EUROASIA INDUSTRY | 32 | EUROASIA INDUSTRY

Over the last seven months, Global Pipe Company (GPC) hasembarked upon a number of strategic major investments designedto optimise operations and ensure the highest quality standardsprevail throughout its crucial manufacturing activities for the likesof Saudi Arabia’s huge Master Gas Project and other mission-critical contracts. In this issue, General Manager Mr Maher M.Fkaier takes Euroasia Industry inside the company’s state-of-the-art plant to demonstrate the internal processes that converge to achieve GPC’s celebrated manufacturing excellence. Sarah Pursey reports.

THE SMART SYSTEMS CREATINGPIPE PERFECTION

‡

EUROASIA INDUSTRY | 5

Saudi Arabia’s oil & gas sector isnotoriously stringent when it comes to high standards and accreditation – and inrecent years, pipe manufacturer GPChas emerged as one of only a few localplayers in its field capable of meetingKSA’s increasingly demanding technicalrequirements in this most challenging ofindustries. And in securing a major newsupply agreement with Saudi Aramco foran extension of Saudi Arabia's Master GasSystem (MGS) – a country-wide networkof pipelines and gas-processing plantsinitially established in the 1970s andexpanded upon considerably over thedecades to become the facilitator of ethaneand LPG production in the Kingdom – it isfair to say that GPC has earned its statusas a preferred supplier. Since EuroasiaIndustry last spoke to GPC, the companyhas commenced work on the mammothcontract, which will entail providingpipeline material for over half the new1,000km-long pipeline network that is des-tined to stretch across the eastern, centraland western regions of Saudi Arabia.As you might expect, the company’s

GM Mr Fkaier regards the Master GasProject as a challenging project in termsof both quality and quantity. “The pipesize required is 56-inch diameter, withwall thickness ranging from 14.25mm to25.4mm. And fulfilling the Saudi Aramcospecification in term of ‘ovality’, straight-ness and picking is, of course, a chal-lenging task,” he advises. “From a quantitypoint of view, the total length of 550kmand the tight delivery schedule furtherincrease the complexity of the project.”To be forearmed is to be forewarned,

however. The company’s recently con-cluded Fadhili contract for the delivery of27km of pipes provided excellent trainingfor the GPC’s Master Gas endeavour –requiring, as it did, production of pipes ofthe same huge diameter, and of a very sim-ilar thickness range. Above and beyondsuch fortuitous experience, however, GPCdeveloped an action plan to secure higheroutput and smooth execution of SaudiAramco’s mega contract. This action planhas led to investments in improved platelogistics, a new X-ray inspection bunker,increased manpower, and – not least – anew Manufacturing Execution SoftwareSystem. Together, such holistic enhance-ments are helping to make considerabletime savings and cost reductionsthroughout GPC’s operations, to thebenefit of the project in its entirety.

Monitoring the entire process“Undoubtedly, one of our main achieve-ments in recent months has been theinstallation of the ManufacturingExecution Software System,” remarks MrFkaier, adding that it has been GPC’s plansince establishment to install MES soft-ware to cover all the main processes in itsoperations. “GPC is dealing with a compli-cated manufacturing process where at least15 manufacturing steps – starting fromplate edge milling, through plate formingand pipe welding, up to final inspection –are involved for each pipe, alongside a com-plicated supply chain encompassing thesourcing of steel plate material, weldingconsumables and release of manufacturingorders for production. The inspection andrelease process of the final product – thepipe – is also complicated and involves notonly the manufacturing process but alsothe lab testing activity.”GPC evaluated several systems and

realised most were designed as ERP systems – covering basically the com-mercial aspects of the business butneglecting the company’s specific manu-facturing processes for longitudinal weldedpipes. “As a result, we decided to buystandard software and adapt it to ourneeds,” explains the General Manager.“We selected the SMS system from thecompany Smart Management SoftwareGmbH in Germany. This system was cov-ering the main commercial processes inour company, providing extendable inter-faces for the implementation of the man-ufacturing processes.” Crucially, theprogram code was also provided as partof the package, allowing the customisa-tion and adaptation to be done by GPC’sown team as an in-house project. “Thishelped us to save time and reduce costfor the whole project,” he adds. The installed software covers the com-

pany’s entire work flow – starting from thesales offer and order management, to thepurchase request and purchase order –although the main focus is obviously onthe manufacturing activity and the sup-porting processes. Those processesinclude the technical specification, theplanning and scheduling of the manufac-turing orders, the work instruction devel-opment for each manufacturing step ofthe manufacturing orders, the mainte-nance activity for preventive and break-down maintenance, and the QC reportswith related records from both the labtesting and the pipe release activity. ‡

