Piping Replacement to ASME-B31.3 in the Water Industry? Why Not?

Following a catastrophic piping failure - where the plant roof of Tauranga City Council’s Oropi Rd Water Treatment Plant was severely damaged - Harrison Grierson was commissioned to design and project manage the upgrade for the Clean in Place (CIP) pipework. In addition to the pipe failure there were also several chemical solution leaks in the network requiring a complete pipe network replacement. Our brief was to design and replace the leaking and defective pipework without affecting plant operations, limiting the construction period to CIP downtime cycles.

A complex element to be factored into the design was the use of highly corrosive chemicals, including heated acids, which are periodically carried in the CIP piping network. This had a significant impact on the project management, risk management and Health and Safety considerations associated with the design and construction of the upgrade. This meant that the construction methodology had to become an integral part of the design to achieve the objective of implementing the design solution under a fully operational plant.

As part of the upgrade Harrison Grierson also completed tender specifications, contractor selection, quality inspections, Safety in Design (SiD) and HAZOP workshops.

The project came in under budget and was delivered ahead of schedule.

This paper will discuss how this outcome was achieved through effective project management and contractor selection, and the adoption of an unconventional design procurement approach.