiest, quickest and most cost effective lifting solution. Helirig was contracted to lift and install the new 18 tonne back-up generator system to the roof, in 4.5 tonne modules utilising a Kamov Ka-32 helicopter.

Hear what Syed Asad Rizvi (HMRC), Will Chambers (ISG) and James Lockhart (Briggs & Forrester) had to say about the operation…