https://www.google.com/search?

q=pipe+fabrication+package+requirement&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-
8&client=firefox-b

PIPE FABRICATION

https://www.thefabricator.com/article/tubepipefabrication/managing-a-pipe-spool-fabrication-project-from-start-to-finish

Managing a pipe spool fabrication project from start to finish

Preparation and planning provide paramount payback

The Tube & Pipe Journal September 2017

August 28, 2017
By: Anjlee Gupta

In any large piping project, the project owner, construction contractor, and
fabricator strive for a common goal: a successful project completed on time with
minimal disruptions. The vast amount of material, manpower, and time involved in
designing, fabricating, and constructing the pipe spools means that careful
planning is necessary to achieve this goal.

1
Fulfilling a contract to fabricate and deliver pipe spools is never a small
undertaking. Whether it’s for the oil-and-gas industry, a power plant, a chemical
processing plant, or some other capital project, a pipe spool project generally
comprises hundreds of components and thousands of process steps. Every step is
an opportunity for something to go wrong, so careful planning before sending the
request for quote (RFQ) to fabricators and careful monitoring and expediting of the
processes during fabrication help to contribute to a successful, timely, and
profitable outcome. Thorough planning, preparation, and scheduling early in the
process are beneficial to the project owner, the builder, and the pipe spool
fabricator.

RFQ—PO—CO

2
The first question that arises is basic, but critical, and concerns the benchmark for
bidding on the RFQ. Should the job be measured in diameter-inch (DI) or tonnage?
The answer depends on the application.

For oil-and-gas refinery piping, DI is more practical because fabrication

subcontractors are paid by the DI they produce. Tonnage is a more appropriate
measurement for power piping. Tonnage doesn’t indicate the complexity of the job,
such as the total number of welds or the number of complex, time-consuming
welds, so it’s not as accurate as DI. In a nutshell, the fabrication capacity of a
facility is best quantified in DI, whereas manufacturing, invoicing, and shipping
are suitably measured in tonnage.

An example of estimating DI for an actual project based on calculating the number

of fitting welds in the preliminary bill of materials supplied with the RFQ reveals
that the DI calculation is 187,067.1 In this example, some welds are assumed to be
field welds, but only shop welds are counted for DI calculation.

 2 in. and smaller DI: 42,473

 3 in. and larger DI: 144,594

 Total DI: 187,067

A DI estimation for the same project based on the fabricator using various random
pipe lengths, which requires additional shop welds to compensate for using odd
lengths, produces a DI of 187,089.2

The actual DI after the fabricator processed the drawings came out to be 187,934,
which validated the calculation methodology.

Preparing a purchase order can be arduous, but thorough and comprehensive

planning is necessary for generating a complete and accurate RFQ. More work at
the RFQ stage means less work later in the form of change orders (COs). It also
allows the fabricators to bid as accurately as possible.

3
The RFQ should include a preliminary material take-off (MTO) and the
approximate minimum DI calculation, which give the fabricator a sense of the
scope of the project. Also, the initial MTO should indicate the percentage of the
total MTO quantity. For example, if the initial MTO is approximately 70 percent of
the project, the MTO should state this.

The RFQ should instruct the fabricator to:

•Submit the fabrication quote in a dollar-per-unit weight rate and list any ancillary
services included in the rate. This should be separate per the materials of
construction. This rate can be benchmarked later by the engineering, procurement,
and construction (EPC) contractor on the basis of the DI-to-ton ratio.

Note that for refinery piping, the DI-per-metric-ton benchmark is 60. Fixed rates
apply as long as the ratio is less than 60. If the ratio is higher or lower than 60, the
rate is rationalized in the same percentage. If the client prefers to specify dollars
per DI, a dollar per unit weight rate should be added in a footnote to facilitate
comparing bids among several fabricators.

 Include the stress relieving rate due to service requirements in the fabrication
rate. The fabrication rate may include stress relieving per ASME B 31.3, but
most don’t include this because of the service requirements—which can lead
to a CO.

 State the radiography testing (RT) cost per weld, even if RT is already
included in the fabrication rate. This prevents negotiation of the RT cost if
any additional RT becomes necessary.

 Include spools without a welding requirement (loose spools) in the

fabrication rate because loose spools generally lead to COs, depending on
the handling needed and the labor involved.

 List the cost for pipe supports per unit weight, instead of per support, to
capture economies of scale. In other words, this method captures the lower
cost per support associated with large quantities of supports.

 Include painting rates, preferably by area, with a clear calculation of the

surface area methodology determined during the negotiation stage. This is
best done with a software package developed for this purpose.

 Include the stuffing and packing rate for frames or boxes per unit.
4
  State the costs associated with any possible air freight shipments. These
rates are to be per frame or box with the weight limit.

 State the MTO (purchased by fabricator) unit rate and the free issued
material (FIM) in the cost per unit of weight, based on material. Even if the
FIM is not present in the initial phase of the project, any additional cost
associated should be requested in the RFQ only.

The RFQ also should indicate the surplus disposal mechanism as part of the
blanket purchase order, with clear identification of options available to the
fabricator and the EPC contractor.

If the EPC contractor is in the final stages of engineering the project, a lump-sum
contract with fabricator could be a better way to prevent any COs.

Engineering, Documentation, and Execution

Fabricated spools usually are needed at the site as scheduled by the construction
work package (CWP) or the engineering work package (EWP). However, the if the
drawings are not issued all at once for a single CWP or EWP, this incomplete
package can become a fabrication constraint. This is because the fabrication
schedule is based on other schedules, such as material delivery dates and drawing
completion by the EPC contractor.

