Customized collaboration helps structural steel company solve gas distribution problems

Customized collaboration helps structural steel company solve gas distribution problems. Image provided by Harris Products Group

Situation

What sets gas distributors apart often is the added value that they provide their customers, whether helping to increase efficiency to reduce gas usage or providing turnkey systems for complicated problems. Being able to solve problems creatively can be the deciding factor in sustaining successful customer partnerships.

This type of collaboration occurred recently between a large U.S. fabricator and erector of structural steel and its gas distributor, when the fabricator sought help with a problem that had built up over a long period. As this structural steel company had grown, it had added welding stations, which also required the addition of more gas distribution equipment. The company had not made these additions with a long-term growth plan in mind, but rather had responded to its rapidly growing business with piecemeal solutions.

Eventually the fabricator had a busy facility with 33 welding and cutting stations but was facing potential gas distribution quality and safety issues if it continued to move forward without a plan.

Its gas supply was delivered from below the floor into a cramped, 4-ft. space where gas hoses, Y-connectors, regulators, and even vise grips were set on the floor in disarray. This clutter posed numerous safety concerns and made it difficult to identify gas sources and troubleshoot problems, which in turn extended downtime and negatively affected productivity.

Resolution

The gas distributor turned to Harris to consult on the project. Harris technical staff designed and built a system tailored to the situation, with specific station drops where check valves, flash arresters, regulators, and flowmeters can be mounted in a safe, organized way despite the constraints of limited workspace.

“I’ve been in the gas distribution business for 30 years and I have seen many challenges,” said Vard Pulley, the local Harris technical rep who assisted the distributor on the steel fabricator project. “This project was particularly unique due to the space constraints combined with the intricate system that these tight quarters had to accommodate.”

To compensate for the space constraints, the system includes a series of manifolds that can be arranged vertically. In total, it comprises 414 regulators—138 oxygen, 138 fuel, and 138 inert welding gas. For ease of use, the design team labeled each station with its particular gas service so that anyone can identify it with the corresponding downstream application at a quick glance. The 5-ft.-tall racks are built to accommodate the vertical arrangement of the 69 manifolds.

With Harris’ assistance, the distributor helped the facility to become compliant with all NFPA and OSHA requirements and to clean up the work area, preventing confusion when troubleshooting and allowing easy identification of which gas lines feed and control which application. This has increased safety and efficiency, reduced downtime, and allowed deployment of labor hours in other areas of the business.

Harris Products Group