When Greektown Casino needed a steam boiler lifted onto its rooftop, Dee Cramer was tasked with executing a high-profile, high-risk lift in the heart of downtown Detroit.
Using rented modular spreader bars, shackles, and nylon slings from LGH, the team safely installed the boiler with a 500-ton crane—while keeping casino operations, city traffic, and public safety intact.
Dee Cramer, a Holly, Michigan-based HVAC and sheet metal contractor, was approached by Greektown Casino to install a three-piece steam generator on the roof of the facility.
Detroit Field Superintendent Chris Dufour had just 12 to 16 weeks to:
And that was only the beginning.
Greektown Casino sits in one of the busiest parts of Detroit. The surrounding area includes restaurants, bars, major sports stadiums, and St. Mary’s Church, one of the oldest Catholic churches in the city.
The city’s People Mover monorail runs alongside the casino, adding another layer of logistical complexity.
As Chris explained:
“Downtown Detroit is a tight area. There’s lots of bustling streets filled with customers and vehicular traffic. It was a tough situation to get things taken care of. There were tons of safety and traffic management requirements we had to meet, inspections and certifications required by the city. There were many different entities we had to deal with besides our customer.”
The casino operates 24/7, meaning there was no option to shut down operations.
“We had to stay far away from the People Mover. And we had to consider the fact that Greektown Casino is one of three major casinos in Detroit. So the traffic coming in and out of the place is 24/7. There’s really no shutting down the casino. We had to plan our work around shutting down certain critical path areas for the crane and hazardous areas that may come up in our swing process. But we had to keep the rest of the business running so they could still produce revenue.”
Dee Cramer applied for a full street closure permit. The city denied it.
City officials limited the team to a single traffic lane to stage the crane and perform the rooftop lift.
This required extensive coordination with:
Every detail of the crane rigging, staging, and swing path had to be approved before work could begin.
With the lifting plan refined and approved, Dee Cramer contacted LGH to secure the proper rigging and lifting equipment.
Chris described the process:
“We devised a lifting plan. Specifically, where our crane would be staged, where our trucks would be staged as they came in, and our swing path for the units to keep them out of public or pedestrian areas.”
LGH asked detailed questions about:
Based on that information, LGH recommended engineered modular spreader bars, shackles, and nylon slings suited for the rooftop boiler lift.
The 12-foot modular spreader bars were positioned above the units. Nylon slings ran down from the beams, preventing compression and eliminating the risk of crushing or damaging the equipment.
Chris explained:
“You want to make sure the spreader bars keep that physical dimension of your equipment solid and that you’re not crushing any of the stuff that you’re lifting or putting wear and tear on the lifting slings. The slings came down through that to keep those bars spread apart so they wouldn’t rub against the side of the piece being lifted.”
More importantly, the engineered recommendation provided peace of mind.
“For us, this helped tremendously because we need to go to a company we can trust to make those decisions and has the engineering background to give us that confidence that nothing is going to fail. LGH was that company. One phone call and we knew we were getting exactly what was needed.”
With the help of LGH, the steam boiler was successfully set onto the rooftop.
To further reduce lead time, Dee Cramer fabricated materials at its Holly facility rather than sourcing from Canada. This reduced the timeline from 16 weeks to just 9 weeks.
On-site operations lasted three days and concluded on May 20, 2015.
The lift was completed:
Chris summed it up best:
“We ended up getting everything set in place and completed a day earlier than we expected. No injuries and we were on budget. It was a success story all the way around… We were able to give LGH what we needed weight-wise and where we needed to go, and they customized the equipment so we could do the job safely. Which shows that safety is not always bought – sometimes, it’s rented.”
Dee Cramer is a full-service HVAC and sheet metal construction firm based in Holly, Michigan. Services include engineering, CAD coordination, BIM, fabrication, installation, and maintenance.
LGH is the largest organization in the United States devoted exclusively to lifting and moving equipment rental. With more than 90,000 pieces of hoisting, rigging, jacking, pulling, material handling, and safety equipment across 20 U.S. locations, LGH supports complex lifting projects nationwide.
Planning a complex rooftop lift in a tight urban environment? Contact LGH for engineered rigging solutions.
