Since it is on a computer screen or paper, it is technically 2D physically.
But it represents and shows measurements in 3 dimension by using angled coordinates that represent 3 dimension.
Posted on 09/02/2015 8:24:10 AM PDT by thackney
Engineering and construction companies must finally embrace technology in order to meet the demand of petrochemical and manufacturing projects along the Gulf Coast, industry experts said.
There are $147 billion in petrochemical and manufacturing projects underway or planned in the U.S. through 2023, according to the American Chemistry Council, and most of the companies that will construct the projects are still failing to utilize technological advances that could speed things up, said John Fish, director of project support services for Louisiana-based Ford, Bacon & Davis engineering and construction firm.
“Our industry — I hate to say it — we’re living in the past,” Fish said. “There’s some things we can do, and we’re just not doing them. And I think that’s a crime.”
Ford, Bacon & Davis, which is an affiliate of Houston-based S&B Engineers and Constructors, has begun to make progress, Fish said, but most haven’t.
“We’ve got a problem with less-trained people in the field,” he said. “We don’t have the skilled workforce we had.”
One relatively simple solution taking advantage of technology that has existed since 2002, Fish said, is to use two-sided and three-dimensional isometric drawings for skilled workers to use that more simply show how parts are placed or welded together. It’s an easy fix that research shows levels the playing field to speed up less-experienced workers, he said.
“But nobody would do it because that’s not the way we’ve always done things,” Fish said, noting that more companies are being forced to adapt with the greater levels of competition.
“There is a skilled craft war going on in the Houston area,” Fish said.
For instance, S&B recently had to offer skilled workers $2 hourly raises to keep them from jumping ship to a competitor, he said. More companies are offering a per diem to workers for the first time, he added.
More front-end work is being done — “advanced work packaging” — on big projects to improve communication and ensure that deadlines are met, said Dale Adcox, global workforce planning manager for California-based Jacobs Engineering Group, in a capital project productivity webinar.
That includes work on new projects, he said, as well as on turnaround work at refineries and petrochemical plants when there are scheduled outages for repairs or upgrades.
A Petrochemical Update report with the American Petroleum Institute noted more than 70 percent of U.S. capital projects since 2002 have failed to meet all of their performance goals.
Timelines and project costs are promises between the contractors and operators, so meeting them is imperative, said Ed Winston, principal engineer for turnarounds and maintenance at Dallas-based HollyFrontier refining and petrochemical company.
“A turnaround is, by definition, a loss of profitability,” Winston said. “In refining, if you’re not running you’re losing money.”
Project scopes should be known 24 months in advance, Winston said, and timelines should be set within 12 months. All the contracts and details should be finalized by three months out, he said, and one of the worst things that can happen is a “great idea” late in the process.
“We pick and choose our best contractors and repetitively go back to them even if they’re not the low bidder,” Winston said.
Another key to improving efficiency is avoiding overloading employees and contractors with extra information, said Deborah McNeil, project productivity program manager for the Dow Chemical Co.
“We want to make sure we really need all the data we’re generating,” McNeil said. “If we don’t need it, stop generating it.”
Another often overlooked key is ensuring a smooth “handoff” of the assets and data from the contractors to the operator, she said, and ensuring all the knowledge and workforce are in place in advance.
She said companies can save more time by using software and technologies that inform people when phases of the construction process are completed and when one part is added or inserted into another. That saves someone having to track down another person for an update, she said.
“Nirvana for us would be having the tools tell us where we are on execution,” McNeil said.
I saw this done on projects in the early 1990s.
A Petrochemical Update report with the American Petroleum Institute noted more than 70 percent of U.S. capital projects since 2002 have failed to meet all of their performance goals.
That is not all from bad performance. It is often done from unrealistic estimates and goals. If I said you failed to meet the goal of jumping 30 feet high with no assistance, your jumping skills is not the problem.
Project scopes should be known 24 months in advance, Winston said, and timelines should be set within 12 months.
That's a nice goal. Can we then stop all changes in all associated markets until that time passes? Or is engineering and construction expected to deal with the never ending changes, and changes always happen. This is fantasy talk.
The software industry has been dealing with the problems of changing requirements throughout all its history.
We’ve found a marvelous solution - spend lots of money sending people to classes to learn all about the latest buzzword that promises to eliminate the problem.
“Project scopes should be known 24 months in advance, Winston said, and timelines should be set within 12 months.”
I think it is reasonable. They are talking projects out 8 years from now. As long as you aren’t changing scope once ground is broken or close to it then most of these changes would be incorporated, new pricing, scheduling and resourcing set, new risks identified and mitigated and off you go.
