Pre-Fabrication of Piping spools

The key to the success of whole project!

Industrial construction includes a wide range of projects, such as petroleum refineries and
chemical and power plants. This type of construction involves intensive piping, which connects a
variety of equipments and conveys process fluid and gas. Due to compressed schedule and
limited space on site, industrial construction projects rely heavily on the offsite fabrication and
assembly. As such, piping work is divided into two stages: pipe spool fabrication and site
installation.
Timely supply of pipe spools to module yard and installation site is the key to the success of
whole project.

Pipe spool fabrication

Pipe spools are fabricated from a number of raw pipes and pipe fittings (e.g. elbows, flanges,
tees, etc.) in fabrication shops. Raw pipes are cut to the required sizes and moved with pipe
fittings to a fitting table, where some of the components are fitted together (i.e. temporarily
connected). The resulting sub-assembly (part of the final pipe spool) continues with welding
operations (i.e. permanent connected) before it comes back to the fitting table and gets fitted with
other spool components.
Spool fitting and welding can be grouped into two types:
1. Roll fitting and welding
2. Position fitting and welding
Roll fitting and welding means the main pipe can be turned by a rolling machine and the fitter or
the welder does not have to change his position to perform the operation, whereas position fitting
and welding occur when one or more branches of the main pipe exceed the clearance limit. In
such case, the fitter or the welder has to move around the main pipe run to accomplish fitting or
welding. As a result, position fitting and welding usually takes more time to finish than roll
fitting and welding. To minimize number of position fitting and welding is one of the goals of
pipe spool fabrication sequencing.
Pipe rolling machine in Pre-Fabrication shop

Image comes from LJ Welding

Why pipe spools are pre-fabricated?

Shop Pre-Fabrication of pipe spools is a proven means for reducing field installation costs while
providing the highest of quality in the products fabricated.
Pipe spools are often flanged to facilitate the connection to other spools. The fabrication of these
spools is normally performed by specialist fabrication companies which are equipped with the
required infrastructure.
The specialist fabricators work under defined set of quality management criteria to ensure the
accuracy of fabrication in order to achieve the roper fit at site and to maintain the required
technical parameters defined by the client.
Cost Savings in Pre-Fabrication, Inspection & Testing

Quality of the work is easier to manage & maintain in a controlled environment. High
accuracies on specified tolerances will avoid rework at site.

Weather independent fabrication will minimize production delays.

Prefabricated Spools are the perfect answer to severe skill & labor shortage. Users do not
have to mobilize significant work force for fabrication of spools on site.

Manufacturing in mass production, will result in lower manufacturing costs compared

with site fabrication.

Prefabricated Spools will take lesser fabrication / assembly time, thereby avoiding time &
cost overruns.

Prefabricated Spools will entail no or little investments in fabrication & testing

equipments by users. Radiography, PMI, MPI, Ultrasonic tests, Hydro tests etc. can be
performed better & effectively in controlled environments.

Prefabricated Spools will be serviced under the strict vigilance of Third Party Inspection
Agencies, ensuring 100% adherence to required quality standards.

Better control on welding parameters in controlled environments resulting in lesser

probability of rework at site.

Weld less Induction Bends (as permitted by the client) would entail complete avoiding of
welding pipe sections using SR elbows, thereby bringing in significant cost savings in
welding, radiography of welding joints & material requirements.

Lesser dependency on power availability, avoiding unnecessary time delays.

Improved safety in better manufacturing conditions than on site.

Fabricating spools off site means less slag, abrasive dust, smoke & other contaminants
which are unacceptable in highly hygienic food processing & other industries.

Pipe Spools ready for transport

...
The main disadvantage of making Pipe Spools
Of course, the making of pipe spools has tremendous benefits, but the biggest drawback is that
the spools will not fit on site.
This can have several causes, but often it is a misinterpreted isometric by the contractor, or a
faulty dimensions on a isometric.
One small mistake can result in a lot of extra work because e.g. multiple pipe spools must be
modified. That often means that pressure tests must be done again, x-rays of the welds must be
done again etc. etc..
Remark(s) of the Author...
Check dimensions (on Site), (in Field) etc.
If you see that on your isometric(s), basically you can not fabricate the pipe spool(s).
The engineer / draftsman means, that the piping contractor must determine the correct
dimensions in the field.
At the time of contract negotiations, you as contractor must be very alert to this often underrated
"insignificant" comments.
If not, you will "have to bring money" for a job where you just want to earn money.
If these things in advance not properly negotiated, a (sometimes high) conflict between
engineering company and contractor will arise during the implementation period.
What do you think who will win?
Field fabrication & Installation of Piping spools

