Is Bigger Better?

The Multiple Benefits of Modularization in

Heavy Industrial Construction

SHAUN A. SIPE

Barnhart Crane & Rigging

Memphis, TN

October 22, 2010

Is Bigger Better? The Multiple Benefits of Modularization in Heavy Industrial Construction

ABSTRACT an older, very cramped seven unit coal-fired

plant. As the rigging engineer, I was tasked with
The following document offers an giving the design team at the power producer
engineered heavy rigging and heavy the parameters for what the crane could handle
transportation contractor’s approach to
on site. The rest, as they say, is history.
highlighting the benefits of modularization as
compared to conventional or “stick built” That project set into motion a new way
projects. Of course, the intent is to persuade of thinking that aimed at turning every job that
the reader, where it is suitable, to choose a came my way into a rigging project. “Build it
route for construction that includes handling big, Move it once” became the mantra. While it
and moving large loads. However, more than is true that not every job in the crane and
just a “use us” pitch, this approach evaluates rigging industry fits such a model, the desire to
the general benefits of schedule, safety, quality, develop a set of principles that evaluated each
and labor resources for the overall project. The job for added value in this realm grew. With
question of which method to use is answered each new job walk, the thought that the
with a broad list of principles aimed at successful completion of the project could
understanding the essential aspects of the involve one big move or one big lift inspired me
suitable projects. to think about the benefits of such an approach
to the client.

This paper is the summary of a decade

INTRODUCTION of experience in meeting with dozens of
In 2001, a large power producer in the customers (General Contractors, EPC firms,
southern states introduced me to the concept Design-Build Architects, government agencies,
of building selective catalytic reduction units etc.), complements (suppliers, friends in the
(SCR’s) in large modular sections that would industry, etc.), and competitors who all want to
have to be handled with one of the largest achieve similar goals. We want to find a better
cranes available at the time. Barnhart owned way to do some good work. Whenever a
what proved to be the ideal crane for such a “better” way is determined, it is expected that
project. It was a high capacity (rated as an others will say “prove it.” In an attempt to do
1800T class) crane, with a relatively small just that, the options in construction methods
footprint and a boom configuration that will be generally set on the table for discussion,
allowed for handling loads as heavy as 77 tons a definition for which is better will be
at a 361 foot radius. The power producer developed, projects for application will be
wanted to handle the heaviest loads possible reviewed, and one specific case study will be
while reaching over an operating boiler house in presented.

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Is Bigger Better? The Multiple Benefits of Modularization in Heavy Industrial Construction

OPTIONS IN HEAVY INDUSTRIAL the course of construction is important.” (Malik

CONSTRUCTION & Key)

The two options available in the construction of Only one other factor is of such importance as
heavy industrial facilities are conventional to be included with time, money, and quality.
(“stick-built”), modular, or a mixture of both. Human risk, or safety, should be another
Most jobs are a mixture of both. Deciding category for evaluation. Each of these
where the breakeven point is for using categories will provide the guidance needed to
conventional and modular construction is evaluate the use of modularization over
unclear. Estimating is difficult in both cases, and conventional construction. Still, even if the
the mixture of the two presents an array of data can be provided to demonstrate the
challenges. Nevertheless, almost all projects benefits of modularization in time, money,
will involve both. It is also true that there are quality, and safety, many will still decide to
some projects for which stick building is the build using conventional methods.
only option. Some modularization makes sense
(subassemblies) in virtually every case. But, The reasons for this decision are simple. In
many pockets of Heavy Industrial Construction,
especially in the case of maintenance in existing
plants where space in a limited area is the experience level for implementing a
unavailable, piece by piece demolition and modular concept is not available. Even though
the approach has been around for some time,
rebuilding is clearly the way.
and the success of numerous projects has
But what about new construction or greenfield depended on it, modularization is still novel to
projects? What about older sites who are many. Project Managers, engineers, and site
looking to add a process to their slate of leaders who are not comfortable with the
products? What about large expansions for approach can influence the decision towards
refineries that have not added to capacity in their areas of expertise.
years? What about the next generation of
Another reason why firms would still choose a
nuclear power plants, poised to be erected in
conventional approach is the argument of
familiar and unfamiliar places?
business model. Many construction firms have
In analyzing the decision whether to build been built on the premise that revenue is
conventionally or use a modular approach, the generated on time and material alone. If
elements of time, money, and quality are material stays virtually the same but
always the primary measures: modularization reduces man-hours drastically,
then overall revenue for some companies is
“A plant should be modularized if it can be going to be affected. This is the argument of
engineered, designed, shop assembled, tested, feeding large labor forces. It is understandable
transported, installed, and commissioned at less for companies who are built as craft labor
cost and time than on-site [stick built] providers. It is just not efficient based on the
construction would afford and where very close
principles of time, money, quality, and safety.
control of quality or other similar factors during

