Every successful lifting solution begins with understanding. When a client approached BIG with a production layout that limited overhead space but required complete hook coverage, its engineers didn’t just look at drawings – they listened. Its engineers studied the site, the workflow and how the operators moved within it. That’s how it cares.
After the evaluation, BIG’s team proposed a semi-gantry configuration. One side of the bridge would run on an elevated runway rail, while the opposite side would travel on a floor-mounted rail supported by a structural framework engineered to distribute wheel loads evenly across the existing slab and foundations.This approach achieved full coverage, stability and efficiency without any building modification – a solution born from understanding first.
Safety by design, not by chance
Safety at BIG isn’t a checklist – it’s a design principle. Before steel is ever cut, its engineers perform load-path analysis, deflection studies and clearance verification to ensure every component performs safely under all conditions.
At its Ottawa, Ontario facility, fabrication follows a strict quality regimen: certified welders, documented inspections and dimensional verification of each bridge, end truck and column assembly. The company’s technicians sign off only when the crane meets both its internal standards and the regulatory requirements that protect those who work under it. That’s how BIG lives safe.
Smarter fabrication, seamless integration
Innovation at BIG isn’t about reinventing the crane; it’s about improving how it’s built and integrated. For this project, the floor-mounted rail structure was custom-fabricated to balance performance and load management. The support frame spread forces evenly to preserve the client’s existing concrete slab while maintaining perfect alignment with the elevated runway. Each component passed through a refined workflow:
- Surface preparation by sandblasting to SSPCSP 6 Commercial Blast Cleaning, followed by an epoxy coating system for long-term corrosion resistance.
- Precision welding with full traceability and inspection.
- Dimensional checks and test-fit verification before shipment.
Because BIG fabricates locally, it can preassemble major sections in-house to validate alignment and reduce on-site installation time – an innovation that saves clients days of disruption.
That’s how BIG innovates.
Precision on rails
Once on site, BIG’s certified crane technicians brought that same precision to installation. The crew began by positioning and levelling the floor-mounted rail structure, ensuring millimetre accurate parallelism with the elevated runway.
The bridge and columns were then lifted into place, connected and aligned with its surveying crew for perfect geometry. After mechanical assembly came full electrical integration – drives, power feeds, limit switches and wireless controls.
Before commissioning, the system underwent a load test at 125% of rated capacity, validating structural integrity, drive performance and safety interlocks. Only after every check passed did it hand the system over. That seamless first travel along both rails is the moment BIG delivers.
Beyond the lift
At BIG, completion isn’t the end of the project; it’s the start of a relationship.
The company provides detailed documentation, inspection records and preventive-maintenance plans with every installation. Its service division – the same team that helped design and build the crane – remains available for inspections, modernisations and future upgrades. Each project strengthens its expertise. BIG gathers data, learns from every challenge and feeds that knowledge back into design and training. That’s how BIG grows.
Built to last, backed for life
For more than 35 years, BIG has been designing, fabricating and maintaining overhead lifting systems across Canada. This semi-gantry installation is one example of how its core values come together: care in consultation, safety in design, innovation in fabrication, precision in delivery and growth through service. Whether the task is a 1t workstation crane or a 50t bridge system, all carry the same DNA – thoughtful engineering, disciplined craftsmanship and long-term reliability.
Thinking BIG for every project
At BIG, ‘Think Big’ isn’t a slogan – it’s the company’s operating system. When space is tight, it thinks vertically. When the problem is complex, it thinks creatively. When safety is critical, it thinks ahead. BIG’s clients trust them because it doesn’t just build cranes – it builds confidence.
From catalogue models to one-off custom systems, every project reflects the same purpose: Think BIG – and Deliver Bigger.
