REC Silicon Restart Projects
Project Details
IPC provided Program Management, Project Management and Construction Management services for multiple projects supporting the restarting of a curtailed Polysilicon Plant. The projects involved upgrades to nearly all areas of the facility, and involved major civil, structural, mechanical, electrical, and I&C work.
The four projects IPC managed included upgrading the silane afterstripper, installing a granular lab, upgrading the fluid bed reactor (FBR) facility, and replacing the emergency vent system (EVS) scrubber tank.
Below are the project’s overall challenges and solutions IPC found to ensure the project was done well and benefited the owner. Future posts will highlight each project and their own unique challenges and solutions.
Key Project Challenges
- Aggressive schedules driven by commitments to customers
- Supply chain issues caused widespread parts and materials delays
- Remote location and significant area construction caused challenges securing adequate contractors and labor
IPC’s Solutions
- Created detailed project schedules and activity trackers for each project, as well as an integrated master schedule to track progress and forecast completion
- Created extensive warehousing and logistics system to track materials received, and made best use possible of pre-ordering of materials
- Closely monitored and managed contractor manpower to see if they had sufficient labor to make required progress
Owner’s Benefit
- By effectively managing both the labor and material supply issues, schedule delays were minimized, allowing expeditious startup
- Excellent tracking systems allowed for accurate review of change order systems, saving hundreds of thousands of dollars in inappropriate change order requests
- Successful project execution helped to build good long-term relationships for the company with the local contractors, who will be able to support the plant moving forward
Keep a look out for the next installment of this mini-series on the REC restart projects. Our next one will dive into the details of the silane afterstripper upgrade.