Field Fabrication of Piping spools

The installation of pipe systems follows its fabrication and is very frequently a part of it. The
installation of pipe can be accomplished in the following two primary ways, or combinations
thereof:
1. Field fabricate and install
2. Shop fabricate and field erected
Some contractors prefer to do most, if not all fabrication in the shop, others prefer to set up at the
job-site, while others are flexible enough to utilize the best of both methods.

Field fabrication and installation is exactly what it means. The pipe is fabricated on-site, either
directly at the place where it is mounted, or in a temporary accommodation in the field.
A number of factors will determine whether it is profitable to fabricate pipe on site:
Type of project, size and scope of the project, pipe size and material, accessibility of the
equipment, surface treatment after fabrication, weather conditions, availability of qualified
personnel, time available to do the job, etc..

Pros and Cons of Field fabrication

Advantages of Field fabrication

Only raw material (pipe, fittings, valves, etc.) need to be shipped to the site location. This
is much easier to handle and store than multi-plane configurations of pre-fabricated pipe.

No time-consuming need to carefully crib, tie-down and chock pre-fabricated *spool

pieces for transport to the job site.

Reduced risk of damage to spool pieces.

More efficient opportunity to fab around unexpected obstacles (structural steel, duct,
cable tray, etc.)

Fabricate-as-you-install reduces the rework risk assumed when pre-fabricating spools, or

the cost related to field verification prior to shop fabrication.

The field routing installation of pipe through an array of insufficiently documented

locations of existing pipe and equipment, on a retrofit project, is quite frequently more
effective than attempting to pre-fabricate pipe based on dimensional assumptions.

Disadvantages of Field fabrication

Weather is arguably the biggest deterrent. If the facility under construction is not enclosed
then protection from the elements will have to be provided.

When welding has to be done in conditions that are not environmentally controlled then
pre-heating will be required if the ambient temperature (not the metal surface
temperature) is 0 F or below.

In a new facility, as opposed to having to route piping through an array of poorly located
existing pipe and equipment, field fabrication of buttwelded pipe is not as efficient and
cost effective as shop fabrication.

Concerns about safety and efficiency when working in a facility while it is in operation in
advance of a turnaround or to begin advance work on a plant expansion.

Generally speaking, threaded, socketweld, grooved, and other proprietary type joints that do not
require buttwelding are field fabricated and installed. Buttwelding of small (bore), NPS 1 and
less, are very often field fabricated and installed because of the added risk of damage during
transport, in pre-fabricated form, from the shop to the site.
Pipe rolling machine in Field Fabrication

Image comes from LJ Welding

Existing (in operation) or a new production

plant?
A very important aspect is where the work must be done: Into a existing (in operation) or a new
production plant?
During the construction of a new plant, the work can generally be carried out in the same way as
for example in a fabrication shop. Installation and making field welds require no special
authorisation. Transports with, e.g., a forklift truck and lifting with cranes require no special
permits, etc.

In an existing plant in operation, the conditions are totally different as during construction of a
new plant.
In general, for all activities work permits are necessary. For activities with open flames (welding,
cutting etc.) and also for combustion engines, so called Hot-Permits are required.
The contractor often can not determine when a scheduled task can be performed, because it
depends on plant operators, who should or should not give permission for a particular job.
In short, in an existing plant in operation, high risks are present, and the contractor can probably
scheduled tasks do not always perform according to his planning.

