Why Hire Piping Layout Consultants, Inc.?

Our engineers and designers have extensive field and fabrication experience and therefore pay close attention to detail at every phase of the project. This will save the owner money by eliminating numerous field change orders that often result from incomplete designs or designs that won’t fit in their intended locations. A more detailed explanation below will show why PLC’s knowledge and attention to detail will save our client thousands of dollars.

Piping and Instrumentation Diagrams (P&ID’s)

Most people in the industrial engineering and design field know that P&ID’s are the main control documents. If these documents are incorrect, it sends a ripple effect throughout the project from engineering to construction. 

Example; we recently worked on a retrofit project that began with P&ID’s supplied to PLC in the “Issued for Construction” phase.  We were given PDF copies stamped “master mark-ups” so the Mechanical Contractor could “As-built” the documents. 

At first glance, we could not determine the exact scope of work because the P&ID’s had no line numbers and did not identify what was in the scope (new) and what was not (existing). PLC was then asked to red mark the IFC set of P&ID’s with line numbers and that set would then distributed throughout the project team.  Can you see any communication problems arising?   We then took the P&ID’s out and started locating Tie-in points.  We quickly found many other problems.  Tie-ins were shown in the wrong location on the wrong P&ID, actual pipe sizes were incorrect, etc.  Once this was pointed out to the project engineer, more problems arose.  During the walk through, the engineer started changing tie-in locations!  Evidently there was no official P&ID reviews with the owner and this one person knew what the client wanted and changed the drawings!  Next, the engineer started to change pipe specifications.  As an owner, I am not sure this is the way I want my detailed design to start!

At PLC, we pay close attention to the P&ID document.  We use a database driven intelligent P&ID software that allows us to communicate seamlessly with the entire project team through a web based interface.  An example would be if a pump type was changed during a P&ID review meeting, PLC would update the P&ID and upload the correct vendor cut sheet to the database in the CAD environment!  Anyone with the proper security credentials on the project could immediately see the pump cut sheet using an Access database or a web application.  Using this same technique, line numbers, specifications, sizes, to/from information, etc. are all stored in the project database for easy access.

Once design starts, our design team keeps a “Master Mark-up” for small changes to the P&ID during design such as adding a high point vent, etc.  They are then periodically updated with and redistributed to the project team.

Field Measuring and Field Quality

How many times have you seen a drawing with “Field Route” or “Contractor to Verify All Dimensions Prior to Installation”?  As an owner, this should immediately sound an alarm.  Someone did not do all their home work!  What these notes really say is “I got plus/minus 12” dimensions and want the contractor to make the final measurement”.  Don’t get me wrong, sometimes field adjustment is warranted at connections to say a pre-fabricated thin walled stainless steel tank were the flanges may not be exact.  That is not what industry means by making those statements.  What these statements really mean is that the engineering/design company did not take any good dimensions, only rough dimensions, and want the contractor to basically re-measure the entire project!  If that is the case, why hire the engineering companies’ designers at all?  Hire them to create P&ID’s and then hire a mechanical contractor to go out a design the project.  Otherwise, the owner is paying twice for the same service!  Not only is the owner paying twice, but now they have made themselves vulnerable to many change orders from the contractor.  This creates animosity between the owner, the engineering company, and the mechanical contractor.  It also impacts the schedule, adding weeks or even months to the end date.

At PLC, we know that a quality prefabricated project starts with the most accurate field data.  Since 1981, we have evolved from using tape measures, strings, plumb bobs, and levels to using self-leveling laser’s to today using our 3D spatial scanner to collect the most accurate field data possible.  Since the inception of the business, our goal was and still is 100% pipe spool fit-up.  Over the span of 30 years, we have had many 100% fit up projects and our fit-up percentage average today is well above 95%.

How do we accomplish this?  Being able to collect accurate field data is a craft much like a welder or auto mechanic.  We train our employees on field measuring techniques that have been proven over and over.  This attention to detail allows PLC to provide a very superior product to our clients allowing them to save time and money.

Engineering and Design

Does the word 3D scare you?  If not, it seems to still make some owners uneasy.  Their thought is “3D is going to cost too much”.  I am sure at its inception; 3D design was cumbersome and costly.  That is not the case today.  PLC evolved from the 2D design world to 3D in 1998.  Since that time, the software has become more intuitive to use, faster and more integrated into one design platform.  Today, our designers can design a pipe line, extract an isometric, create plans and sections, produce a bill of material, stress analyze, etc. in 1/3 of the time of traditional 2D design.  Time is only one cost saving factor.  If changes are made to the design, they are made in one place, the 3D model.  In the past if a design was changed, the designer would have to change the plan, section and sometime redraw an entire isometric!  Using 3D, the only change is to the model.  All the rest of the deliverables are extracted from the 3D model for a seamless design.  The advantages to using a 3D model as a design tool are far reaching.  Using this tool, PLC can provide our clients free software to walk through our designs to review at their leisure.  Design reviews are more efficient.  Things such as ergonomics, safety, operations, maintainability, and constructability can all be reviewed before the first construction contract is issued!  Give us the opportunity to serve on your next design project!