The building materials manufacturer produces Engineered Wood Products (EWP) and Oriented Strand Board (OSB). Tweet/Garot was selected to demolish the existing press piping as well as fabricate and install thermal oil, compressed air, high- and low-pressure hydraulic oil and cooling water piping.

The thermal oil system consisted of a pump room with supply and return piping leading to the press up to two complex 24” headers with 52 “branches” from each.  A 6-Axis Watts pipe cutting machine was used for precision cutting in our manufacturing facility. An internal study showed that signification labor hours were saved using this equipment versus manual measuring/layout/cutting.

The hydraulic system consisted of a XXH piping and required expert welding techniques and shop QA/QC as well as field QA/QC to meet the customer’s expectations. The most critical aspect of the hydraulic system was the 30” pipe, as it needed to line up perfectly under the new press – there was zero margin for error.

The cooling water system consisted of pipe from the 8’ tank Tweet/Garot fabricated to the press. All components within the system were fabricated in our facility to maximize installation efficiency and reduce field labor hours.

This was a fast-paced project where precision planning was critical. Prefabrication was maximized as much as possible to meet customer deadlines, the remote location, complexity of the project and shipping procurement. Tweet/Garot coordinated design and spool drawings for pipe fabrication. Following the design phase, a 4-week preplanning period included ordering materials (devices, valves, and instruments) and fabrication was completed based on the project install phases. Work packs were coordinated with all materials, equipment, and fabrication to make install streamlined and efficient during the scheduled 33-day plant shut-down window. All 6,500 ft of 1” pipe to 30” STD wall to XXH wall pipe was fabricated and shipped to site within this 4-week time frame prior to the planned plant shut-down. Intensive preplanning resulted in an impressive 99.9% of the fabricated pieces fitting at the time of installation.

Zero recordable incidents occurred during this project, an impressive feat with the challenge of oil residue on most surfaces within the facility. Tweet/Garot continues to demonstrate our focus as a safety leader within the industry by identifying risks and hazards on the jobsite and addressing them promptly.

This project was completed on time and with the same quality our customers expect from Tweet/Garot. In addition, we take pride in our ability to continually adapt to changing plant shutdown schedules. Preplanning was completed in four weeks and fabrication in four weeks. Twenty-nine days were allocated for demolition and installation during the 33-day plant shutdown, for a total project duration of 12 weeks.