In the lead role: DoNova® PowerLift
It was at the crack of dawn on a crisp and foggy February day, when a 6-strong team of Dolezych and DSM Dyneema® employees set off, accompanied by a film director and cameraman. The target destination was the Bauhof Neckarsteinach of the Wasserstraßen- und Schifffahrtsamt (WSA, Water and Shipping Authority) Heidelberg (Germany), which on this particular occasion was to be the shooting location for the latest DoNova® PowerLift demonstration video.
In its function as the local authority of the water and shipping administration of the federal government, the WSA Heidelberg is responsible for the supervision of about 112 km of waterways of the Neckar River (from Mannheim to Heilbronn-Horkheim, Germany). The aim is to keep the water level of the Neckar constant to enable shipping. The weirs enable the accumulation of the water in order to guarantee a sufficient depth of the shipping channel. If the flow rate is too high, the weirs are opened to enable the water to flow more quickly into the Rhine. To ensure the proper function of this system, the WSA Heidelberg operates and maintains 12 (partly very old) weir systems and 25 lock chambers.
For this, the Bauhof Neckarsteinach relies on the textile chain DoNova® PowerLift. The robust textile chains consist of the high-performance fiber Dyneema® from the Dutch corporation DSM; the Dortmund-based company Dolezych GmbH & Co. KG used these fibers as a basis to develop the Dekra-certified lifting and lashing chains for easy and safe working. DoNova® PowerLift lifting chains are ideal for the transportation of the sensitive drive cylinders, which have to be regularly overhauled and replaced to ensure smooth operation of the locks. The heavy cylinders, weighing more than 2 tons, are kept on transport frames and lifted for inspection in the workshop and on the maintenance ship, which is equipped with a crane, by means of four-leg DoNova® PowerLift lifting chains. It is from there that the installation of the drive cylinders at the locks is performed.
“We have purchased the PowerLift mainly because of the low weight and excellent handling. The ergonomic benefits are certainly a tremendous relief in the light of so many lifting procedures”, declares Rüdiger Böhme, Head of the Bauhof Neckarsteinach. And Sidney Beutler, apprentice inland sailor and user of the DoNova® PowerLift, adds: “When working with steel chains we used to frequently hurt ourselves. That is now no problem thanks to the soft textile chain.” Another advantage of the abrasion-resistant textile chain with a working load limit of up to 23,148 lbs. is the protection of the drive cylinders against damage, which can quickly occur when working with steel chains, and which would then provide potential sites for corrosion. At the same time, the DoNova® PowerLift excels in comparison with round slings and lifting slings with the decisive asset that individual chain legs can be quickly and flexibly shortened.
The DoNova® PowerLift (www.donova.info) is exclusively available from the manufacturer Dolezych and includes expert advice – on-site, too. The video demonstrating the use of the textile chain can be found under the search term “DoNova® PowerLift with Dyneema® at WSA Heidelberg” on YouTube or here: