Nothing demonstrates the effort and expertise of a good mechanical contractor like a successful project. It’s one thing to offer a philosophy to clients, it’s another to put it into action. Here’s an example of two recent projects TMS handled for a major customer that shows the importance of preplanning when time to complete the work is limited.
Balancing Old and New Scales
The first project was the installation of a new scale in the customer’s mill. We had just one 10-hour repair day, a Saturday, to install the new scale and remove the old one. A TMS crew headed up by Phil and Patrick knew that advance work would be key to getting the scale installed in the available window. So, the crew went in on Thursday and Friday to prep the old scale for demolition and to bring the new scale to the floor. This minimized the downtime required. That Saturday morning, our crew began demo of old scale and by 1pm, electricians were hooking up the new scale as the old one was removed from the area to the metal dumpster.
Sifting Old Problems to Smooth Out the New
The second project was the installation of new sifter at the mill. TMS had successfully installed its sister sifter back in 2013, so the client knew we’d be right for the new job.
Patrick from TMS took the engineering lead by getting parts ordered as well as starting the fabrication of spout boards that go under the sifter. To save time, Patrick had the floor flanges predrilled while the spout boards were in the shop. We had learned a lesson from the 2013 sifter install that the floor flanges created extra work, so predrilling saved us time and frustration.
Phil and his field crew also started on the project a few days ahead of the actual shut down, so they could stage equipment and tools on the proper floors to begin the actual installation first thing on the planned day. The installation work had been prearranged so team leaders knew the sequence each task would take. All of this preplanning saved time and problems, and for good reason. As it turned out, we needed extra time because the concrete contractor ran a little long that day.
In the end, everything was completed in the time frame allowed. Plus, the customer was especially happy with the attention to detail the crew took protecting the equipment around the sifter. They were spending a lot of money for a brand new piece of equipment and expected it to look brand new when we turned it over to them.
Happy Results
By taking time to preplan, and applying our experience with the work we did for them before, TMS has another happy customer who will consider us for the next project. Thanks to Phil, Patrick and the rest of the TMS crew for making these projects a success. If you have mechanical contracting needs, contact TMS and let us make your project another one of our success stories.