Specialist Skills Needed For Pipeline Fabrication

Anyone who has come across the construction of any type of pipeline will have seen the obvious evidence of the work in progress such as cranes, trench diggers and other machinery, a busy workforce and long lines of pipe waiting to be joined and laid. It would be reasonable to assume that this is all that is involved – just roll out the pipe, dig a trench, drop the length of pipe in the trench and join them together. Of course, nothing is ever that simple, especially in the pipeline fabrication industry which has become highly specialised and skilled.

As the type of work being done by the engineering industry becomes more complex, and the safety requirements more rigid, skills and knowledge become vital to the success of any project. Even relatively simple jobs involving steel pipe Brisbane have client specifications and industry standards to adhere to, and contractual consequences if these requirements aren’t met.

The whole process of pipeline fabrication really begins with a tender document being lodged by a manufacturer with a client and acceptance by that client of the scope of work, price and other contract conditions. The scope of work is then allocated to the workshop personnel, materials and components ordered from outside suppliers, and the process of documenting all aspects of the job for quality control purposes begins.

Any errors or omissions at the tender stage become both cost and time critical as the work begins to flow through the workshop. Planning oversights can mean time delays, rework or having to re-order materials or components to replace incorrect or damaged items. These are all additional costs to the job, and cannot usually be recovered from the client, unless it is the result of a variation to the contract at the client’s request.

The job progresses through various stages including fabrication, assembly, welding and testing of the completed pipeline assemblies, all of which are skilled and complex processes. Welding, for example, is a very controlled process, with some individual welds requiring extensive radiographic or ultrasonic testing to satisfy quality control requirements. Each individual welder must also be qualified to weld to specific welding criteria. This is documented down to the level of individual material batch and consumable numbers, weld and welder recordings and sign off processes.

When all contractual and standards requirements have been met, the pipe fabrication Brisbane manufacturer and the client go through a commissioning process so that the client has everything needed to manage and operate the completed facility.

With overseas competition increasingly encroaching on the engineering industry in Australia, there are a still number of projects coming on stream that will require Australian fabricated content. Coupled with the shortage we have of skilled operators, the industry is likely to remain robust for some time.