植物文档中的甜蜜成功

作者:克里斯汀•GrahlOctober2016

With the capacity to slice 22,000 tons of beets a day and produce over 1 billion pounds of sugar annually, the Michigan Sugar Co. is the third largest sugar producer in the United States. Its factories, which were built between 1889 and 1902, dot the Michigan landscape, providing employment to many people. During peak processing season, more than 1,000 grower-owners and 1,600 workers support the company.

Over the decades, Michigan Sugar has installed an assortment of machinery updates and additions in its Croswell, Michigan, USA plant. The company has also augmented operations with auxiliary buildings that house new machinery. Each time project managers have carved out space for the equipment and related piping, the plant has become more congested and complex. Until recently, as is typical in many factories, plant documentation had not kept pace with the ever changing environment.

Planning for a tank replacement

当密歇根州糖公司的管理层决定更换一个跨工厂内部三层楼的蒸发罐时，项目工程师克里斯·尚贝克（Chris Schanbeck）知道仔细计划了。过去，为了设计新的结构并指导项目计划，他的团队可能通过手动测量计划的安装来更新设施的旧图纸。然而，他知道，在拟建的数据中的不准确性和遗漏可能会导致意外的设备冲突和不适合零件。结果可能是现场返工，成本增加和项目延迟。

为了确保合理的设计，Schanbeck需要一个全面，准确，最新的工厂内部模型，该模型将为新储罐及其结构钢的支撑提供指导。全面的模型还将使团队能够计划如何移动安装新储罐所需的支撑设备，例如泵和管道。它将允许设计师在安装新储罐后建模如何最好地重新布鲁特和连接管道迷宫。

When Schanbeck researched his options for creating such a model, a colleague referred him to 3D Imaging Services in Flint, Michigan, USA. The company provides technology solutions that include 3D laser scanning and as-built modelling. Schanbeck believed the firm’s 3D laser scanning capabilities would allow Michigan Sugar to produce the most precise, detailed model possible. Michael James, project manager at 3D Imaging Services, headed up the project. “The project was already in the planning phase and Michigan Sugar needed a way to capture existing conditions rapidly, so time was of the essence. Because of this, we chose the Leica ScanStation P40 to document the plant. It enabled us to reduce both field time and processing time,” he says.

Explore next chapter:Efficient, accurate data capture

Story: Sweet success in plant documentation
第1章：计划更换坦克
Chapter 2:Efficient, accurate data capture
Chapter 3:Time and cost savings, plus better information