A “complete chain of evidence”Traceability is one of the major require-ments for GPC’s manufacturing process,Mr Fkaier stresses, and this is a key fea-ture of the new software in which thecompany has invested. “The completechain of evidence for the steel plate andwelding consumables used for the man-ufacturing of a particular pipe is absolutelyrequired for each pipe produced in ouryard. Even years after delivery of thepipes, that information has to be avail-able with us,” he stresses. “However,such a requirement is not easy to imple-ment using the manual paper process.With our MES software, this feature notonly covers the material used for eachpipe but also the name of the operatorand the execution date for each manu-facturing step.”The data collection module in the

shop floor is another major feature of theMES software, enabling GPC to estab-lish a paperless process in the manufac-turing. “Using barcodes – on plates/pipesand on the Route Cards – together with55 Computational Terminals available onthe shopfloor allows us to collect manu-facturing data based on simple scans.The work instruction – like MaterialData Specification, Welding ProcedureSpecification, NDT Instruction, andHydro Testing Instruction – are available atthe terminal on the shop floor. It meansthat paper distribution is no longerrequired,” affirms Mr Fkaier.The lab testing activity as per API

requirements is also integrated in the MESsoftware. The definition of test units andsample selection can be monitored by thesystem. The results of the lab tests can becollected by the system through software

interfaces to the lab testing machines. Thisfeature reduces the manual work under-taken during the data collection and also reduces the risk of typing mistakes.Another major feature is the pipe releaseactivity, as Mr Fkaier points out, “Since allmanufacturing activities and all lab resultsare reflected in the systems, it is easier forour QC team to release pipes through theMES software. Pipes ‘on hold’ or subject ofa pending defect memo will be blockedduring the pipe release process,” heinforms. “Another major advantage is thatthe release documents are also generatedautomatically through the MES software,freeing up resources for more productivetasks instead of the less productive doc-umentation work.”A manufacturing activity monitor for

the real time visualisation of all such activ-ities – at all machines and working stations– is just one valuable “start feature” thatthe new system is facilitating, advises MrFkaier. “The monitor displays the quantityachieved for each working station versusthe targeted quantity. It also shows themachine’s status in real time. Anotherinteresting feature is the email notificationservice, which sends messages to notifydedicated personnel about importantevents in our manufacturing process – thecreation of defect memos, the breakdownof a machine, or a jam on the manufac-turing line, for instance.”Crucially, all of these interesting features

of the new MES system work towardsachieving one over-arching goal, accordingto Mr Fkaier. “It’s ultimately about com-munication. The installed MES softwareoptimises the communication between allinvolved departments in our company andminimises manual internal reporting. In a

second stage, the further development ofour MES system to follow our dynamicbusiness processes and keep pace with thetechnical progress of the information tech-nology is part of our daily work. The factthat our own team manages the develop-ment of the system as an in-house projectsimplifies the process of making anyadjustments and upgrades based on oursoftware users’ requests. After coveringmost of our internal processes in the firststep of the implementation, in a secondstage we will look at implementing inter-faces to external parties. For example,the input of plate data provided from oursuppliers will be handled via softwareinterfaces, reducing the manual datainput not only for heat and platenumbers but also for tech-nical information likechemical and mechan-ical properties.Another potentialfeature is the plateoffer evaluation,”he reveals. “Wetypically spendmuch time eval-uating offers forsteel plates, butsubmitting thoseoffers online viathe system woulddramatically speedup the commercialand technical evalu-ation process, andreduce the long emailcommunication with oursuppliers regarding evalua-tion of any technical deviations.”Certainly, the further develop-

ment of the system to cover new features that interface with entities operating beyond the walls of GPC’sfacilities remains a future endeavour forthe company, as Mr Fkaier is keen tostress: “Even though we have reached ahigh level of coverage regarding imple-mentation of smart systems throughoutour internal processes, we believe thatextending such infrastructure and incor-porating our suppliers and customers intosuch a network could help us to furthersimplify interfaces and improve the externalcommunication process. A major step for-ward has been achieved in establishingGPC as a ‘Digital Factory’ – nonetheless,the further development of that systemremains our daily task.”

