Lean Construction

PRE-FABRICATED PIPE RACKING SAFES TIME, MONEY & IMPROVES SAFETY

The adaptation of Lean Construction is a sea change in improved functionality, safety, and scheduling.  A.T. Chadwick’s leadership in Lean Construction provides a new and enhanced capability to fabricate copper pipes in our Bensalem PA facility.

Philadelphia skyline

We utilize the TigerStop Saw system, a hardware/software solution that takes the measurements directly from our CAD models and cuts pipe to the exact length.

  • Miscuts and mismeasured pieces affect costs and cause time and safety issues. In the past, we had to accept scrap, reworked parts, a botched job, and lost dollars as a universal problem.
  • Today we use sophisticated machinery and software solutions and deliver fast results that are very accurate.
  • This same approach has gained global adoption across mechanical, aerospace, automotive, and cabinetry industries.

With this new approach, we have proven time reductions, especially for measurement, while improving yields. Our shop can produce 1,000 cuts per day. Many shops still using manual processes get 1/10th of this productivity.

Off-site fabrication racks improve on-time deliverability. We typically deliver the pipes the day the floor is ready, with none of the usual time delays. Plus, pipe production is all done in a controlled environment.

On a recent job, we produced 204,000 feet of pipe (12,000 feet of copper pipe per floor times 17 floors). The entire production required only three days, where it was placed on a truck and delivered to the job site.

Pipe Fabrication 1

Lean Construction Allows Us to Beat Previous Estimates

Traditionally, a job required cutting down 20-foot pipe sections, hand-measured to size. There was always waste, and the opportunity for mismeasurement was significant. Materials today are 30-40% greater. With our adherence to Lean Construction, the raw materials cost savings alone are astronomical, allowing ATC to beat previous estimates while using fewer people.

As soon as it gets delivered, it gets put up

On one recent job, a carpenter coordinated all of his studs (drawing pre-fabrication) from ATC models. Walls went up in one week and with a reduction of materials. All of the openings were already in place. The schedule accelerated with a decrease in general conditions and safety improvement. There were a fraction of materials lying everywhere. People can stand on their feet more and spend less time on ladders.

Watch our Lean Construction Slide Show (Video)

This information is provided to illustrate A.T. Chadwick’s adherence to work quality and innovative processes. Our fifty years of experience substantially play a role in the successful execution of every project. if you’d like to connect with one of our project managers, please click here.