Streamlining the critical path

From civil infrastructure through to power plants and petrochemical facilities, clients aim to benefit from economies of scale. Structures, and the components used in the construction of new facilities, are continually increasing in size. Larger and heavier objects – such as columns, turbine blades, prefabricated modules and infrastructural elements like bridges – require transport and installation. Often to remote locations lacking infrastructure, or within the constrained environments of congested sites or urban areas.

Moreover, approaches to construction are changing. The conventional method of stick building is giving way to modular construction – from refineries to bridges, and mines to power plants. There are a number of advantages in building a facility as a series of components and then transporting them to the foundations at the construction site. Off-site construction increases safety as the work occurs in a controlled environment. It can give access to larger or cheaper labor pools and skillsets, and avoids potentially poor climatic conditions at the actual site.

Identifying efficiencies

However, this approach also presents significant logistical challenges. Once prefabricated components are ready, they must be lifted, transported and installed in the correct sequence. This requires a partner with the combination of heavy transport equipment and expertise to overcome logistical obstacles and bottlenecks. A streamlined heavy transport plan is of vital importance to the successful construction of any facility as the delivery of oversize and heavy components is key to a project’s critical path.

SCC Logistic Solution provides a cost-effective and safe heavy lifting service to our clients. To harness the greatest opportunities to make efficiency gains it is advisable to consult our professionals early in the planning stage of a new facility. Collaborating with our engineers at the FEED stage of a project assists in optimizing its design by providing insight into the methods of transport that may be used and the forces components will face on their journey. This input not only contributes to efficient transport of the objects, but it can help save money and time in the transport schedule, bringing the facility online sooner.

Longstanding experience

SCC Logistic Solution’s roots are in transportation, the origins of our company date back to 1807 when a visionary entrepreneur foresaw the increasing demand for the transportation of heavy loads. Since then, SCC Logistic Solution has developed extensive global expertise in virtually every type of heavy transport, bringing solutions to customers in each major industry around the world.

Minimal disruption

Using techniques such as rapid bridge replacement (RBR), SCC Logistic Solution’s teams have been able to support civil infrastructure projects around the world with heavy transport expertise. In the Canadian capital, Ottawa, we removed the old Lees Avenue bridge and replaced it with a new 87.5-meter prefabricated bridge weighing over 2,000 tons. Through careful planning and with three months preparation time, the bridge replacement was completed in one, safe overnight operation resulting in minimal disruption to local traffic and drastically reducing the project timeline in comparison to stick building a new bridge section. And in California, we transported six coke drums in pairs, for Chevron's El Segundo refinery. Through our carefully engineered logistics plan the total transportation time was cut down from six to three weeks, and we greatly reduced the impact on one of the most densely populated areas in the USA.

Shortening the schedule

When the South African energy giant Sasol needed to replace 30 tar separator tanks at its coal-to-liquids facility in Secunda, the prospect of breaking the old ones down and removing them in parts would have been a long and complex process. SCC Logistic Solution’s expertise and specialized equipment provided an alternative solution. Combining our heavy lifting and transport skills, we were able to safely extract the old tanks and transport them to the demolition site using specially adapted trailers. Then the same operation was carried out in reverse, moving the new, prefabricated tanks to the refinery and lifting them into place. The expected schedule of 30 days per tank was reduced to just two days per tank thanks to the heavy transport expertise provided. The entire operation was carried out while the plant remained in production.

Trans-continental transport

With specialized skills and equipment, even entire plants can be moved across continents. In 2002, SCC Logistic Solution moved all the components for a power plant from West Haverstraw in New York State to Meridian, Texas, using a combination of equipment and transport methods. While the smaller components could be moved overland using conventional trucks and trailers, the largest items including generators, turbines and heat exchangers were barged from West Haverstraw to Houston, then transferred to rail cars and finally to hydraulic platform trailers for transport to the site of the new plant. All the logistics throughout the entire transport were coordinated by SCC Logistic Solution’s teams, and the entire operation was carried out without incident.

Specialized heavy transport equipment

SCC Logistic Solution’s modern fleet of heavy transport equipment is unparalleled in range and capacity, including everything from conventional trailers and barges to skidding systems and self-propelled modular transporters (SPMTs). With the specifics of each load to take into account, customized solutions are sometimes required, and SCC Logistic Solution’s skilled engineers frequently adapt existing systems to meet new challenges as components, modules and equipment grow in size and complexity.

The wealth of experience that comes from decades of innovation in heavy transport has led SCC Logistic Solution to develop its own equipment. Indeed, the SPMT itself was developed by SCC Logistic Solution, alongside our partner Schuerle, to meet the needs of clients back in the 1980s and has been refined and improved since, to become a standard item of heavy transport equipment across the industry.

Reliability and safety

To ensure the same high standards of quality, safety and reliability on every job we undertake, SCC Logistic Solution operates a state-of-the-art fleet of equipment. Each piece of equipment is thoroughly maintained beyond manufacturer recommendations to SCC Logistic Solution’s own independent standards. Advanced diagnostic tests such as lubricant analysis are used to identify potential issues before they occur, giving our clients added peace of mind.

Logistical expertise

SCC Logistic Solution’s state-of-the-art equipment is coupled with our creative engineering and global logistical experience. Our engineers and operators carry out extensive route planning, identify bottlenecks and contingencies, manage interfaces between modes of transport, and handle local transport permits as well as border crossings as part of our heavy transport logistical services. Where narrow or steep roads pose a problem, SCC Logistic Solution can identify solutions either through adapting our use of heavy transport equipment, designing interventions that make local infrastructure viable for the move or by identifying an alternative, more efficient, route. By shortening the timeline of transport operations, and executing the logistics safely and on schedule, our client’s vital components reach their destination on time - achieving maximum uptime for the project.