6 | EUROASIA INDUSTRY EUROASIA INDUSTRY | 7

SALES

Quotation

Sales Order

Delivery

CustomerInvoice

Production

ManufacturingOrder

Planning

ProductionMonitoring

Inventory

Accounting

SALES

Enquiry

Purchase Order

Receipt

SupplierInvoice

‡

SYSTEMARCHITECTURE

EUROASIA INDUSTRY | 98 | EUROASIA INDUSTRY

Logistics, inspection and workforce enhancementsWhile the MES software is undoubtedlythe jewel in the crown of Global PipeCompany’s action plan to help boostoutput and ensure smooth operationsthroughout its mighty Master GasSystem contract activity, it is by nomeans the only improvement made to the company’s operations.“In order to cover the higher output, it

has been necessary to improve our platelogistics by increasing the plate storagearea, adding new vacuum extensions foroverhead cranes and installing a new con-veyor system for plate transportation,”elaborates Mr Fkaier. “Designed for a200,000-metric-ton annual capacity, ourlayout took into account only one bay forplate storage. For the Master Gas Project,however, we need to receive and inspectat least 3,300 plates before transformingthem into pipes on a monthly basis. Forthat reason, the plate storage area wasextended to include a second bay in ourplant.” In addition, three new vacuumextensions have been added – for platehandling during the plate receiving andinspection phase – as well as a new con-veyor system to connect the new storagearea with the manufacturing line.The company has also invested in a

new X-ray bunker – Mr Fkaier explainsthe reasoning behind the new investment.“API specification for the pipe manufac-turing requires us to perform X-ray inspec-tion on the weld at both pipe ends. Thisinspection has previously proved to be abottleneck in our manufacturing process.Now, however, with two X-ray bunkersintegrated in our manufacturing line,the X-ray Non-Destructive Testing is no longer holding up the manufac-turing process.” Finally, the huge uptick in capacity as a

result of the Master Gas System contracthas meant the need for more manpower atGlobal Pipe Company. “Since our manu-facturing activity is running in a two-shiftsystem covering 24 hours a day, it would beimpossible to increase our output withoutadding new manpower,” Mr Fkaier pointsout. “About 20 new employees have there-fore been added to operate the new afore-mentioned plate handing equipment andX-ray bunker. Furthermore, we have added10 quality inspectors and lab technicians.”Indeed, with a total staff complement of412 personnel today, GPC is now well pre-

pared to handle major projects like MasterGas System II (MGS II), on which it hasrecently embarked.

Ramping up with Master Gas System IIMr Fkaier recounts how the company was“elated” to be awarded MGS II – a projectrequiring the manufacture of around300,000 metric tons of pipe of various dim-ensions. GPC started the manufacturingactivity for MGS II in June 2016, and thefirst days of production have proved verypromising indeed, as the General Managerattests. “GPC has increased its output to140 pipes and will continue working to fur-ther improve that result. The large quan-tity required for this new Master GasProject will allow us to work for longerperiods on the same size. That will offer usthe opportunity to optimise our manufac-turing process and achieve a higher output.”Certainly, MGS II will be a further test

to the various optimisations and efficienciesthat Global Pipe Company has recentlybuilt into its manufacturing operations,given the national importance of the project– and Saudi Aramco’s emphasis on gettingit completed in a swift manner. “That iswhy we have increased our capacity andmodified our forming procedure – to keeppace with that higher rate,” advises theGM, and indeed, while GPC has previ-ously reported a capacity of around 200,000metric tons, the new project will see itworking towards boosting that by 50 percent per annum to deliver the whole quan-tity required for MGS II in less than oneyear from now, all being well. “MGS II isconsidered a very prestigious project for theKingdom of Saudi Arabia, and all involvedparties are focused on completing it in ashorter time,” he adds.Certainly, the action plan and myriad

investments that GPC has made withthe aim of vastly enhancing its internalprocesses make it seem entirely feasiblethat such a tight schedule could nonethe-less be met by the company – assumingno delays elsewhere in the value chain, ofcourse. Moreover, the significant optimi-sation that has recently been re-engi-neered into GPC’s operations – not leastin the emphasis on communication andfreeing up personnel for more productivetasks – will provide a legacy of efficiencythat will live on far beyond the firm’s workon the MGS II contract, to further estab-lish Global Pipe Company as a star sup-plier for any major jobs in the pipeline. o