Resources

Resources

Valuable Ideas Come From Customers

One of the “success stories” of Houston businesses during 1996 is Continental Airlines. In their March 1996 magazine Chairman Gordon Bethune credited Continental’s customers in an article titled Thanks for your Ideas. This article struck a cord with our President, Durga Agrawal, and we began to review the many ideas for improvement at Piping Technology that came from our customers. Here are some examples of ideas for improvements which help make us so competitive.

The most recent suggestion came from an engineer at Tippet & Gee for an improvement to figures 700 through 1200, pipe shoes with slide plates. If the web is cut so that the center of the web is taken up to the surface of the pipe, any bending movement produced by overloading which might cause deflection to the slide plate will be prevented. This is a simple but elegant solution which is inexpensive to fabricate.

Some improvements to our constants suggested by customers include: a full size travel scale which allows field engineers to observe actual movement of supported pipes in the field (Bechtel engineer working with Houston Lighting & Power); addition of scales for field adjustment of loads (HL&P engineer); the use of DU bearings to hold stainless steel pins eliminating any failure of this component during the life of the constant and eliminating any need of lubrication of the bearing (Brown & Root engineer).

For many years the fine companies who provide us with galvanizing services have experienced problems with the many small pieces we send to them. (They get lost in the bottom of the vats required for large structural steel.) A customer suggested we combine small parts in some way. This lead to the idea of drilling holes and wiring many small pieces together. While adding some cost to the process, this has significantly reduced the number of parts “lost at the galvanizer” and has improved our ability to deliver on time. Like Continental, we here at PT&P say, “Thanks for your ideas!”

Testing Proves Spring Coils Will Function In a Hot Environment

An engineer with a major Houston E&C firm had concerns about the effect the temperatures in the furnace his company was designing would have on the coils in the spring supports used to support the tubing. PT&P engineers put the same question to the major suppliers of coils in the U.S.A. No one seemed to have the data to prove the coils would withstand the temperatures. The E&C firm included a requirement to test for relaxation of the coils with their purchase order to PT&P.

A random sample of coils of the size required was selected from PT&P’s inventory. The loads required to compress the coils through ten inches of travel were recorded and the coils were placed in a furnace at a controlled temperature of 176 degrees F for forty-eight hours. After the coils were cooled they were again compressed. No difference in the loads required was observed.

We did not expect any relaxation of the coils, but it was nice to have the experimental data to back our judgment.

PT&P Facts

“Like a Rock” Polyurethane Blocks
Chevrolet uses the phrase “Like a Rock” to advertise their pick-up trucks. PT&P recently produced some polyurethane blocks for a major E&C customer to their specification of 2,000 pound compressive strength as measured by ASTM D1621 tests. Our supplier produced a special chemical blend for a nominal density of 38 pounds/cubic foot and PT&P built special molds to satisfy this “Like a Rock” requirement for the Gulf Coast ethylene plant.

PT&P Technical Team Goes to Algeria
In March, PT&P sent a technical team to a LNG facility near Skikda, Algeria to provide assistance on pipe support replacement for the GL1K project. This large facility has several units that have operated for more than twenty years. Our team examined the units and recommended replacement of cryogenic and spring supports. Since travel in Algeria is subject to heavy restriction, our team had to fly from Tarbarka, Tunisia by helicopter to and from the job site. The trip lasted about two weeks.

News Bits From Other Publications

The Nov.-Dec. issue of World Cogeneration reports that Westinghouse Electric received a $15 million contract to provide full-scope operation and maintenance to the Bellingham Carbon Dioxide Recovery facility in Bellingham, MA. They also provide O&M services to the three-hundred megawatt co-generation plant next door. Piping Technology fabricated the large ducts which connect the two facilities when Fluor Daniel did the original construction.

The Dec. 11, 1995 issue of ENR has an article (and pictures) about the 240 MW co-generation plant in Crockett, CA built by Bechtel Power. This was the first project that Piping Technology supplied to Bechtel under their new MPA agreement with selected vendors. The article explains the unique problems associated with building a facility this large on their 2.6 acre site and the necessity to add penalty clauses to all supplier contracts to help meet their schedule. For pipe supports they also added extra crating requirements to minimize the chance of damage during shipment which might delay construction. Bechtel was pleased with PT&P’s performance on this challenging project.

PT&P For a Stronger Tomorrow

During the summer of 1996, PT&P continues in its tradition of offering “real world” experience to high school and college students. Most of the students are working in the engineering and clerical departments at PT&P, and some are engaged in other activities. Both the students and PT&P have benefitted from the summer program.

Ginger Bailey Clear Brook high School
Sally Ann Bailey

San Jacinto Junior College
Kevin Conrad Rice University – Mechanical Engineering
Jermaine Gibbs Rice University – Economics
Kevin Rennie Rice University – Computer Engineering
Amish Patel University of Houston – Chem. Engineering
Eugeny Gelfand University of Texas – Mechanical Engineering

Piping Technology and Products, Inc. thanks and salutes our summer interns. We look forward to continued participation and cooperation in the future. Thank You For Your Feedback!!!

Many customers took the time to answer our survey about our printed mailing program. We appreciate your feedback and we will continue to try to communicate information you find useful and enjoyable. The results of the 1996 survey are as follows:

93% said our technical bulletins are useful in their job.

87% said their job requires the use of our catalog.

75% of those who use the catalog said the three types of indexes make it easy to find the information needed.

88% said our newsletter covers topics of interest to them.

Only 2% would like to see different photographs on our calendar.

PT&P Supplies Pipe Supports for Clean Coal Projects

he U.S. Department of Energy, major E&C firms and electric utilities are building commercial-size power plants to evaluate new technologies and equipment to produce electricity from coal without harmful emissions. These plants are expected to produce operating data which will be used to design many of the power plants required in the twenty-first century.

Coal is an abundant fuel source in North America and the price is not as subject to political and economic changes around the world as most other fuels are. But coal’s toxic elements make it one of the most polluting fuels. The U.S. Department of Energy has supported research programs for a number of years leading to these current projects. They are pioneering better ways to burn coal or to convert it to gas. The processes must be both efficient and clean.

PT&P has been a major supplier to three of these projects: the Southern Company Services plant in Wilsonville, Alabama, the Tampa Electric project in Polk County, Florida, and the Sierra Pacific project in Nevada. PT&P along with its customers are helping to insure a stable energy supply for our nation.

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