In order to be as efficient as possible, a pipe spool fabricator normally would have the fabrication process set up as an “assembly line”. Once the contract is awarded, the potential for the fabricator to turn a profit is entirely dependent on their efficiency in executing the work, as the amount of revenue available, barring no changes, is fixed. This requires the fabricator to perform the work as efficiently as possible to keep costs at a level where they can compete on price. The fabricator must do this while keeping the price as low as possible in order to successfully be awarded the work. In a competitively bid project, the fabricator is providing pricing that will cover costs to fabricate pipe spools that comply with the drawings and specifications issued by the client and yield a profit. Usually the pricing for completing the pipe fabrication on the project is fixed, either by one fixed lump sum for the entire project, or by fixed unit rates for each type of labour operation (and materials -depending on the type of contract) anticipated for use on the project. Typically the client communicates their design by providing drawings and specifications to the fabricator. In order to understand the true impact of holds on pipe fabrication in a professional pipe fab shop, one has to understand the production process.

We will describe some of the challenges created by holds caused by the client after the contract has begun, resulting in increased costs charged by the fabricator. “Released” means fabrication on this piece can resume.Ī hold can be an instruction from a client to stop work on a piece or group of pieces, or it can be a result of the client issuing a change to the piece, with the fabricator putting the piece on hold while the changes are processed. In this article, the term “hold” is used to describe the act of removing a spool piece from the fabrication cycle and preventing further work on the affected spool until the “hold” is “released”.

Holds in pipe fabrication are often contentious and misunderstood.

Pipe fabrication isometric drawing