Subfab & Perimeter Laterals

SSOE saved the client $7 million in installation costs by leveraging PPMOF and BIM.

A global semiconductor client had plans to fit out an empty manufacturing building with process tools for a new technology. They selected SSOE to design the build-out of the sub fab laterals because of our extensive BIM capabilities. SSOE led the work for the subfab process laterals—an extension of utilities that would facilitate process tool installation on the level above. The 1300 process laterals included chemicals, gases, waste, waters, exhaust, telecom, and life safety systems. The team facilitated an early construction start date and saved the client money by leveraging several unique work approaches:

PPMOF: Prefabrication, Preassembly, Modularization, and Off-site Fabrication

SSOE approached the design with the client’s goal of PPMOF in mind. This strategy allowed installation coordination to take place early, providing schedule and labor savings. The team designed the strut racks to be fabricated off-site, then lifted into position in modules. All water, gas, and waste lines were fabricated with valves off-site in the longest lengths possible to rig onto the rack.

BIM2Fab

SSOE team members transitioned BIM design models into construction models to aid in the execution of PPMOF and eliminate project waste by removing the need to create a construction model from scratch. The construction models were then used to produce fabrication (spool) drawings for the trade partner to fabricate off-site. The team saved additional time by eliminating the typical contractor redline process used to develop record drawings. Since the model was used for fabrication there were no deviations from design. Such tight alignment resulted in the achievement of zero-redline designs due in part to SSOE opening up our office to enable the trade partners to co-locate with SSOE during the project.

Kanban

Kanban, a scheduling system for lean manufacturing and “just-in-time manufacturing,” was used to coordinate design efforts and streamline communication. This was the team’s first time using this software across companies—between SSOE and the trade contractors. It provided visibility of hand-offs between each company resulting in zero lost time and minimal email communication.

International Workshare

By collaborating with counterparts in India to achieve day and night design effort, the team was able to ramp up production to help meet the aggressive schedule set for this project. The use of Kanban for hand-offs between the two teams was crucial in meeting many of the project milestones. This method provided an estimated 50% increase in productivity.