Project Name: Dow Chemical Poly Train 3
Location: Fort Saskatchewan, Alberta
Supreme Steel Ltd was selected to supply and install the structural steel for the recent addition to Dow Chemical's Fort Saskatchewan polyethylene facility. This project was awarded following the successful completion of the Poly Train 2 project several years earlier. The Poly Train 3 project was awarded to Supreme Steel Ltd on the basis of unit prices, long before the design was complete. At the time of the award, Dow Chemical was attempting to complete the project, from design to plant startup, in only 20 months. This was a very aggressive schedule when compared to the industry standard of 24 months for a project of this magnitude.
This was the first major project in Western Canada to utilize electronic data interchange (EDI) as the means to transfer design information directly to the fabricator. Dow Design & Construction created a three dimensional model of the project using PASCE PlantviewTM, which incorporated a database to describe structural members. The model contained information describing the size, location and elevation of all steel members in the structure. From the 3-D model, Dow generated a "neutral file" in ASCII text format, which was e-mailed to Supreme Steel Ltd. in advance of the construction drawing prints. Supreme Steel Ltd's in-house software was able to interpret the contents of the neutral file and produce a 3-D copy of the project in AutoCAD format. Our exclusive software then produced separate plan views of each level in the structure and finally, shop drawings for each steel member. The majority of the manual data input related only to the detail materials and connections that were to be used in special cases within the structure.
Material orders were prepared using data from Dow’s neutral file. Almost immediately after receiving the file from Dow Chemical, Supreme Steel Ltd was able to place an order for material that was not already in stock. This was a great “time-saver” when it came to purchasing large, heavy sections of steel, with extended delivery times, from the steel mills. By the time that the hardcopy of design drawings arrived from Dow Chemical and the shop drawings were finalized, the raw materials had already arrived in Edmonton.
It has been proven that this method of automated data transfer results in significant savings, in terms of both cost and schedule.
Awarding the structural steel supply contract early in the design phase allowed Dow Chemical to utilize our input in the design.
Together, Dow Chemical and Supreme Steel Ltd agreed upon a set of standardized moment connections, column splices, and member sizes to be used. This early involvement in the design phase not only resulted in a reduction in the number of different connections, but also permitted the elimination of column stiffeners, thus reducing the total fabrication time, thus permitting us to meet the aggressive schedule.
Mill rolling schedules were also scrutinized by Dow Design & Construction and Supreme Steel Ltd in order to ensure that the designs were based on beam and column sizes that were commonly available, or on shorter mill delivery. Thus the combined design team were able to identify beam and column sizes that would likely require advance ordering at the steel mills. Since mill deliveries typically exceeded drafting time, Dow Design & Construction provided preliminary neutral files approximately two weeks in advance of the construction issue. The materials were preordered and in most cases time delays, due to the shortages of non-stocked materials, were subsequently avoided.
The expanded design team was a major factor in the success of the Poly Train 3 project. As steel fabricators, we had the benefit of advance knowledge concerning the design, so that our design engineers were aware of any concerns, prior to the drawings being issued. Approval of the fabrication drawings by Dow Design & Construction in Houston was done by electronic data transfer or by fax. Changes were issued by fax or e-mail and were followed up by hardcopy. Misunderstandings were almost non-existent and any changes were handled quickly with minimum disruption to the project.
Construction of the project consisted of more than 50,000 pieces of fabricated steel with a combined weight of over 3,000 tonnes. Traditional stick framed steel was erected on the main project site, while modular segments were preassembled at a separate site before being trucked to the construction site for installation. These modular steel segments were assembled by Supreme Steel Ltd crews before the other trades installed piping and other equipment to complete the modules. In total, the design incorporated thirty such modules with a combined weight of 875 tonnes of structural steel and grating.
The aggressive schedule for the project was met successfully, and construction was completed in late November, with plant start-up occurring simultaneously. The successful outcome of the project resulted from Dow Chemical's good working relationship with the construction team and important design factors which were introduced in order to speed up the design phase. The electronic transfer of design information, standardized connection details and member sizes, and the automated structural detailing, together greatly reduced the time and cost of fabrication.
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