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Is Bigger Better? The Multiple Benefits of Modularization in Heavy Industrial Construction

DEFINING “BETTER” • Less elevated and less congested

workspaces (reduction in major incident
The variables of time, money, quality, and
exposure; 277 out of 816 Fatal
safety define “better” in the case of modular
accidents in the category of
construction projects. Many assumptions are
construction for 2009 were the result
being made as the benefits of modularization
of falls) (www.bls.gov).
are enumerated. They should be evaluated
with each individual application:
Labor
• Productivity of shop craftsmen can be
Time 30% to 50% higher than the field (Malik,
Modularization).
• Reduced on-site erection schedule
requirements. Some estimates have • More flexibility for available craft labor.
the time on-site reduced by a full 50% Location of site can push labor costs
for modular construction methods. much higher.

• Condensed schedule, due to parallel • Labor disputes in fabrication are often

paths of permitting, foundation easier to resolve than those in the field.
preparation, and fabrication. It is also
true that foundations for modular-type Quality
installations are often easier to design
and develop on-site. • Building modules in the shop provides
for higher quality than “stick built” in
• Better planning and avoidance of the field.
weather delays (planning for suitable or
preferential seasons). In some cases, • Quality control of materials is better
sites may even utilize large tent-like managed in the fabrication shop than in
structures to mitigate weather impact. the field.
In any case, modular construction
schedules can be managed to fit tighter • All highly skilled installations (electrical,
windows. paint, refractory, insulation) can likely
be done in the shop.
Safety

• Fewer man hours on-site translate into

These advantages are only the start. There are
reduced safety risks.
other factors that tend to lend to
modularization as an appropriate solution for
• Increased engineering oversight
construction projects. They include the ability
translates into better JHA’s and
to manage loss control due to the fact that
HASAP’s.
materials are more secure in a shop setting as

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Is Bigger Better? The Multiple Benefits of Modularization in Heavy Industrial Construction

opposed to on site. Reduced schedules mean 2800 tons of it) was completely built in
that many organizations can be first to market Chickasaw, Alabama, just north of Mobile. The
with a particular product or process. This first contractor who was awarded the construction
to market feature is often the competitive of the bridge was in Russellville, Alabama. The
advantage businesses need to set themselves port of Chickasaw provided a reasonable
apart. For projects that affect the public location to set up shop and build the bridge on
directly (bridge replacements, for example), the a suitable barge for transport.
quality of life provided by modular approaches
is hard to argue against. This is why states like Once completed, the barge with the new 3rd
Utah and Massachusetts have committed to Ave Bridge on the deck was floated through the
accelerated, modular type projects for virtually Mobile Bay, around the Florida peninsula, and
all of the new bridge projects. up the Harlem River in New York. It was docked
for a time until the operation to remove the old
bridge and install the new could be coordinated
on site. The removal of the old and the
“For currently operating U.S. nuclear plants, installation of the new was accomplished
the average construction period was 9.3 years; primarily by the use of two additional barges
the longest was 23.5 years. In Japan, close fitted with falsework to support the bridge from
attention to modularization and construction the sections of the span outboard of the swing
sequencing has reduced construction times for bearing island. Using primarily the ballasting of
the ABWR reactor design. In fact, units in the barges, the new swing span was set in place
Japan have been constructed in less than four in a weekend.
years! One of the secrets to this speed was Refinery Expansion in Port Arthur – This
using modular construction techniques.” expansion project is providing Port Arthur with
the largest refinery in the US by taking refining
www.powermag.com capacity to 600,000 barrels per day. As a part of
the expansion, the owner used modular
construction for many of the conduit/pipe
racks, process units, etc. where modules were
DOES IT FIT? constructed in several offsite shops. Dozens of
modules from 400 to 1000T and beyond were
The following examples are intended to give a manufactured, weighed, rolled on to a suitable
small sampling of projects where
barge, and tied down in Maine, South Carolina,
modularization or a mixture of conventional and Mexico. Once they arrived, they were
and modular construction provided benefits in rolled off and transported to a waiting crane
concert with the arguments given above.
hook for setting into place.
3rd Avenue Bridge, New York, NY – The 300 ft Cell Tower Relocation – When traveling south
long swing span bridge connecting Manhattan on I-55 entering into Jackson, Mississippi, a cell
to the Bronx was replaced in 2004. The project tower would greet the driver in the form of the
was unique in that the replacement bridge (all Washington Monument. The communications

