North West Redwater (NWR) Partnership utilized both local and overseas vendors during construction of its Sturgeon Refinery. 

Before startup, NWR noticed that the heavy-wall stainless steel welds provided overseas were starting to crack. These welds were on heavy wall piping and used 1.5-inch thick pipe instead of the standard quarter- or half-inch pipe. These welds were also very technical and required a high degree of care to complete due to the heavy material used. 

NWR was on a tight schedule to have these welds fixed as they were critical to part of the process line and the startup of the refinery. That’s where our industrial fabrication shop stepped in. The facility is equipped with the necessary equipment to safely handle large, heavy spools and welds and could accommodate the large volume of welding required in a short period of time. 

We focused on actively managing costs and schedule while providing NWR with a code-compliant product. We expedited the cold-cutting activities and scheduled a nightshift to maximize time for welding and minimize impacts to the site during commissioning.

Through these changes, we achieved a project weld repair rate of 0.47% — well below the accepted industry average of 4% — and NWR remained on schedule to open.