Shop fabrication and install

Shop fabrication is, generally speaking, any pipe, fittings and components that are assembled by
welding into spool assemblies at the fabricator's facility. The spools are then labeled with an
identifier and transported to the job site for installation.
Each spool piece needs its own identifier marked on the piece itself in some fashion that will
make it easy to know where its destination is in the facility and/or where it belongs in a multispool system of pipe. This will allow the installer to efficiently stage the piece and ready it for
installation.
As part of the process of developing spool sections field-welded joints need to be designated.
These are welded joints that connect the pre-fabricated spools. In doing this the designer or
fabricator will identify two different types of field-welded joints.
One is a Field Weld (FW) and the other is a Field Closure Weld (FCW). The FW indicates a joint
in which the end of a pipe segment is prepared for the installer to set in place and weld to its
connecting joint without additional modification in the field. This means that the length of pipe
that is joined to another in the field is cut precisely to length and the end prepared in the shop for
welding.
The FCW provides the installer with an additional length of pipe, usually 100 to 150 mm longer
than what is indicated on the design drawings, to allow for field adjustment.What has to be
considered, and what prompts the need for a FCW, is the actual, as-installed, location of both the
fixed equipment that the pipe assemblies may connect to and the actual installed location of the
pipe assembly itself. Odds are that all equipment and piping will not be installed exactly where
indicated on design drawings.
The dimensional location of the equipment items given on design drawings is not a finite
location, they are merely intended locations, as are drawings for building steel, pipe supports and
others. What factors into the installation of shop fabricated pipe is the actual location of the
equipment nozzle it will be connecting to in relation to the pipe's installed location.
In connecting to equipment there is a build-up, or stack-up, of tolerances that will effectively
place the actual, or final, location of the nozzle at some point in the xyz geometry of threedimensional space, other than where the design drawing indicates. The tolerance stack-up comes
from the following:

Manufacturing tolerances in material forming, nozzle location, and vessel support

location.

The actual set-in-place location of the vessel.

Load cell installation (when applicable).

The actual set-in-place pipe run-up location.

In order to allow for these inevitable deviations between the drawing dimensions used to
fabricate the vessel, set the vessel, and install the pipe assembly, and the actual installed location
of the connecting points, a field closure piece, or two, will be required for that final adjustment.
The field closure piece is a designated section of the pipe assembly in which a field weld has
been indicated. The section with the field closure weld would be the length required to agree
with that indicated on the design drawing, plus an additional 100 to 150 mm (more or less
depending on fabricator's comfort level with the equipment locations). What this does is allow
the field to make the final determination in the adjustments when connecting to fixed equipment.
Field installation of Pipe Spools

...

Environment
The environment is only a factor when work has to be done in an open-air structure or other
outdoor installation (tank farm, pipeline, pipe rack or yard piping, etc.). Working in an open air
structure will require protection from the elements (rain, snow, wind, cold, etc.). There may
additionally be a requirement to work in elevated areas on scaffolding and otherwise. All of this
can have a potential impact on safety and efficiency.
Pipe rack installation consists mainly of straight runs of pipe, and will not necessarily have a
requirement or need for pre-fabrication. That is, unless it is pre-fabricated as modular skid units.
Depending on the project it could be cost effective on an overall strategic basis to modularize the
pipe rack, steel and all.
The big advantage to shop fabrication is the controlled environment in which it's done. This
includes the Quality Control aspect, better equipment (generally speaking), a routine
methodology of how a piece of work progresses through the shop, and better control, through a
developed routine, of required documentation.

Range of Pipe Material and Sizes

Shop fabricated spools need to be transported to the job site. This requires handling. Handling
and transporting small diameter pipe and/or thin-wall tubing spools creates the potential for
damage to those spools.
If you are shop fabricating everything and the distance from shop to site is simply across town
the risk to damaging small diameter pipe spools is a great deal less than if they have to be
shipped half way across the US, Europe or Asia. Or even across an ocean.
In transporting spools over long distances, unless there is a great deal of thought and care given
to cribbing the load of spools, it may not be beneficial to transport buttwelded pipe spools NPS
1 and less. It may be more practical to fabricate these sizes on site, unless you are fabricating
hygienic or semi-conductor piping. These types of systems require a great deal more control and
a cleaner fabrication. Meaning that pipe fabrication will require a clean shop area on-site, or the
pipe will need to be fabricated at an off-site, better controlled shop facility.
Petroleum refining and bulk chemical projects are generally open air projects in which field
fabrication and installation of pipe is exposed to the elements. While a clean build is not a
requirement on these types of projects efficiency and, above all, safety is, as it is on any type
project. Because of this, it would make sense to utilize shop fabrication as much as possible.
Fabricating pipe spools under better controlled shop conditions will provide improved efficiency
and safer per hour working conditions over what you will generally find in the field. This
translates into fewer accidents.