Most fail to meet their goals because of accepting radical changes once the project already kicked off. That’s why I run through requirements over and over until we nail down everything, and I mean everything. They call me, “what else?” because when I am doing a requirements meeting I am always asking them “what else?”
Came from my PM background of “measure twice, cut once.”
As a former Union Pipefitter, it sounds more like this guy is talking about his non-union work force. Before I get slammed here, the United Association (UA) of Plumbers and Steamfitters has an excellent training program and my local union uses that sell our member’s service to the non-union companies. Unfortunately some other locals didn’t have these training programs mostly because they were small and their membership was specialized (plumbers) and when one of these industries decided to build a facility in their area they would rely on other locals to help supply the manpower.
As for my local we had nuke plants, hi-tech labs, hospitals, chemical plants, and ship yards, so the members were exposed to working under the most stringent standards (nuke plants). That’s not to say we didn’t have a bunch of knuckle heads but those guys usually found themselves back the the hall pretty quick. And it was easy to spot the travel card hands (from other locals) who came in from locations where they might have just built petro-chemical plants (mainly because they didn’t follow procedures).
I’ve been on jobs that the non-union guys wouldn’t touch because of their available skill set. This is a 2 way street that the UA and the AGC (association of general contractors) need to work with each other to develop the skill sets needed.
And as a side note, any good journeyman can take a piece of wire and quickly make his own 3-D model of the pipe run just by looking at the 2-D isometric plan sheet.
As an archtectural PM on large commercial projects in the early eighties I started using letter size free hand drawings to clarify construction details during site visits, often including isometric views. Came to the job site with pre-printed title blocks and knocked them out after discussions with the GC and subs. I signed off on the spot and the GC made Xerox copies with confirming faxes to my staff back in home office to file. Change orders were initiated on the spot. Clients were very happy with the streamlining with cutting turn around time by days if not weeks not to mention reducing the knock effect in other trades.
One national GC started all project meetings by writing his companies mh cost per hour on the white board and suggested all parties calculate their own hourly costs including travel expenses. No BS in these meetings, joy, joy, joy.
Twenty four months for project lock down. Maybe for a complex production plant such as refineries but with general construction contracts but market factors such as the cost of concrete two years down the road was a factor that couldn’t be more than a wild guess. That single cost could determine the choice of concrete vs steel framing given budget constraints and build time.
Guess at cost increases two years in advance and publish that number then that published number becomes the floor number not the final actual cost. Pad the estimate with such, add percentage contingencies based on wild guesses and costs sky rocket.
Aw heck, draw purty pitchers with puters so the wetback construction hombres don’t even need to speak English. Brilliant!!!
In my experience, there are two words that get put on drawings that have absolutely no meaning:
"Final" and "Approved."
We used to joke about adding a stamp that said:
B.T.F., P.T.M., S.A.R.
(Beat To Fit, Paint To Match, Support As Required)
All to often we can’t get enough info on the vendor equipment to finish an installation drawing, until a month after the equipment is installed.
I’m in control systems. We just hope we can fix it in software during commissioning with nobody noticing.
No matter how you organize engineering, there are handoffs/boundaries/gaps. And stuff falls through the gaps.
You forgot to mention business' favorite software solution: hire an Indian consulting firm, so that the project takes twice as long and goes way over budget.
But then, you see, the firm is not "wasting money" on salaries for "over priced" developers.
LOL
Looked at a lot of condos under construction: the quality difference between the union and non-union work was amazing.
I particularly loved trying out the cold water faucet in one place to have my hand almost scalded. No union plumbers or pipefitters there!
I think the difference is when a contractor is hiring from a trade union hall, and a guy does lousy job, he can send him back and get somebody else.
It’s not like the UAW where the primary job of the union is to protect every incompetent idiot on the line.
“use two-sided and three-dimensional isometric drawings for skilled workers...It’s an easy fix that research shows levels the playing field to speed up less-experienced workers”
All working “shop” drawings are 2D. Some 2D drawings include isometric views, which are also 2D. Solid CAD models are usually 3D (math only). I’ve never even heard of or seen a “three-dimensional isometric drawing”.
Unfortunately, there is an abundance of technical illiteracy in this country.
Yes— union tradesmen have pride in their craftsmanship.
Since it is on a computer screen or paper, it is technically 2D physically.
But it represents and shows measurements in 3 dimension by using angled coordinates that represent 3 dimension.
How about “topographical map”?
A civil plan using a topographical map would show the areas that need cut down or filled in to make desired flat areas.
The estimator in me is saying WHERE ARE MY DAMN PROPOSED CONTOURS!
That example looks to me more like the finished topo and not the cut and fill requirements.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.