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Is Bigger Better? The Multiple Benefits of Modularization in Heavy Industrial Construction

company covered the cell tower in a façade approved the method, the units were skidded
reminiscent of the famous DC monument. (It to a temporary hoisting tower structure that
was a bit startling to come upon it on the side allowed the units to be lowered to the ground
of the Interstate.) The company decided to where platform trailers were able to transport
move the homage to Washington and faced the them to the new structural steel supports. They
challenge of how to do so with the least cost were then lifted up and skidded horizontally
impact and hassle. The solution was to into position.
reinforce the tower structure for lifting it from
the bottom. This enabled a modular platform Combined Cycle Power Plants – In many parts
trailer to drive underneath the structure, lift it of the country, the trend in the last ten years
has been to build combined cycle power plants.
off of its foundations, drive to the new site, and
Many components of these plants are already
set it on its new base.
large enough to make for a significant heavy
Lock Gate Replacement – Like the Panama rigging, heavy transport project. However,
Canal, each of the locks on the Alabama River, other parts of the plant are “stick built.” The
Black Warrior River, and Tennessee-Tombigbee condensers for the steam cycle are some of
waterway, are 600 feet in length with 110 feet those components. Yet, it was not uncommon
of space within the lock walls. The gates (miter for the condenser units to be built out
style) used to seal the lock are 85 feet Tall, 65 completely in a remote location to be hauled,
feet wide, and 7 feet thick. They each weigh set on a skid system, and then skidded into
360 tons. Interestingly, the gates were position under the steam turbines. This allowed
manufactured in St. Louis near the contractor’s for parallel paths for multiple areas of the site.
facility. They were transported via barge to the
Black Warrior River near Tuscaloosa, Alabama Arena Projects – The Dallas Cowboys have a
to replace two aging gates at the John Hollis new home. That new home has the largest,
most technically advanced scoreboard on the
Bankhead Lock and Dam. The lock was one of
several that are needed to feed the local planet with over 11,000 square feet of video
foundries and power plants. Conventional board. The frame that those boards are
mounted to weighs about 800 tons. It was built
replacement would shut the lock down for
many months and potentially years. Instead, out as one unit on the stadium floor and then
the replacement was designed as a heavy lifted in one shift using four strand jacks. The
alternative would have taken many more
rigging project, and the outage for replacement
was 30 days. The gates were functional in half months of difficult erection processes.
that time. Refinery Maintenance – Aruba has some of the
Pulp and Paper Plant – In Oklahoma, a paper most beautiful beaches available. The island is
also the home of a large refinery. Part of a
facility needed to move two 800 ton
maintenance outage included removing and
precipitators from their perch one hundred feet
above grade to a new elevated location replacing a large section of the convection
elsewhere on plant property. Modularization furnace. This section was 400 tons and
required a very unique traveling gantry crane in
allowed the owner to evaluate the ability of the
precipitators to be moved in one piece. Having order to complete the scope.

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Is Bigger Better? The Multiple Benefits of Modularization in Heavy Industrial Construction

A DETAILED CASE STUDY • Higher quality in the build-out process.

