Why Mission-Critical Facilities Projects Require Integrated Crane And Rigging Partners

For decades, crane and rigging services were often afterthoughts on construction sites. 

General contractors would call in a crane when the time came to move something heavy and not think about it until that moment arrived. Today, project demands have changed and so has the role of rigging services. 

“Mission-critical facilities require much more from their crane and rigging partners,” said Bill Tierney Jr., chief sales officer at ProLift Rigging. “These projects call for custom solutions, and they need an experienced, engineering-led rigging company that not only understands data centers but also has the creativity to solve problems.”

ProLift Rigging provides engineered rigging, transportation and storage solutions for mission-critical projects, with a focus on early planning and project-managed execution. Tierney walked Bisnow through a modern roadmap of what a partnership with a crane and rigging company should look like for a mission-critical project, from helping clients avoid costly mistakes during preconstruction to managing logistics to providing support once a project has been completed. 

Early Involvement Is Key 

Tierney said one way to help ensure a mission-critical project’s success is to involve a rigging company early in the concept and feasibility phase so the design can be safely constructed and the large prefabricated systems can be efficiently installed.

“There are usually multiple methods for executing a specific scope of work on a construction project,” he said. “Each method impacts stakeholders differently in terms of cost, schedule and site coordination.” 

ProLift will coordinate expectations with all project stakeholders; handle site, access constraints and constructability planning; determine transportation feasibility for oversized components; and identify prefabrication opportunities that align with lifting and installation feasibility to help reduce costs and timelines. To create a clear roadmap for the project, the company will also provide conceptual lift plans, crane selection recommendations, equipment weight and dimension verification, and budgetary lifting cost estimates. 

Planning During Preconstruction 

In the preconstruction phase, rigging specialists collaborate with engineers, general contractors and equipment manufacturers to finalize the installation and handling approach, Tierney said. 

When prefabricated skids are being designed, rigging engineers can help guide the selection of suitable lifting and underside support and jacking locations, thereby identifying special handling and transportation needs.

“Early collaboration around how skids will be lifted and moved leads to safer, more efficient and more predictable rigging plans — especially for complex indoor set locations,” he said. 

Tierney added that mission-critical projects often require customized solutions due to both planned constraints and evolving site conditions, including low headroom applications, haul path pinch points, and turns and rotation requirements due to orientation challenges upon delivery. When an engineered custom solution is required, the role of a rigging company is to design one in collaboration with all project stakeholders, he said.  

Coordinating Equipment Delivery, Storage And Sequencing 

As mission-critical equipment is manufactured and delivered, rigging companies help ensure it is designed and prepared for safe handling and installation. This includes coordinating with equipment manufacturers, verifying lifting points and rigging requirements, planning prefabrication logistics and coordinating specialized transport, Tierney said. 

“When sequencing is aligned early, it can optimize the project schedule, limit the number of crane moves, reduce the risk of double handling, and potentially size down the equipment needed to offload and set the equipment,” he said. 

He added that before major equipment arrives, rigging companies can assist in preparing the jobsite for large lifts and heavy transport. This includes crane mobilization planning, construction of crane pads and access roads, and delivery coordination for oversized loads. 

Crane and rigging companies impact site safety through the thoroughness of their planning and how well that plan is communicated, Tierney said. At ProLift, a rigging contractor’s plan is developed early from a project management and engineering standpoint. This can include engineered lift plans, material movement plans, defined work zones and exclusion areas

“Before any lift, formal processes like work risk assessments and job hazard analyses are completed to identify both common and site-specific risks,” he said. “Just as important is communication. Everyone on-site — not just the rigging crew — needs to understand what’s happening and where they should or shouldn’t be. When planning is thorough and communication is clear, lifts are more controlled, predictable and safer for the entire jobsite.”

Once these plans are in place, crane and rigging companies can embark on the most intensive phase of a project: mechanical, electrical and mission-critical installations. 

According to Tierney, this includes precision placement of sensitive equipment, indoor rigging and equipment skidding, heavy electrical infrastructure installation and modular equipment placement. 

ProLift's Plans In Action 

In 2024, ProLift worked on a Southwest data center construction site that started with an initial scope with the electrical contractor to offload and set equipment on-site. As just-in-time deliveries continued to be late and out of sequence, ProLift’s nearby branch location provided a safe, secure, short-term buffering location solution that allowed equipment to be received and sequenced correctly for more efficient final mile hauling/offloading and setting, Tierney said. This reduced the number of crane movements and provided the on-site team with a more predictable, efficient schedule. 

ProLift provided the on-site mechanical contractor with an offloading and setting plan that eliminated the need for a second crane.

“ProLift’s project management coordinated our two crews — mechanical equipment setting crew and electrical equipment setting crew — sequentially using one crane instead of two,” he said. “That coordination reduced overall cost, equipment on-site and additional lifting operations, which also reduced risk on the project site.”

Post-Construction And Beyond 

ProLift’s job doesn’t end once a mission-critical facility is complete, Tierney said. The company conducts internal post-project reviews focused on what worked well, lessons learned and opportunities for improvement. It also gathers direct feedback from the customer through a post-job customer review. 

Additionally, mission-critical properties are frequently expanded. ProLift works with clients to support ongoing upgrades while facilities remain operational.

Tierney said there’s a clear need for more carefully planned and expertly managed projects. 

“With the rate at which these facilities are being built and the rate at which gear is coming to the site, project management continues to play a critical role — proactive, transparent project management,” he said. “For all companies in this market, success will come from implementing the lessons learned from past projects to continue to shape how work is executed. As builds scale, the expectation is less reactive execution and more integrated, upfront coordination.”

This article was produced in collaboration between Studio B and ProLift Rigging. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.