exi Project Management were commissioned to provide support the refurbishment and commissioning of a heavy industrial compacting press and Automated Blending System used for compacting a number of constituent raw materials into individual ‘presses’ for further processing.
Summary
Framework/Partnership // Strategic Partnership
Project Type // Newbuild
The completion of the compacting press was of strategic importance to the UK Client and its parent company in the US, as the plant had been operating with a much smaller press for several years with little or no resilience on site to cater for any shut down, maintenance or production outages, which would cause a direct impact on the productivity and output of the plant.
Service
exi fulfilled the role of Engineering Project Manager, with responsibility for overseeing the physical rebuild and recommissioning of the press, and as Project Manager, with the remit to coordinate and lead a multi-national stakeholder development team for the Software Integration of the existing STAR formulation software, with the new SCADA processes and Inventory reporting systems between the UK and US Teams.
Approach
Following the acquisition and relocation of the compacting press from an alternative site, the exi Engineering Project Manager, as part of a multidisciplinary team, was responsible for carrying out a detailed review, condition survey and fault-finding exercise. This included a holistic review of the entire compacting press and sub-systems and the buildings and structure of the housing. This included the hydraulic & pump system, multiple material conveyors and hoisting systems, robotic arm material movement processes, weighing tables, trolley and pull systems, and the electrical and controls system interfaces.
Following the identification of faults and issues, the Engineering Project Manager held the responsibility for developing a brief and identifying a robust set of deliverables. This provided a clear baseline position for engaging with specialist designers, fabricators, and suppliers to develop workable, affordable solutions and obtain approval for the Client and their technical team. Initially this was focused on delivering a new materials distribution and conveyor system for the loading out of raw materials, which was delivered on time and within budget.
exi’s responsibility then continued into the implementation and delivery phase, where the Engineering Manager provided the Client with a Project Delivery Manager role. exi were responsible for creating, maintaining and monitoring the project delivery programme and reporting to the Senior Management Leadership team.
The second role fulfilled on the project was that of Project Manager for the integration of the existing STAR and SAP systems and the interfaces with the controls PLC and SCADA operating systems. The integration is to provide a communication link and a more efficient, automated, and streamlined process through the removal of manual operations and currently duplicated activities, bringing efficiency gains and risk reduction through the removal of potential human error.
exi identified the necessary project stakeholders and created a Project Working Group (PWG) with key accountable representatives from several of the Clients in-house teams and specialist service providers. These teams were geographically spread through multiple sites across England, Wales and the East and West coasts of America.
Outcomes
Though the project was challenging in many ways, thorough robust planning and a strong emphasis on collaboration with nominated and responsible stakeholders, the client’s Brief was achieved and objective delivered. We recognise that identifying the clients objectives is critical and on this project these were focused on timing, programme and certainty of delivery. Our team performed exceptionally in the fast paced and highly demanding manufacturing environment and demonstrated that these skills are transferable from sector to sector. This project was a great success, with international collaboration with team members located in USA, Germany, and UK across various timezones.
Our successful on this project has proven our partnership with this client has been rewarded with repeat business and continuation as Client Partner.
exi are proud to maintain our status as the clients “preferred design and construction partner for their UK operations”.