Tolerances for Pipe Fabrication

Misalignment Tolerance - All piping fit-ups shall be subjected to the following bore
misalignment tolerance.

Minimum Length & Spacing - Welded Nozzles Minimum Length & Spacing without Reninforcement

Center of Nozzle
O.D. of Run
to
to
End of Run
End of Nozzle
A
B
2
114
76
3
127
89
4
152
102
5
178
114
6
203
127
8
254
152
10
305
178
12
356
203
14
381
216
16
432
229
18
483
254
20
533
279
24
610
305
Table 1 - 3
Minimum Length & Spacing with Reninforcement
NPS
of
Nozzle

NPS
of

Center of Nozzle
to

O.D. of Run
to

O.D. to O.D.
of Nozzle
C
76
89
102
114
127
152
178
203
216
229
254
279
305

O.D. to O.D.
of Nozzle

End of Run
End of Nozzle
A
B
2
152
114
3
178
127
4
203
140
5
241
152
6
279
165
8
356
203
10
432
241
12
508
279
14
559
305
16
635
330
18
711
356
20
787
381
24
914
406
Table 2 - 3
Minimum Length & Spacing Integrally Reinforced
Nozzle

NPS
of
Nozzle
2
3
4
5
6
8
10
12
14
16
18
20

Center of Nozzle
to
End of Run
A
140
152
178
203
254
305
356
406
432
483
533
584

O.D. of Run
to
End of Nozzle
B
MFR
Standard

C
152
178
203
241
279
356
432
508
559
635
711
787
914

O.D. to O.D.
of Nozzle
C
76
76
89
102
127
152
178
216
229
254
279
305

24

660
Table 3 - 3

356

Notes:
1. MFR = Manufacturer
2. All nozzle welds should be checked for compliance with the applicable code
requirements.
3. It is preferred that multiple branch openings of in-line nozzles be spaced so that their
reinforcement zones do not overlap. If closer specing is necessary, the reinforcement
requirements of the applicable construction code shall be met.
4. Some configurations of integrally reinforced nozzles in combination with certain header
sizes may present a problem in the radiographic examination of the attachment weld due
to inability to meet the geometric unsharpness requirements of the construction code.
5. Where attachments such as flanges, fittings valve and pipe insulation are involved,
minimum dimensions tabulated may have to be increased to allow for required
clearances.
6. In special cases, it may be possible to reduce the dimensions given in the tables. Such
design should then be submitted to the fabricator for individual considerations, as close
spacing may involve additional shop operation to prevent, or correct distortion.
7. Integrally reinforced nozzles are considered to be the commercially available types.
8. In cases of different nozzle diameters, dimension C, should be determinded on the basis
of the larger of the two of adjacted nozzles.
Certain materials and combinations of nozzle and header pipe size and wall thickness together
with multiple branch openings welded to a header may result in distortion of the header pipe.

Acceptable Design for Unequal Wall Thickness

in Piping components
Weld End Preparation at Unequal wall thicknesses

In most piping systems there are components such as valves, castings, heavier header sections,
and equipment nozzles which are welded to the pipe.
In such instances the heavier sections are machined to match the lighter pipe wall and the
excess thickness tapered both internally and externally to form a transition zone.
Limits imposed by the various codes for this transition zone are fairly uniform.

The external surface of the heavier component is tapered at an angle of 30 maximum for a
minimum length equal to 1 times the pipe minimum wall thickness and then at 45 for a
minimum of 1 times the pipe minimum wall.
Internally, either a straight bore followed by a 30 slope or a taper bore at a maximum slope of 1
to 4 for a minimum distance of 2 times the pipe minimum wall are required.
The surface of the weld can also be tapered to accommodate differing thickness. This taper
should not exceed 30. It may be necessary to deposit weld metal to assure that these limits are
not violated.
Below some tables with acceptable design for unequal wall thicknesses acc to ASME B31.8
Internal Offset

External Offset

Combination Offset

NOTE:
(1) No minimum when materials joined have equal specified minimum yield strengths.