Hoisting Plan for a Conveyor Sled

This project involved the development of a hoisting plan for lowering a conveyor sled through a mineshaft into an underground potash facility. The plan accounted for the unique challenges of transitioning the sled from a horizontal transport position to a vertical orientation for safe lowering, while ensuring compliance with mine safety requirements and hoisting envelope restrictions.

The main objectives of the project were to:

• Confirm that the conveyor sled could be safely lifted, rotated, and lowered through the mineshaft within the prescribed envelope.
• Analyze lifting lugs and the sled structure for stresses during horizontal lift, rotation, and vertical hanging conditions.
• Provide a detailed hoisting procedure for both installation and future removal of the sled at the potash level.

The project team engineered a comprehensive hoisting plan to support the safe installation of the conveyor sled. The work included structural and lifting analysis of the sled and its lugs to confirm load-bearing capacity under multiple orientations. Special consideration was given to the rotation sequence required to transition the sled from horizontal transport to vertical alignment, ensuring that all forces remained within allowable limits. The plan confirmed that the sled could hang securely within the defined lowering envelope specified by the mine. The reverse procedure was also documented to facilitate the safe removal of the sled from the underground level at the end of its service life. The final deliverable included engineering analysis, lifting configurations, and step-by-step hoisting instructions to guide field execution.