Introduction
A semi-Goliath crane runs one side on a ground rail and the other side on an elevated runway fixed to your building. That is what makes it useful — you get gantry coverage outside the building line without the cost of a full portal — and it is also what makes installation harder than either a Goliath or an EOT crane. Two running surfaces, at two different heights, on two structures that settle and move independently, and they have to stay parallel to each other for twenty years. This guide covers the whole sequence: planning, ground rail, elevated runway, alignment tolerances, assembly, lifting, commissioning and testing.
What a Semi Goliath Crane Is
The configuration
The main girder is carried at one end by an upper end carriage running on a wall or column-mounted runway beam, and at the other end by a leg — usually an A-frame portal support — with a lower end carriage running on a rail at floor or ground level.
Where it makes sense
- Bays where one side has usable building structure and the other does not
- Loading and unloading zones that extend beyond the building wall
- Yards alongside a shed, where you want coverage both inside and outside
- Situations where a full Goliath’s second leg would block a road, a rail siding or a working area
- Buildings where floor space is too valuable to give to a second set of legs
Pre-Installation Planning
Site survey and measurements
Measure the actual distance from the building line to the proposed ground rail, the available height under any obstruction, and the full length of both runs. Record everything that crosses the crane’s path — drains, cable trenches, pipe racks, roads.
Structural check on the elevated runway
The building columns take the full reaction from one side of the crane, including lateral forces from travel and skewing. This needs a structural engineer’s sign-off, and in older buildings it frequently means strengthening columns or adding bracing. Do this before ordering steel, not after the crane is on site.
Foundation design for the ground rail
The ground rail carries wheel loads into the soil. That means a designed foundation — typically a reinforced concrete beam or a pile-supported strip — sized against the wheel loads and the site’s bearing capacity. Undersized ground rail foundations are the most common long-term failure on semi Goliath installations, because settlement on one side pulls the crane out of square with the other.
Duty class, power and utilities
Class the crane against real usage — lifts per hour, average load fraction, hours per shift — not against the previous crane. Outdoor exposure on the leg side should show up in the coating system and the electrical protection rating. Arrange a dedicated supply at the correct voltage, an isolator near the runway, and complete earthing. Decide early whether power comes from a busbar on the building side or a festoon system, since that affects bracket layout.
Tools, Equipment and Team
- Mobile crane sized for the heaviest single lift, usually the main girder
- Total station or laser level for both rail runs
- Torque wrenches calibrated for the high-tensile bolt grades on the drawing
- Certified slings, shackles, tag lines and assembly rollers
- Six to eight people, including a licensed electrician, a rigger and a supervisor who can read the GA drawing
Laying the Ground Rail
Foundation and sleepers
Cast or install the foundation to the designed level and let it cure fully. Set sleepers or the rail chairs to line and level before any rail is fixed. Getting elevation right at this stage costs nothing; correcting it later means lifting rail.
Rail fixing
Lay the rail centred on the foundation, using clips rather than continuous welding wherever the design allows so that adjustment stays possible. Keep joint gaps to the drawing value and stagger joints against the elevated side.
Drainage
Slope the ground around the rail away from it and provide drainage at the low points. Water standing along a ground rail causes corrosion at the fixings, softens the sub-base, and washes out ballast. This one detail separates a rail that stays true from one that needs re-surveying every year.
Installing the Elevated Runway
Brackets and beam
Fix brackets to the columns at the designed spacing, with anchor bolts torqued to recorded values. Set the runway beams and shim to level before any rail goes down.
Rail and end stops
Lay and clip the rail centred on the beam. Fit bolted end stops with buffers at both ends of both runs — the elevated side and the ground side — and make sure they are positioned so both end carriages contact simultaneously.
Alignment Between the Two Levels
This is the part that decides whether the crane runs well. Both rails must be parallel to each other, whatever the building is doing.
Span tolerance
Working to BS 466, the standard commonly applied to overhead travelling and Goliath cranes in India: ±3 mm for spans under 12 m, and 3 + 0.25(S − 12) mm above that, where S is the span in metres.
Level difference
The design level difference between the elevated rail and the ground rail must be held along the full run. Elevation tolerance runs at 1 mm per metre of span, capped at 10 mm over the total run.
Straightness and diagonals
Horizontal straightness within 10 mm over the full run, and no more than 1 mm per metre locally. Measure diagonals corner to corner at both ends of the runway — equal diagonals prove the rails are square, not merely parallel.
