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With an entire division dedicated to construction planning and management, Victaulic understands the importance of strong materials handling practices and the impact they will have to your project’s completion. See below for tips from Andy Conger, head of Construction Planning Services (CPS) at Victaulic on the best ways to organize and plan your materials handling strategies.
Materials handling practices are just one more step to ensure a smooth and worry free project implementation. See below for tips from Andy Conger, manager of Construction Piping Services (CPS) at Victaulic Company on how to effectively manage materials handling for piping systems.
Hold kick-off meetings and calls to review system drawings, specifications and product submittals to troubleshoot problems. This will help address any materials handling and equipment conflicts before they become a work-stop issue. Also, these meetings help coordinate each of the different trades that will be on the jobsite at any given point.
- Use pre-fabrication shops to reduce onsite assembly and jobsite labor hours.
By pre-fabricating as much of the piping system as possible, you eliminate the number of man hours needed for onsite fabrication. Components arrive at the jobsite like an erector set, ready to be installed quickly and efficiently.
- Eliminate the need for materials to be moved around the jobsite.
Mark materials according to system drawings or by floor and have them delivered “just-in-time” to the precise area of the jobsite when and where they’re needed.
- Partner with manufacturers and suppliers who eliminate risk and provide value-added services.
There are manufacturers and suppliers who offer services outside of delivering materials. Victaulic, for example, provides advance ordering of Victaulic materials, Bag-and-Tag services that provide the entire product package “bagged and tagged” by isometric or plan, multiple section drawings to reduce material handling time, and targeted deliveries based on your construction schedule. In addition, the Project Management Group in the Construction Piping Services division offers experienced professionals to assist from pre-planning to efficient piping layout drawings through project implementation.
- Utilize new technologies that improve materials handling.
One example is the Victaulic “Installation-ready” coupling. “Installation-ready” technology means having no loose parts to drop or lose. System components are already connected and simply need to be tightened or fastened in order to be secured in place. With no need to disassemble and reassemble the coupling for installation, installation times are twice as fast as the original coupling.
- Continually evaluate the day-to-day project operations.
All projects must be constantly updated to ensure that building materials, costs and schedules are all on track. Depending on the project, these updates could be daily, hourly, or somewhere in between, but they must occur at regular intervals to keep the project on course and the appropriate jobsite materials on-hand.
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