If the isometric drawings and material are given the right priority, the fabrication
schedule can be accelerated, which can turn into a win-win for the client and the
fabricator. Note that, because the fabrication shop’s capacity is usually analyzed in
DI, the drawings must be material-matched for the shop per DI capacity. The DI
calculation is done only on shop drawings and not in the EPC contractor drawings
because it is based on shop welds.

To strike a good balance between materials and drawings, the EPC contractor must
provide accurate and timely MTOs with sufficient contingency plans. Also,
because the material quantity is vast, procurement timing is critical in the
fabrication schedule.

To match the drawings that have been approved and released to the fabricator to
the material available in the fabricator’s inventory, Fluor uses proprietary software
in which material is allocated to the drawings per the required at-site date for the
spools. This helps to ensure a continuous workflow in the fabrication shop and
prevents using valuable shop time to fabricate low-priority components ahead of
5
high-priority components. Using a picking-ticket process is a good method for this:
The ticket gives the fabricator permission to pick only the material for drawings
that have been issued, ensuring that each item issued to the shop floor is a priority
item and each spool that comes out of shop is a priority spool.

Another aspect is drawing revision. Fabrication usually starts shortly after the issue
for construction of isometric drawings, which ideally should be issued after a 60
percent model review. However, in many projects, the drawings are issued after
just a 30 percent model review, leading to substantial revision rates, which affects
the fabrication cycle. It’s a matter of speed versus cost. Issuing the drawings
sooner, after reviewing 30 percent, accelerates the fabrication schedule but entails
the risk of greater cost in the form of change orders and rework. An analysis by the
EPC contractor, one that compares the schedule to the cost, is a big help in cost
reduction.

Finally, after a drawing is released to the shop floor, revisions should be made after
the affected spool has left the fabrication shop (at site). This is to prevent
interrupting the fabrication shop’s workflow and any subsequent back-charges by
the fabricator.

Mitigating Quality Concerns

Flange parallelism remains a big challenge for many fabricators and a substantial
cause for rework. Automated welding by submerged arc welding is effective for
maintaining flange parallelism, but it usually isn’t applicable on spools less than 6
inches in diameter or 9.5 millimeters thick. To maintain parallelism on diameters
less than 6 in., fixtures can help prevent distortion from the welding heat. When
socket welding, performing welds from both sides can help to prevent distortion.

Flange serration damage is another major quality concern during fabrication, often
caused by mishandling. Such damage can be repaired by machining by the
fabricator in accordance with ASME B 16.5, but this is an expensive and time-
consuming option. Using flange protectors to prevent damage is generally more
cost-effective.

Whenever material is issued to the shop floor, requirements for postweld heat
treatment, hydrotesting, welds to be left unpainted, nondestructive testing, and
other particulars must be clearly stated. Also, it is better to have all requirements
shown on EPC contractor isometric drawing labels so that the details are captured
directly in shop drawings.

6
Another quality concern is the weld repair rate and the measurement indicator for
weld repair. It can be measured by spot or joint, although measuring by joint tends
to give a more accurate picture, although both are used by fabricators. A weld
repair rate of less than 3 percent (by joint) is considered good enough, but uniform
preheat for every joint, especially when cold or humid weather can affect the
welding process, is necessary to achieve that. Preheating prevents cracking caused
by differential thermal expansion and drives off any moisture. Also, it slows the
cooling rate of the deposited weld metal.

Manufacturer’s record books (MRBs) are the final client deliverable. As many
critical documents as possible should accompany the spools when they leave the
fabricator’s facility to reduce any paperwork confusion later.

Mitigating Packing and Logistics Concerns

Shortages and overages generally occur because of last-minute exclusions or

inclusion of spools in containers that are not captured on the packing lists. This
creates a discrepancy between the material receiving report at the site and the
packing lists. Last-minute changes must be included in the packing lists, and the
lists must be double-checked for accuracy.

 Careful planning is necessary when packing and shipping CWP items, which
go to the work site for installation, and EWP items, which go to a modular
yard for assembly before delivery to the work site. Planning the grouping
and packaging of these items when the material is issued to the shop floor
helps to keep the work site organized. In one recent Fluor project, proper
planning and component segregation accelerated the schedule by two
months, resulting in a huge cost reduction.

 Using rollers beneath the container frame helps to ensure that the container
floor doesn’t get damaged during shipment.

 Transport by air requires more handling than transport by ship; thicker

blockings with tighter packing can help to prevent handling damage.

 For sequential packing, the packing supervisor should refer to the spool list
so that the largest, heaviest spools are loaded first and smaller, lighter spools
go on top of them.

7
Projects that require over-dimension consignment packing, rather than standard 40-
foot containers, warrant additional precautions. Close attention to packing, lashing,
crane handling, and placement can help to prevent damage.

Also, invoicing on weights provided by the fabricator can be a concern. Instead,

the EPC contractor should provide previously approved weights for MTO items
after the PO is issued to the fabricator.

A Review of the Overview

While it’s impossible to account for every pound of material, hour of work, and
dollar expended on a construction project, it’s necessary to estimate as closely as
possible and to keep the waste to

a minimum. Attention to detail from everyone involved—project owner,

construction company, and fabricator—helps to minimize mistakes, rework, and
waste. Using standard measures, clear and complete documentation, and a work
process that assigns priorities appropriately will contribute to a well-planned,
smooth-running, and successful project.

References:

1. Available upon request

2. Available upon request