The value of thoughtful packaging
How many engineers does it take to unpack and sort through a HDPE pipe prefabrication delivery?
No, this isn’t a trick question or another ‘lightbulb joke’! And the answer isn’t likely to leave you laughing — especially if you’ve been at the receiving end of a “spaghetti of pipe work”.
When materials for pipe fabrications arrive in a tangled mess, you’ll know how time-consuming, and expensive, sorting through hundreds of drawings to piece everything together can be.
That’s why at Advanced Piping Systems we take the time to thoughtfully package your prefabricated pipework before it’s delivered, saving you valuable time, money, and guaranteed to put a smile on your face!
Thoughtful packaging saves time
In large, prefabricated pipe systems there can be thousands of pieces that need to be sorted through once they arrive on-site.
If your materials haven’t been packaged-up in a logical and thoughtful manner, this process can take days, Caleb Craig, Director of Advanced Piping Systems explains.
“On some of the larger projects, prefabrications can include thousands of pieces, and up to 600 drawings of fabrications,” he said.
“If they’re not packaged properly and correctly marked in shipment, it can be a nightmare.
“It’s like getting a giant flat pack from Ikea with no instructions, and nothing packaged in any order, so you’ve got to tip it all out like a jigsaw.
“It takes forever.”
Not only does it take forever, but worker safety can also be compromised, and it increases the risk of damage to your materials.
“When materials are carelessly piled and dumped onto a truck, it becomes a spaghetti of pipe work, and that’s where things can get damaged,” Caleb said.
“When it gets to site, not only does it take a lot of time, but it is also unsafe to unload.”
At Advanced Piping Systems, we pride ourselves on packing everything safely — divided into sections, or according to drawings — and clearly marked.
“This means that at a glance, those on-site don’t have to measure it, they can easily work out what section of the plant or site it is for, and there are no major issues,” Caleb said.
When you’re dealing with projects overseas, or that need to survive lengthy transit periods, packaging becomes even more important.
“Recently, we were packaging container shipments going to Ghana,” Caleb said.
“We had to make sure that the product was packed really well in those containers, given they had a tight install date.
“If the product had been damaged during transit, they wouldn’t have had time to fix it. We couldn’t send it over again.
“Plus, given the language differences, we had to package and label everything very clearly so there wouldn’t be any communication breakdowns.”
Thoughtful packaging saves money
When you’re paying premium wages for skilled labour, you don’t want to waste their time — and your money — on sorting out materials, instead of installing them.
To avoid costly delays, it pays to consider how your materials will be packaged and delivered as part of the tender process
“It surprises me that I’m never asked how the materials are going to turn up as part of the tender process,” Caleb said.
“What many people don’t realise is that when the materials get to site, if they haven’t been packaged thoughtfully, it will cost $50 more per item, because it takes an hour to find it!”
“It adds up very quickly.”
Thoughtful packaging can also maximise your “bang for buck” when it comes to freight costs, too.
“If you package correctly, you can maximise loads for companies so they’re not paying additional freight, particularly with uniform products.
“Recently, we were able to double the amount we could fit on the truck through creative packaging.”
The Advanced Piping Systems Difference
At the end of the day, we know you’ve got enough happening onsite — sorting through a dodgy shipment is a headache you just don’t need.
Thoughtful packaging is just another reason to choose Advanced Piping Systems for your next pipe project. Give our customer service team a call today to find out how we can help.
