Jaxport workers save port $120,000

Jaxport workers save port $120,000 Workers from the Port of Jacksonville have replaced the cabs on three of the port's container cranes, saving the port $120,000 compared to the costs for having a private firm do the work, port officials said Thursday.
   Crane technicians at the Blount Island Marine Terminal are replacing the class and metal cab where crane operators sit. The cabs are located 125 feet above ground, sitting directly over containers that are being lifted. The cab moves on an overhead rail that moves both the cab and container between ship and shore.
   Replacing a cab typically costs around $300,000, officials said, but port workers can complete the job with materials and labor costs of under $180,000.
   'Jaxport had previously contracted such work to private firms,' Jaxport executive director Rick Ferrin said. 'but our extraordinarily skilled crane technicians and welders at Blount Island have taken the initiative and are saving the port thousands of dollars while delivering an excellent product.'
   The port said that to ready a new cab, crane technician Mike Vicich first designed the machine's electronics. Crane technicians Carl Nodine, Eric Taylor and John Evans then installed the wiring. Crane technician J.J. Nolan and lead welder Robert Meenaghan designed and crafted a lifting mechanism to remove the old cabs and lift the new ones to their 100-foot perch on the crane.
   The team had to drill mounting holes in each new cab to exacting standards: more than .06 of an inch off, and the cab would not fit in the rigging. Under the direction of equipment manager Maurice Joyce and foreman Chris Russell, the crane maintenance team, including lead painter Rafael Hernandez and crane technicians Bob Sellers, Warren Thomas, Tracy Ohler and Jeff Blue, operated the rigging to complete the installation of each cab.
   The work on the third cab was completed this month and each of the cranes is now newly fitted and operational.