Lifting and haulage for the UK's chemical & process sector.
Chemical and process plants don’t stop for a lift. Reactors run live next to the job, catalyst change windows are booked to the hour, and a hot work permit can take longer to arrange than the lift itself. Buzzard runs the crane hire, contract lifting and haulage as one job, not three separate bookings, on chemical and process sites across the UK.
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The operating environment.
Chemical and process plant lifting usually happens while the plant is running, on a schedule someone else set. There are permits to work, isolations to confirm, and live pipework to lift around. Access is tight, tolerances tighter, and the plant needs to keep running. Buzzard plans for that reality, so the lift fits the site as it is.
WORKING ON LIVE PLANT
On chemical and process sites, most of our lifts happen with the plant still running around us. SIMOPS rules control what can go on next to a live unit, so the lift plan is written to fit them from the start.
TURNAROUND WINDOWS
Catalyst and reactor changes are booked months ahead, and the window won’t move for a late crane. We plan our lifts into the turnaround schedule with your team, so the crane is on site and rigged when the slot opens.
SPARK CONTROL
On chemical and process sites, Buzzard works to hot work permits, coordinating with safety teams so every lift stays controlled and compliant around live plant.
TIGHT PLOTS
Process plants are packed with pipework, steelwork and other trades. We check slew radius and outrigger positions against the site drawings before the crane is booked, so we know it fits.
PERMIT TO WORK
Nothing moves on a live process site until the permit is signed. Our crews are used to working to permit and waiting on isolations, and they stop when the permit holder says stop.
What we work to
LOLER, plus your site specific rules.
Every lift we do is planned and carried out under LOLER 1998. On process sites we also follow your permit-to-work and isolation procedures. We’ll write our RAMS and lift plans in the format your HSE team already uses, so they’re quick to check and approve.
Typical lifts we handle.
Six kinds of lift come up again and again across the UK’s chemical and process sites. Each one brings its own combination of weight, access and sequencing, and each demands a carefully considered approach to rigging, isolation, timing and site control, right from start to finish.
01
Planned turnarounds
Crane and rigging capacity booked and confirmed months ahead, ready for the exact week the turnaround window opens.
02
Reactor and catalyst changes
Vessel internals and catalyst loads lifted and swapped inside a window measured in hours, not days.
03
Column internals
Trays, packing and internals removed and reinstalled without damaging what’s either side of them.
04
Exchanger replacement
Heat exchanger bundles pulled and reset with a lift plan built around the bundle, not a generic vessel lift.
05
Pipe rack sections
New or replacement pipe rack sections lifted into live plant with other trades working either side.
06
Utilities tie-ins
Steam, nitrogen and process utility tie-ins lifted into position around a shutdown window that won’t move.
Our services on a chemical and process site.
Six services, coordinated as one operation rather than six separate bookings. One project manager, one programme and one point of contact carry the work from planning through to completion, so nothing is lost in the handover between contractors. Whatever the mix of lifting, transport or site support required, the same team delivers it, working to the same plan throughout.
Contract Lifting
A full lift plan and Appointed Person cover for turnaround and reactor lifts where there’s no room for a re-lift.
Crane Hire
Crane capacity sized for vessel and column work inside a live process plant, not just open ground.
HIAB Hire
ALLMI-trained HIAB operators for materials moving in and out of a confined process plot.
Haulage
Abnormal load haulage for vessels, columns and skids arriving for a turnaround window that’s already fixed.
Specialist Personnel Supply
Appointed Persons, lift supervisors, riggers and slinger/signallers who already work to permit.
Plant & Equipment Hire
Crane mats and rigging equipment sized for congested plots, where standard bearing pressure figures don’t apply.
Chemical and process - frequently asked questions.
Can you lift inside a live process plant, not just a shutdown?
Yes. Most of our chemical and process plant work happens while the rest of the site keeps running. We plan the lift around SIMOPS rules and the permits in force that day, not around an assumption that everything else has stopped.
Can you work to a fixed turnaround schedule?
Yes. A turnaround window is fixed months ahead and doesn’t move for a late crane, so we build the lift into that schedule from the start rather than treating it as a separate booking.
Do your crews carry the right certification for hot work and permit-to-work sites?
Yes. Our crews work to permit as standard and hold the certification most process sites ask for. Tell us which permits your site requires and we’ll confirm cover before the job starts.
What if the site needs spark arrestors or an automatic engine shutdown system fitted to plant?
Some gas terminals and process sites need this before plant crosses the fence line. Tell us at enquiry stage and we’ll confirm which of our fleet is fitted, rather than finding out on the day.
Can you lift in a confined plot without disturbing the plant around it?
Yes. We check slew radius and outrigger positions against the drawing before the crane is booked, not after it arrives. Send us the plot layout and we’ll come back with a lift plan, not just a quote.
Do you handle reactor and catalyst change lifts specifically?
Yes. These windows are usually measured in hours, so the lift plan gets built around the change sequence itself, not treated as a standard vessel lift.
Running a turnaround or a reactor change? Let's plan the lift before the window opens.
One call gets you a crane, a lift plan and a haulage booking, coordinated by one team before you’re on site.