Exxon Refinery
A major plant expansion at the Exxon Refinery in Baytown, Texas required several thousand feet of new piping to be installed along side existing pipe runs. An integral part of the new pipe run is the pipe guide. These steel angle guides were to be attached to the existing wide flange beam pipe supports. As with any industrial expansion project, the largest obstacles to overcome are…
- Preventing any disturbance of normal production
- Job safety
- Completing the job economically and in a timely manner.
Conventional installation methods, drilling or welding, could not offer the contractor solutions these problems. LNA Solutions, however, offered solutions to all of these.
ENGINEER and General Contractor:
- Fluor Daniel; Sugar Land, Texas
First, the existing support beams were hot dip galvanized. If the support beams were drilled for a conventional bolted connection, the shavings would have to be abated because of the hazardous quality of the zinc. This was of great concern because of the time and cost involved. The ideal solution was to make the connection without disturbing the existing coating. Utilizing an adjustable clamp, the pipe guides could be installed quickly, easily and without the need to disturb the galvanizing.
Second, a welded connection offered its own set of obstacles. Since the plant was in operation, welding created a fire hazard that needed to be addressed. Typically hot work is extremely man-hour intensive and expensive as well. Safety personnel are often required to monitor the operation and production may need to be interrupted. There is also the need for site power to complete the work. The Adjustable Clamp enabled the contractor to clamp the pipe guides in place with simple hand tools. This solution offered not only equipment and power savings but most of all was extremely cost effective.
Construction projects in operating industrial plants will always be challenging to the contractor and owner. However, with the use of LNA Solutions products, projects may be completed without disrupting normal operation. They may also be done in a timely and efficient manner by utilizing LNA Solutions products. The end result is tremendous economic savings for both the owner and contractor.
