Only one crane is available in the G blast furnace granulation area. During granulation, a large amount of acidic fumes are generated which affect all the steel structures, including this seventy-five feet span crane. The crane actually got severely corroded and looked like a fifty-year old granny, though it was only ten years old ! Revamping of the crane was tricky since the crane could not be put down for more than four hours at a stretch with the G blast furnace in operation. If the job were to be done on the shop floor where the crane was manufactured, it would take about two months. Both these alternatives were not feasible.

G blast furnace was to have a shutdown of about eight days and this was the only opportunity to carry out the crane revamp. The Crane Revamping Cell (CRC) of Maintenance Engineering Department (Elect.) accepted this challenge. The CRC team went into action. They planned the jobs to the last detail. The crane had to be ready for operation in seven days and that was taken as "the dead line". The CRC shed looked like a battlefield. A lot of simultaneous action! Both the platforms of a total length of one hundred thirty-five feet were divided into nine segments of fifteen feet each. All the segments were fabricated, arranged as per the drawings and joined with bolts. The panels, panel stands, resistance boxes and cable routes were erected and the cables were laid. Festoon carrier supports were fabricated and the festoon carriers along with the trailing cables were placed, finished and tried.

Once the shutdown began, everything worked as per plan. The old platform was cut into appropriate pieces and replaced with newly fabricated pieces. The platforms got erected in time and were ready to receive the panels and cables. The panels sat on the place designated. Everything was ready and like a jigsaw puzzle, everything fitted into the right place at the right time.