On August 2, 2015, Boeing South Carolina’s (BSC) new autoclave completed the half-mile (0.8-kilometer) move from its on-site assembly area at the company’s North Charleston, S.C., facility to its new home beside the Aftbody building, which houses the original autoclave.

The vessel weighs 1 million pounds (463,600 kilograms) and provides the super-heated pressure needed to build 787 aftbody sections. With the help of a cross-functional team at the site, Boeing Site Services developed an intricate plan to safely navigate the vessel around tight spaces, three Dreamlifters and site production buildings before proceeding down the main site road to its new location.

Before the move could begin, the team lifted the 120-foot-long-by-32-foot-wide (37-meter-by-10-meter) autoclave three feet (0.9 meters) off the ground by placing jacks on each end. Using a rail system, the autoclave was then transferred onto a Goldhofer trailer, a 21-axle, 336-tire vehicle designed for moving extremely heavy equipment.

Once the autoclave was secured to the trailer, the procession began. One of the many spotters accompanying the vessel during the move remotely steered the trailer around the site.

The autoclave will be shifted onto its concrete foundation later this week so construction can begin on a 30,751-square-foot (9,372-square-meter) building expansion to enclose it. After being sanded and painted, the autoclave will be configured with internal components — electrical, air, vacuum and pressure lines, equipment and tooling requirements — and then tested before being commissioned for production in 2016.