California can claim some of the largest • Shorter duration for fit up and
refineries in the country. In Torrance, one commissioning.
owner had decided to add two Electro-Static
Precipitators (ESP’s) to their already congested • Reduced labor requirements for overall
site. The two precipitators were 81 feet long, project
63 feet wide, 90 feet high and weighed in at an
• Reduced schedule for build-out and
estimated 2800 tons each. In planning to add
installation
the precipitators, several specific issues faced
the design and construction team: The choice seemed obvious. Selecting the path
of modularization early on allowed the heavy
• Space constraints (for constructability)
rigging and heavy transport vendor to integrate
• Sensitive areas impacted by their equipment into the plan so that the effort
construction planning (Alky unit) appeared seamless. As the two units were
completed, the payoff was about to be realized.
• Limited access for construction
equipment One significant step that had to be inserted due
to the decision to build the units out and move
• The construction plan would cut off the them was the requirement to ascertain a total
“main vein” of traffic on site weight with accurate results on the location of
the center of gravity. The only way to obtain
• Outages for construction tie-ins would this data was to lift the ESP’s at several intervals
be very costly throughout the process to ensure that the
capacity of the lifting and transport equipment
• Labor costs in California are very high
would not be exceeded. This data was obtained
With all of the challenges associated with using sophisticated load cell systems and
conventional construction methods, several synchronized jacking operations. The
engineers (early in the process) considered determination of weight and location of the
using a modularized approach. The approach center of gravity are key data points for any lift,
was to completely build out the two ESP’s in a and especially when modularized components
less sensitive, less traveled, less congested part are concerned. The lifting and transportation
of the refinery. This presented significant operations are critically dependent on this data.
advantages.
The actual lifting and transport of the units was
• Uninterrupted production for the straightforward. Using four high capacity strand
refinery while the units were built jacks, and a set of substantial structural steel
lifting beams, the units were raised off of the
• The main avenue for traffic was ground to a height that would allow them to be
unimpeded for the months of erection loaded onto supports and hydraulic platform
trailers. Now loaded, the units could be driven
• More controlled safety program for the
around the refinery, through the sensitive Alky
fabrication area

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Is Bigger Better? The Multiple Benefits of Modularization in Heavy Industrial Construction

unit, and over the steel column supports for the modular design. The fact that
final fit up. This process was used for both engineers are involved means that key
units. safety preparations should be fully
developed and carefully implemented.
The results were impressive. Through the
lifting, transport, setting and disassembly • Use as much shop quality that can be
process, there were no safety incidents of any provided rather than site fabrication.
kind. This includes property damage (fender Insulation, refractory, electrical, etc.
benders), personal injury (first aids, OSHA can all be done with greater care and
recordables, etc) or any violations of any of the higher reliability in the shop.
Refinery’s stringent safety requirements.
Moreover, the units were moved and set on • Involve handling specialists early in the
their new support structures from beginning to design to address road, water, and
end in 16 days (includes both units). railway requirements through the
design phase. Also consider the need to
SUMMARY handle the loads from the top versus
the bottom. Where will their
In summary, the “better” method is so because:
equipment be able to apply loads? It
• Reduced Schedule means reduced makes a difference. Changes in the field
overall cost. are costly.

• Reduced Safety Risks means success in • Durations for the heavy transportation
general, and reduced overall cost and heavy lifting can be minimized
through good planning. Shorter
• Reduced Labor requirements means durations mean lower costs in using
reduced overall cost. heavy equipment.

• Reduced concerns about quality means • Enter into discussions with the building
reduced overall cost. and trades early on. Many of the craft
squabbles about modular work can be
settled in assignment without delays
To realize these benefits: caused by claims on site.

• Start design and engineering concepts (Shaun Sipe is the Vice President of
for modularization early in the planning Organizational Development for Barnhart Crane
process. If the plan does not start with and Rigging Company, Memphis, Tennessee.
modularization, it is likely not to He has a PE license in the state of Tennessee
happen. having graduated with a B.S. in Mechanical
Engineering in 2000, and an MBA in 2008. He
• Don’t fail to realize the full impact of has worked on modular construction
the pre-planning and engineering for applications since he joined Barnhart in 2000.)

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