Case Studies - The Industrial Company

The Challenge
In 2003, The Corn Belt Power Cooperative was set to expand the capabilities of the Wisdom Generating Station near Spencer, Iowa. The Industrial Company (TIC) was hired as general contractor for the switchyard expansion.

To install the centerpiece of the expansion, a GE 7EA turbine, and all of the ancillary equipment to support the turbine, TIC partnered with Utility Engineering and hired over fifteen subcontractors for the project. TIC knew that supervising many companies at a working power plant site would require rigorous attention to detail—one of TIC’s specialties. And they knew that one of their keys to success was choosing the best sub-contractors they could find.

QualityConstruct™ Phase 1: Preparatory Work
After securing the contract, ATC project manager Jim Clay assembled a team consisting of a design engineer, a materials procurement specialist, fabricators, and a construction crew lead by ATC construction supervisor Dave Mills.

Working from the specifications provided by TIC during the bid process, ATC design engineer Jim Noren verified the details of the project and proceeded to design the two tanks.
Once TIC approved the design, the ATC procurement department ordered the carbon plate and stainless steel from its network of U.S. vendors for fabrication at its Colorado facility.
The fabrication team, including eight welders, spent the next six weeks prefabricating floor, walls and roof pieces to expedite field construction.

To reduce storage demand at the construction site in Iowa, the pre-fabbed pieces were shipped on semi trucks as needed.

Around that same time, ATC construction supervisor Dave Mills and his team (consisting of welders, bull gangers, an assistant foreman and pusher) mobilized to the power plant site. The project was ready for phase two.

QualityConstruct™ Phase 2: Safe Construct On-site Construction
The ATC team and the materials arrived at the Iowa plant construction site in July. The first order of business was for Dave Mills and Lee Magruder, TIC’s on-site Sub-contract Administrator, to sit down for a pre-construction integration meeting. All phases of the project were discussed at that meeting, including safety procedures.

Dave and the rest of the ATC team then had their first look at the tank site and got a clearer understanding of the challenges of the project. Dave took note of the fact that his team had to work around the operations of an active power plant, coordinate with up to a hundred construction workers in the expansion area and be vigilant of overhead power lines.
All site preparation, including concrete foundations for each tank, had been completed by TIC prior to the ATC team’s arrival, so tank construction was ready to begin.

In the course of completing the tanks, ATC performed regular job hazard and quality analyses and these were shared with Magruder. Mills attended the regular TIC coordination meetings that were critical for integrating the efforts of the 15 construction teams on the site.

Phase 3: Finish Work
ATC finished out the project by overseeing the interior painting. TIC’s QA/QC manager did the walkdown with Mills in September. After attending to the few items on the resulting punch list, the ATC team wrapped up the project on schedule and headed off to their next challenge.
ATC exceeded TIC’s expectations on the Wisdom Generating Station expansion, using their own construction expertise to free TIC to focus on other issues.

The Industrial Company
In business for over 25 years, The Industrial Company has rapidly become one of the leading general heavy industrial contractors in North America. TIC is a highly diversified industrial general contractor involved in all major industrial markets. The company averages 15 million man hours a year. Its employees and contractors provide a full spectrum of services. TIC’s financial strength, resources and presence throughout North America make it viable manager of maintenance and small capital projects as well as large, complex ones.