Construction World June 2021

DPR CONSTRUCTION USED SYNCHRO 4D TO BUILD DRUG MANUFACTURING PLANT By tracking construction, it delivered the upgraded plant six days early during COVID-19. W hen a global neurological biotech company sought to increase production capacity of an investigational drug

to address Alzheimer’s disease, they had to upgrade their 20-year-old manufacturing facility, requiring a three-month shutdown. Time was of the essence to resume operations, requiring aggressive timelines, compounded by integrating new and existing assets. DPR Construction (DPR) also faced the challenge of having to work around existing piping and infrastructure covered up and buried under successive improvements that were made to the facility over the years. They would need to visualise and effectively track assets during construction, as well as streamline digital workflows, to ensure commissioning of systems in accordance with drug manufacturing release schedules. Upgrading plant assets, improving manufacturing capacity DPR was hired to deliver the USD32-million technology upgrade that would triple drug production. The project required adding filtration equipment and larger equipment vessels, as well as included over 7 000 linear feet of stainless-steel piping, 11 miles of new power and data cabling, and over 40 tons of steel platform, all within a confined space. Despite the enormity and complexity of the project, production had to resume as quickly as possible. Traditional, manual, and visual methods were inaccurate and could not meet these challenges. DPR desired a digital solution that not only provided a quantitative and visual representation of asset tracking, but also facilitated construction monitoring to make informed decisions based on accurate data to help the client plan for future manufacturing line commissioning. Finding success with SYNCHRO 4D DPR realised that SYNCHRO 4D offered the digitalization and simulation necessary to achieve their desired virtual construction planning. Using Bentley’s interoperable software, they were able to establish highly visual digital workflows and 3D models. The A urex Constructors was awarded the Auto-Thermal Reformer (ATR) B Train shutdown project by Sasol at their chemical operations facility in Sasolburg. The project team successfully completed this challenging, highly technical job almost 40 hours ahead of schedule. The project team executed mechanical, rigging and piping work on the ATR B train. Aurex sub-contracted services for the project that included cranage, machining, non-destructive testing, including replica testing, and heat treatment. Repairs to the 20-inch HUC line were of a highly technical nature and required welding of the heavy wall pipe in accordance with a complex welding procedure where exotic materials are involved. These periodic maintenance and repairs are scheduled to ensure the ongoing sustainability and reliability of the facility. Stuart Kent, CEO of Aurex Constructors said, “This project afforded us the opportunity to expand our hot-work expertise into the Sasolburg area. Our skilled project teams demonstrated their ongoing dedication to delivering high quality work responsibly to our customer.” ▄

software provided accurate representation of all the new-work piping in the factory and the current status of work throughout all stages of construction, eliminating guesswork of manual inspections. They relied on the software to make informed scheduling decisions, move work crews to support lagging areas, and to foster transparent, data- driven communications with the client. Digitalisation drives savings With SYNCHRO 4D, DPR thoroughly tracked construction progress, establishing a digital dashboard available for all stakeholders and the client to monitor construction and schedule their respective activities accordingly. Through careful, automated scripting, they assigned over 27 000 model objects to 950 resources in just 15 minutes, saving over two weeks of work. The automated software features helped coordinate labor resources and drive data-driven decisions and discussions, completely optimising change management. Using SYNCHRO 4D, DPR completed the 14-week project six days ahead of schedule through advanced planning and collaboration, providing the client the ability to increase production capacity and timely commission future life-changing drug manufacturing. ▄ ABOUT AUREX CONSTRUCTORS Aurex Constructors is a key player in South Africa’s construction, turnaround and maintenance industry with more than 40 years’ experience serving a blue-chip customer base in the oil and gas, mining and metallurgy, infrastructure, petrochemical and clean power sectors. Its two main service lines, construction and turnarounds and maintenance deliver structural, mechanical, electrical, instrumentation, piping, plate work (SMEIPP), fabrication and management services for projects of all sizes and complexities.The company is 100% locally owned and managed with 51% black ownership and 30% black women ownership. The highly skilled workforce has a proven track record for delivering flexible, innovative and relevant project management solutions tailor- made to customer requirements.

Aurex Constructors delivers the auto-thermal reformer

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD JUNE 2021