Assembling the Crane
Do as much as possible at ground level. It is faster and safer.
Upper end carriage on the main girder
Prepare the high-tensile bolts, fit the upper end carriage to the main girder, and torque to the drawing sequence. Fit the individual components — buffers, guide rollers, limit switch actuators — while the assembly is still accessible.
A-frame portal support assembly
Assemble the A-frames and fit the lower end carriage. Bolt the cross head beam to the portal supports. Keep the assembly braced with the temporary cross brace until it is connected to the girder.
Cross head beam and support connection
Fit the inner cross head beam to the main girder, then connect the girder to the portal supports at the assembly joint. Tilt the portal supports up to the girder and bolt them in position. Remove the temporary assembly cross brace and the assembly joint only once the permanent connections are torqued.
Hoist, trolley and electrics
Mount the hoist and trolley, fit trolley end stops, and confirm free travel along the full girder by hand. Fix the panel, run the festoon or busbar collector arrangement, and terminate all wiring to the schematic with both ends of every core labelled.
Lifting the Crane onto the Tracks
Rig only from the designated lifting points. Lift the assembled crane so both end carriages land on their respective rails in one coordinated movement — the ground rail wheels and the elevated rail wheels must seat together. Use tag lines and a spotter at each end carriage. Remove the assembly rollers once the wheels are seated, then push the crane the full length of both runs at slow speed to confirm nothing fouls.
Electrical Connection and Commissioning
Confirm phase sequence before energising. Set the collector shoes square on the busbar with the specified spring pressure, or dress the festoon so the cable gathers cleanly. Then run each motion separately, unloaded, and set the limits:
- Hoist upper and lower limit switches
- Long travel limits at both ends of both runs
- Cross travel limits on the girder
- Emergency stop cutting every motion
- Brake performance on each drive
Load Testing
- No load: every motion, full travel, both directions
- Rated load: 100% of capacity through all motions; measure girder deflection at mid-span and compare it to the design value
- Static overload: OSHA 1910.179(k)(2) caps test load at 125% of rated capacity unless the manufacturer specifies otherwise — lift, hold, then check for permanent deformation
- Dynamic test: 110% through the motions
- Record every result and issue the test certificate
Safety Devices and Danger Zone Marking
Fit and test travel limit switches or an anti-collision device where another crane shares a run. Install obstacle detection sensors on the ground side if people or vehicles cross the rail. Fit signal lamps and a travel horn. Mark the crane’s danger zone on the floor along the whole ground rail — that strip is a moving hazard and the marking is what makes it visible when the crane is elsewhere.
Handover and Documentation
Hand over a single file: GA drawing, foundation and bracket details, wiring schematic, hoist manual, alignment survey record, torque record, deflection reading, test certificate and spares list. Train operators on controls, limits and the daily check. Train maintenance separately on greasing points, brake adjustment and the rail survey routine. Fix the first inspection date before the team leaves.
FAQs
How long does a semi Goliath crane installation take? With the ground rail foundation and elevated brackets already complete, budget three to five days for erection, commissioning and testing. If civil work and rail laying are in scope, add two to four weeks depending on run length and curing time.
Can a semi Goliath crane be fitted to an existing building? Often, but only after the columns are checked against the crane’s reactions. Existing buildings frequently need column strengthening or additional bracing on the runway side.
What happens if the ground settles under the rail? The span and level difference drift out of tolerance, the crane starts skewing, and wheel flanges wear rapidly on one side. Survey the ground rail quarterly for the first year, then annually, and re-shim before the wear starts.
Is a semi Goliath cheaper than a full Goliath crane? Usually, because one leg and one ground rail run are eliminated. The saving depends on whether the building can take the elevated runway without strengthening — if it needs significant column work, the gap narrows.
Conclusion and Next Step
A semi Goliath installation succeeds or fails on alignment between two structures that were never built together. Survey both runs, hold the tolerances, design the ground rail foundation properly, and document the alignment at handover so future settlement can be measured against it.
About Heben Cranes
Heben Cranes designs, manufactures and installs semi Goliath cranes with the structural reactions calculated for your building, the ground rail foundation specified for your soil, and alignment surveyed and recorded at handover.
Send us your span, capacity, run length and building details, and we will return a specification and an installation plan. Start at hebencranes.com.
