Structurally ahead of the pack
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Consulting engineering and project implementation firm Hatch’s Structural Practice is cutting their project delivery schedules by up to three months and improving quality control owing to improved workflow through its in-house 3-D modeling procedures and shop detailing capabilities.
Hatch Structural Practice Lead Stephen Stacey says that by replacing the 2-D engineering layout workflows with 3-D model workflows, the result is a savings on structural engineering drafting hours as well as enhanced quality.
“We have witnessed a serious deterioration of skills on site and in the fabrication processes and believe we can counter-act this by using enhanced 3-D model workflows in the office,” explains Stacey.
“The schedule for the in-house shop detailing workflow – in comparison to the traditional workflow – affords clients a time saving of between three weeks and three months by cutting out the need for 2-D drawings and shop drawing approvals. Through the traditional workflow, companies have to prepare the 3-D models and 2-D drawings before they can tender and award the shop detailing to a fabricator,” says Stacey.
By using the in-house approach, the shop detailing can begin while the fabricator is still in the tender selection process. Once the fabricator has been appointed, they can immediately begin ordering material to begin fabrication rather than wait another eight to ten weeks for preparation and approval of steel detailing documentation.
“By using this in-house detailing approach there is a vast improvement in inter-discipline co-ordination and design, auto-clash detection, reduced duplication of data and control of re-work. Additionally greater flexibility, both in terms of global procurement and fabrication, is enabled,” explains Stacey.
Hatch Shop Detailing Coordinator Elodi Vlok adds that the end result is dramatically reduced error rates, while the close interaction between engineering and detailing allows for the flagging of omissions and errors in a timely fashion.
“Hatch is one of the only consulting engineering firms in South Africa with an in-house detailing division. These capabilities are spread across the globe and can be accessed through Hatch’s offices in Montreal, Canada; Johannesburg, South Africa; Delhi, India; and Shanghai, China,” explains Stacey.
Meanwhile, Stacey notes that Hatch’s 3-D modeling is world-class; and that in terms of reviewing and organising the EPCM workflow, Hatch is one step ahead of other consulting engineering firms. Hatch Africa’s Structural Practice has won numerous awards over the years, including several from the annual Tekla Structures Competition.
Hatch’s Structural Practice is currently involved in numerous projects, including the Kolomela mine in the Northern Cape for Kumba Iron Ore, a business unit of global miner, Anglo American. As the main EPCM contractor on the project, Hatch’s Structural Practice was tasked with the design and engineering of a new plant, primary crusher, secondary crusher, tertiary crusher and train load-out station. Stacey says the project has been running since 2008 and is now reaching commissioning. Amongst others, Hatch’s South African and Canadian offices are also involved in large smelter projects in Canada and Iceland for mining giant Rio Tinto.
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Notes to the Editor
There are numerous photographs specific to this press release. Please visit http://media.ngage.co.za and click the Hatch link.
About Hatch
Hatch is an employee-owned, multidisciplinary professional services firm that delivers a comprehensive array of technical and strategic services, including Consulting, Information Technology, Engineering, Process Development, and Project and Construction Management to the Mining, Metallurgical, Energy, and Infrastructure sectors. Hatch has served clients for over 80 years and has project experience in more than 150 countries around the world. With 9,000 people in over 65 offices, the firm has more than $35 billion in projects currently under management.
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