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Facility Construction: Cut Metal Fabrication Cost With Detail Planning

 In Industrial Construction

When it comes to industrial facility construction, there are a lot of factors at play. The footprint of the building, how it will be used, and floor plan efficiencies. The size of the machinery, location of delivery docks, and storage must all work together to save time and get the most out of the process.

How workers will interact with the machinery, perform maintenance, and safety considerations must all be taken into account during the design and construction phases. And, of course, project requirements must take into account all codes, permits, and jurisdictional necessities before the first shovel of dirt can be turned.

That’s why it’s so important to work with a design-build company that has decades of experience when considering a new construction project, an expansion, or even an upgrade. That accumulated knowledge will pay off when engineering and design don’t exactly meet eye to eye.

The fabrication process involves a lot of planning and understanding of the work that needs to be done. A custom fabrication company needs to know the overall timeline of the project, key deadlines, and other phases of construction. This information will detail a path to meeting all goals, especially if the construction will also be performing the fabrication.

By dealing with a company that can handle all aspects of the job, the hiring organization will consolidate the amount of communication, improving transparency. A general contractor may be the single point of contact, but if they need to deal with several sub-contractors, some dialogue may get lost in translation.

Which could lead to costly overruns and missed deadlines. Of course, this is rare if the general manager is a good one. However, with everyone under one roof, issues become even less likely. Time can be saved if engineers and designers understand what can be done with fabrication. And if time is money, that’s music to your ears.

Reduce Steel Fabrication Costs with Excellent Detailed Planning

Meeting the heavy demands of commercial and industrial building construction, the fabricated structural components will vary in size and complexity based on the design and capacity of the building. Once designed by an architect and engineered by licensed structural engineers, the metal fabrication team will take over.

The team will develop the details of the fabrication plan, submit the plan for engineering approval, and completes all stages of fabrication. They will then prepare the site for the installation of the structural building components. The detailing of the building plans into fabrication drawings is critical to the success of the building construction.

With careful planning and attention to detail at the fabrication drawing stage, value-added solutions or cost savings can be achieved through consultation with the owner of the building. With full coordination with the steel erection team, the fabrication plan can also streamline the installation process saving time and total costs on building construction methods.

Construction Planning to Meet Critical Milestones

Storee consults with clients and building owners during the planning stage to coordinate the building plans and construction schedule around important production considerations. While the building is still being designed, Storee reviews the project from the client’s perspective using our years of experience completing industrial applications and building construction.

Storee works hand in hand with the client’s team and the architects and engineers to fully address the building and production priorities with a plan that will have a positive effect on the pricing and minimize construction time. With the building design and site plans in place, the construction schedule must also meet the client’s critical manufacturing milestones.

Storee works directly with clients to expedite the construction of key areas with a progressive construction plan that will allow the client to move into new or expanded facilities as they become available utilizing all time-saving opportunities.

Storee Shortens Fabrication Time to Meet Manufacturing Requirements

Storee recently completed a 63,000 square foot building expansion including multiple manufacturing areas for a large equipment manufacturer. The 8-week delivery time for the pre-engineered metal building components was unacceptable to the client’s production schedule requirements in a key manufacturing area.

Our solution was to re-engineer the structural plan to fast track the structural components fabrication project. This shortened the lead time to 10 days – nearly seven weeks early! Within the original lead time, Storee had finished construction of the building and was progressing rapidly with the interior installations to support the expanded manufacturing area.

The shortened timeline allowed Storee to meet the client’s critical 14-week production expansion requirement. This progress was possible through Storee’s knowledge of industrial construction, full consultation with the client, and the use of Storee’s own forces to plan, fabricate structural steel building components, construct the building and complete installation of the manufacturing equipment.

A Fabricator for Every Job

With more than 50 years of experience in the field, Storee fabricators have worked a wide variety of industries. However, there are consistencies in every field of manufacturing, production, or industrial construction: safety and efficiency.

In many cases, the two go hand in hand. If overhead access to new equipment or machinery is needed, a catwalk and stairs can be manufactured for said access. Additionally, safety aspects can be addressed with safety railings and other fall protection. Other safety fabrication installations include guardrails, equipment guards, and pedestrian walkways and gate systems.

Even designing ergonomic workstations can improve worker safety and mitigate fatigue. But fabrications also provide additional stability to the facility itself. Many of these installations are retrofits to accommodate new equipment, such as more support for bar joists or roof structure additions.

Fabrications can also play a part when it comes to renovations or upgrades. Is production improving to the point that the loading dock becomes a choke point? Structural modifications can be made to increase the amount of product that can be handled, equipment being used, and the mode of transportation it can handle.

While steel fabricators work with heavy-duty applications, they also are adept at working with more design-oriented operations. Conveyor systems require flexibility and stability. Dumpers, material-handling carts, and sanitary steel for food processing need to be crafted to exact specifications to improve processes.

Storee Construction Storee completes custom fabrications in carbon, stainless and aluminum. We work on building construction, manufacturing or distribution installations, repairs and replacement parts and specific applications. To put the Storee team to work to meet your building construction and production installation priorities, call us at 888-736-2032.