Background

Baker Hughes (formerly GE Oil & Gas) is a leading manufacturer of production equipment for the oil and gas industry. Baker Hughes develops, manufactures and distributes subsea systems such as manifolds and wellheads. The systems operate on the seabed under high pressures (up to approx. 300 bar) and meet the highest safety requirements. A manifold has a mass of up to approx. 100 tonnes. High-alloy corrosion-resistant steels (Inconel) are used. The products are high-tech products in nuclear technology made of high-quality materials with large dimensions and masses. Baker Hughes is planning a new production site in Angola for underwater production systems for the development of oil fields off the African coast. Once fully operational, the site will manufacture the main components and produce entire distribution heads and wellheads. In addition, a service base is to be established at the site. The plant is to be modular in design and capable of expansion. Component manufacturing involves high-quality machining centres and specialised machinery. Assembly requires heavy indoor cranes (>100 t) combined with light under-crane systems (1 to 20 t). Assembly will be carried out using the station principle, combined with several test stations. 

Baker Hughes commissioned Projektingenieure (PI) with the design and detailing of the new factory for ‘Subsea Systems’.

Results

• Capacity plan for the entire value chain
• Synchronised station assembly with coordinated pre-assembly
• Logistics concept for supplying the factory with components
• Means of transport, lifting aids, platforms and fixtures for the necessary heavy-duty assembly work
• Layout for modular growth
• Layout (3D) showing the assembly process and derived definition of building and infrastructure requirements
• New building (plan)
  • Production halls for component manufacturing, assembly and testing stations, infrastructure
  • Logistics halls
  • Office and social buildings, including training centre
• Implementation of the highest standards of occupational safety, environmental protection and energy efficiency
• Required investments and implementation schedule

PI servies

Factory planning, process planning, logistics planning

Concept design
analogous to VDI 5200, phases 1 to 3

• Parts production capacities simulated, types and number of required machining centres designed
• Assembly process defined with synchronised assembly content per station and coordinated pre-assembly
• Supply warehouse > order picking > assembly stations simulated and designed
• Means of transport (forklifts, AGVs), lifting aids, platforms and fixtures for required heavy-duty assembly designed
• Logistics concept (material flow, staging areas, conveyor systems, storage systems) created
• Layout (3D) created
• Resources (personnel, equipment, buildings, infrastructure) dimensioned
• Investments determined
• Master plan for implementation created

Detailing
analogous to VDI 5200, phases 4 and 5

• Detailed manufacturing segments
• Machine installation plan created
• Specifications for construction planning (architect, structural engineer, etc.) and technical building services planning (heating, ventilation, sanitation, electrical, fire protection) created
• Construction and technical building services planners supported in preparing their general contractor enquiries

Topics

Factory planning: Value stream, production segments, material flow, layout, scalability, step-by-step expansion, facilities/infrastructure/buildings, cleanliness, environmental protectin

Process planning: Process engineering, plant engineering, simulation of capacity requirements, automation, interlinking, energy efficiency, IT, control technology, machine and process data acquisition, Industry 4.0

Logistics planning: Material supply strategy by part, simulation of movements/inventories, load carrier design, conveyor technology: Warehouse technology/transport technology, order picking technology, fire protection

Trades

Machining centers, assembly stations, assembly trolleys, pressure test cabins, pressure test water basins, X-ray inspection systems, AGVs, cranes, hoists, fixtures, tools, storage systems, heavy-duty storage, transport systems, production buildings, offices, break rooms