Optimation Technology Inc.: 70-lb Steam Leak Emergency Service Call

Infrastructure service at an industrial/manufacturing facility/warehouse and office building.

By Optimation Technology Inc. August 14, 2014

Engineering firm: Optimation Technology Inc.
2014 MEP Giants rank: 22
Project: 70-lb Steam Leak Emergency Service Call
Address: Rochester, N.Y., U.S.
Building type: Industrial/manufacturing facility/warehouse, Office building
Project type: Other
Engineering services: Plumbing/piping and other
Project timeline: 2/27/2014 to 4/4/2014
MEP/FP budget: $63,000

Challenges

A local utility company in Rochester, N.Y., is investing millions to increase Eastman Business Park’s energy efficiency and utilities productivity to help attract new businesses and jobs to the region while ensuring compliance with Boiler MACT and other pending environmental regulations. The utility company purchased the park from a local chemical/film company in late 2013 and has been working on infrastructure upgrades since then. The utility company’s operations manager called Optimation’s construction manager, Jack Burke, for an emergency meeting after a 70-lb steam main had fractured beneath Lake Avenue. This line supplied steam to a neighboring company, causing the company to shut down operations. Both the neighboring company and the utility company became concerned about cold weather causing sprinklers to activate and damage operations and research in the neighboring company’s production facility. The objective: fix the steam main and get utilities to the neighboring company up and running ASAP.

Solutions

Optimation had to think out of the box to create a solution that would quickly fix the problem, without requiring cranes and having to wait for an out-of-state contractor. Within a day, Optimation assembled a team of welders, pipefitters, riggers, and an insulation partner to fabricate a series of pipes that would be connected by bolts and gaskets underneath the street, repairing the fractured line. Optimation prefabricated 160 ft of pipe in its shop prior to its arrival at the job site. In another effort to save time at the job site, the construction manager planned to have the pipes insulated in Optimation’s shop space after welding. The pipes were then moved by crane to prevent damage to the insulation and save time for the client on the job site. Picking points were welded onto the pipe to prevent damage to the insulation during mobilization and installation. When in the field, the client contracted an excavation company to dig a 3-ft trench. Optimation needed to tie into the existing mains, custom fabricating transition pieces to connect tie points to Optimation’s prefabricated pipes. Optimation pipefitters redirected the pipes to stay south of the damaged area. The work was completed in 2.5 days, saving the client from weeks of lost time. The client was appreciative of the efforts that Optimation’s skilled tradesmen put in to fix the problem.