Not every commission starts with an empty plot. More often it starts with a building that has stood for forty years, documentation nobody has ever seen, and a question: will the existing structure carry a new production line?
The Mestil team are experienced engineers who keep developing their skills with the continuous support of accredited training bodies. We are glad to share that knowledge through our technical consultancy services. In practice we have improved a great many details in existing structures, among other things making them work better. We have taken part in preparing a great deal of repair documentation and we know where to expect trouble – that experience reduces the risk of adopting ineffective solutions.
Technical opinions and assessments
Before anything is added to an existing facility, you have to know what that facility will actually carry. Not according to the archive design – according to its real condition.
For the extension of the Sempertrans plant we prepared specialist assessments of the condition of an existing building erected in a 1970s prefabricated system. We confirmed the strength parameters of the structural members by non-destructive testing, and reproduced the geometry of the facility using Laser Scan, obtaining a three-dimensional model of the real condition – not the one on the drawings.
The same method proves itself in surveys. For Pratt & Whitney we carried out a detailed survey of the anodising and wastewater treatment line together with a structural strength analysis of the main structural members. The end product was a faithful spatial model of the hall interior, reproduced in a level of detail unattainable by traditional means.
Repair and strengthening designs
An assessment says what is there. A strengthening design says what to do about it – in a way that lets the plant keep working.
In the modernisation of the Sempertrans production and storage building the scope covered strengthening designs, alterations and new support structures for production lines. The total tonnage of members designed for the modernisation alone came to 950 tonnes – with a modernisation area of 9,800 m² and an extension of a further 3,500 m².
Designer’s supervision
A design is not finished until the structure is standing. On projects we run from the building permit documentation onwards, we provide designer’s supervision during construction – as at Sempertrans, where we were responsible for the structure at building permit stage, for the tender, detailed and shop documentation, and for supervision on site.
Designer’s supervision is not a formality. It is the moment when a question from the site gets its answer from the person who knows the assumptions used in the calculations.
Optimising technical solutions
The cheapest change is the one made in the model. A change in the model costs hours; a change on site costs weeks, and money that has already been spent.
In our practice we have improved a great many details in existing structures, among other things making them work better. Experience from a great deal of repair documentation lets us point to the places where a solution looks good on the drawing but turns out to be troublesome during erection or in service.
When it is worth getting in touch
The earlier, the cheaper. The best moment to talk is the one at which the decision on the scope of the conversion has not yet been taken – an assessment can then shape that decision, instead of confirming that the chosen option will not work.
We advise in four areas:
- Designer’s supervision
- Technical opinions and assessments
- Optimisation of technical solutions
- Repair and strengthening designs
Planning a conversion? A repair?
A change in the model takes hours. A change on site takes weeks of work and real money. The sooner, the cheaper. Let’s talk.