Construction World October 2018

How to schedule a precast plant project The setting up of a precast plant requires proper scheduling with each aspect of the project requiring specific planning and adequate time allocation. The Elematic expertise in this process has assisted both local and global customers to ensure correct precast plant development has been efficiently implemented.

B efore equipment manufacturing starts, a launch meeting should be organised to ensure that all the technical details are in place; the production capacity, their feedings and even the equipment size required to make sure the site is appropriately designed. Drawings of the future pre- cast concrete production hall should be available. The drawings should include the exact techni- cal details of the building, e.g. column size, floor levels, HVAC points, overhead-crane working areas coupled with detailed information about all of the existing structures that are in the new equipment working area. These drawings will enable the team from Elematic to assist in creating most suitable layout – or update one from the quotation phase. Maija Toivonen, Project manager at Elematic stat- ed, “A carefully designed layout ensures function- ality and cost-efficiency of the precast production plant. We also create equipment drawings to best serve the production needs. This may mean, for ex- ample, that the size of a given machine is changed to better fit the preserved location at your factory. “After assessment we will supply the initial drawings which will include forces to the foun- dation and columns as well as electrical, water, sewer, compressed air and network feeding points, allowing for the finalization of the factory design making sure that the foundations and all other structures are sturdy enough to handle all the loads,” said Toivonen. In order to create a functional factory, an under- standing of even the smallest of details is required, otherwise there’s a good chance that things go wrong. “For example, once when going through the factory layout with a client we found out that we had planned to put a specific machine into a different hall than where the customer wanted it to be placed. If we had proceeded with the project

without knowing this, the produced machinery could have been unsuitable for the final factory. Sometimes it is also possible that a small change in the layout or in the lifting equipment is the key to further enhance the production flow and thereby add production capacity,” she said. After agreement is reached on all the details, the equipment design is finalised and the man- ufacturing can begin. The production schedule is dependable on the size of the factory and the complexity of the equipment, but the average pro- duction time for precast plant equipment is four months. Setting a realistic schedule Production is always required to be implemented as quickly possible, but it’s important not to set an overly optimistic schedule for all the project steps. The production equipment is manufactured based on the overall project schedule. If any instal- lations are delayed the equipment should be stored carefully until installations resume. The machinery and all other factory components need to be stored in a clean and covered environment. Factory installation is precisework “It takes a few weeks for the mechanical instal- lations to be completed, after which electrical engineers can then commence work. Naturally, the time needed for this depends on how many work- ers you have and how skilled the team of engineers and contractors are. The foundations have to be in tolerance – inaccuracy may prolong the equipment installation work and in the worst case affect the end product negatively,” she said. Toivonen added,“The final step is taking the machinery into use and testing, which is usually conducted by a team from Elematic. Factory

operating personnel also need to learn how to use the machines, therefore suitable candidates should be identified for each of the machines and time reserved for training. “Machinery stays in good condition when people know how they are used and what kind of maintenance is required. Hence, we recommend coming up with a maintenance program and a dedicated maintenance team. Elematic is able to assist with a preventive maintenance program” she said. 

Maija Toivonen, Project manager at Elematic.

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CONSTRUCTION WORLD OCTOBER 2018