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n 1963, American filmmaker Stanley Kramer brought to the screen the epic comedy It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World, about a wild quest for buried treasure. More than a half-century later, as big construction projects are increasingly prefabricated into modules prior to transport to jobsite, industry is adventurously rushing into what might be described as a “mod, mod, mod, mod world,” a global order in which financial benefits also await. But, while cost savings and other gains can undoubtedly be achieved through modularization, the evolving concept brings challenges along with opportunities and is causing engineering, procurement and construction firms, or EPCs, to rethink – and even expand – their roles. “Fabrication excellence is going to be a game-changer,” Cyril Joseph Varghese, United Arab Emiratesbased global logistics director for strategy and commercial at Fluor, told Breakbulk. He added that the trend is causing major EPCs such as Fluor to look at themselves these days as EPFCs – that is engineering, procurement, fabrication and construction firms. Varghese’s Fluor colleague Chris Vertanness, vice president and director of operations for COOEC-Fluor, joint venture operator of a 500-acre fabrication yard on the coast of the South China Sea, said modularization adds challenges but can yield significant advantages over more traditional on-site “stick-build” approaches. “When a project is suited to modularization,” Vertanness said, “modularization can provide several benefits, including the cost and schedule certainty of assembling in a controlled environment. This is especially important as projects continue to become more complex. There can also be cost advantages to assembling modules in the AsiaPacific, while maintaining the same high levels of quality and safety that are expected around the world. As projects continue to choose a modular execution strategy, the number of modules being transported will similarly increase.”
LIMITATIONS LOOM
Andy Young, Bechtel Oil, Gas & Chemicals’ Houston-based logistics manager, concurred in the belief that modularization, while not always the preferred methodology, is finding increasing application in petrochemical and energy spheres and beyond, although its productive use may be limited by schedule considerations, as well as the capacity of vessels to accommodate super-large modules. “Clearly,” Young said, “modularization has benefits, but it’s not necessarily the standard for all projects. “When evaluating modular versus stick-build strategies, we take into consideration total installed costs – delivery of materials, fabrication, module transportation, construction costs and so forth,” he said. “But, in some cases, schedule may be more critical, reducing overall construction time, getting plants online quicker, allowing clients to generate product sooner. Depending on the priority of cost and schedule, there is still value in both strategies.” Young added that larger prefabricated units that cannot fit into the hold of a typical heavy-lift multipurpose vessel, or MPV, must move on specialized open-deck module carriers or extra-wide barges. “The limited availability of these assets, when compared to the heavy-lift MPV global fleet, is a concern as megaprojects increase and with it modularization.”
Cyril Varghese
Chris Vertanness
Fluor
COOEC-Fluor
In addition, Young said, shipment of modules requires innovative handling solutions, such as reconfigurable lifting frames to allow vertical lifts from multiple points at different positions and heights. “Shipping modules is complex,” he said. “At Bechtel Logistics, we are evolving modularization through detailed transport engineering that results in the optimization of module transport, which then feeds back into module design. It’s a more holistic approach.”
EARLY PLANNING CRITICAL
Reducing module sizes to fit on MPVs that are more economical and readily available than specialized open-deck vessels may cut voyagerelated costs, Young said, but sizing of modules goes both ways. “We are also looking at increasing module sizes and using larger Bechtel Oil, Gas & Chemicals relies upon lift-on, lift-off export jetty modules in transport of project cargoes for many liquefied natural gas projects. CREDIT: BECHTEL
www.breakbulk.com BREAKBULK MAGAZINE 13