Cove Point LNG Plant Expansion
Job Facts
Start Date: November 2006
Completion Date: Fall of 2008
Project Manager: Dale Hoots
Field Superintendent: Silas Shirley
Structural Engineer: Joe Hoptay
Construction Co: CB&I
Erectors: CB&I
Tonnage: 900 tons of galvanized steel
Detailing: Steel Detailing International
David Henegar & Randy Sutton
Steel Suppliers: Infra Metals, Durrett Sheppard Steel, Metals USA, Tubular Steel, Monumental Pipe Co, & Access Metals
Grating Supplier: Hidek Supply/Amicco
Galvanizing: Southern Galvanizing & Baltimore Galvanizing Companies
Shipments: Pioneer Trucking, Vern
Machinery Used: Beamline, FPB 1800 Plasma Punch, Anglemaster, Pipe Bender, & Flux Core
Software: SDS2, FabSuite & STS Barcoding system
Employees: All employees had a hand in making this project a success.
Dale Hoots was on the road again. Cruising the Baltimore Beltway, Dale, a project procurement engineer with Chicago Bridge and Iron Co., peered out of his truck and saw overhead cranes just off the highway. To Dale, big cranes can only mean one thing: someone’s moving big pieces of steel. On the lookout for a Baltimore-based steel fabricator, Dale took the first exit and doubled back in hot pursuit of the ten-ton bridge cranes. He found the source at the gates of B&B Welding, he pulled in and knocked on the shop door. And that’s how one of the biggest jobs in B & B’s history came to us: as a walk-in.
Dale left us with isometric drawings that would become the new Dominion Cove Point LNG Plant expansion. Little did we know at the time, but those blueprints would keep the shop occupied, full whack, for the next 11 months.
Dale Hoot’s company, CB&I, spearheaded the expansion of Dominion’s Cove Point LNG (liquefied natural gas) Facility. The project included new gas turbine generation; two 160,000 cubic meter LNG storage tanks; and new administration, control and maintenance buildings as well as ancillary systems. The expansion effectively doubled the facility’s LNG storage and distribution capacity. Much of the weight of this newly expanded complex rests on B&B manufactured structural steel—gusset plates, pipe racks, platforms, safety gates, horizontal braces—some 13,000 individual pieces in all.
The job may have landed on our door, but B&B ran with it. We took the isometric drawings, requested the neutral files from CB&I’s Frameworks Plus Model design, turned them into 3-D files in SDS2, cleaned them up and sent CB&I back a 3-D model. “We dragged Dale into the new world of electronic data interchange of drawings,” says Dennis. “By seeing the 3-D model, we were able to scale down the project to a more realistic and cost-effective bid base upon the model.” On the shop floor, the B&B team worked furiously —using every CNC machine in the shop and the cambering machine—to fabricate the support steel.
Like so many jobs, timing was critical. CB&I devised a sequencing timeline that divided the expansion into 8 zones. “At one point, our guys worked 6 days a week, 9 hrs a day straight for 3 months,” says B&B’s Ralph Eisenhuth. “The plant could not be shut down.” The early phases had to be completed by June 2007 so the LNG tankers could begin their offloading. The trades—the electricians and mechanics—depended not only upon our timely delivery, but on near flawless execution. “All the pipe support and electrical brackets—they all had to fit up,” says Ralph. “And ours did.” Some 13,000 galvanized structural members including handrails, ladders and safety gates as well as complex pipe support brackets and specialized bracing piecework—piece after piece fit exactly as the drawings specified. As with any job this complex, change orders poured in from CB&I. “A huge amount of changeovers —some 850 tons worth—came to us,” says Ralph. “We just rolled with the punches.”
Looking back, we take tremendous pride on the results. “When you send 850 tons of spaghetti like steel and don’t get back misfits—that’s pretty darn good,” says Ralph. “We learned we’re better than we thought.”
Always looking to optimize our performance, B&B seized upon the complexity of the Cove Point job to introduce some new elements to our quality control system. Exploiting the new P2 Programs and FabSuite software, we now barcode, scan and track every piece of steel that leaves our shop. “Midway into the Cove Point job, we were able to electronically track and record all of our quality control,” says Ralph. “If CB&I wanted to know where a piece was, we could track it instantly, and tell them, ‘it’s on the truck.’” We now provide our clients with a batch scanner to track and receive our fabricated steel. Our vendors have eagerly jumped on board with the P2 software as well. Now, our galvanizer receives our manufactured material, verifies the load, and post-galvanizing, accounts for all the piecework. Ditto the marshalling yard. So no more lost parts. No more finger pointing. Instead, everyone’s accountable. Every part’s accounted for. And jobs run more smoothly.
“Working with CB&I was like walking the yellow brick road,” says Dennis. “It was a fairy tale job. Their business practices epitomize professionalism.” Apparently, the feeling is mutual. CB&I invited B&B to bid on two more LNG projects in Georgia and North Carolina. “It’s a testament to the quality of our work that CB&I continues to invite us to bid on their new projects,” says Dennis. “They see us a valuable partner.”
