CME Services Repairs Underground Pipe in Clean Production Facility with Surgical Precision
The Situation:
Production was halted at an injectable pharmaceuticals R&D and manufacturing company in Ohio due to a blockage of the main drain line. The state-of-the-art 109,000 sq. ft. corporate headquarters in New Albany, OH consisting of 15,000 sq. ft. of laboratories dedicated to Research and Development, a 13,000 sq. ft administration area, and a 72,000 sq. ft. manufacturing plant was established in 2011.
On Friday May 15, 2015 production employees noticed water backing up into the process drains. Production was immediately stopped.
The facilities manager reached out to a local sewer and pipeline cleaning company, who ran a camera through the pipe. They found that the pipe was broken in several spots, allowing gravel to enter and cause the blockage. The broken sections of pipe needed to be replaced and the integrity of the line restored.
Search for a contractor able to fully repair the pipe led the company to Perma-Liner™ Industries (PLI), a leading manufacturer and supplier of trenchless pipeline rehabilitation equipment & materials in North America. Trenchless pipe repair, also known as Cure In Place Pipe (CIPP) or pipe lining, allows underground pipes to be lined, from a single small access point, resulting in minimal disruption at the surface. PLI immediately reached out to CME Services in Cincinnati, Ohio.
The Solution:
CME’s project leadership team visited the production plant on May 19 to assess the situation and develop a game plan. They camera‘d the pipe and confirmed the locations of 4 breaks. They also noted that the standard schedule 40 PVC pipe was not temperature rated for the 180F water that was running through it. Repair work started on May 24, only 7 days after the problem was initially detected and production was shut down.
Two of the breaks in the pipe put CME’s crew right outside a clean area of the production process and deep within the 72,000 sq. ft manufacturing plant. “Our first order of business was to contain our work, which included the demolition of 3’x 3’ sections of the concrete floor and the removal and disposal of gravel, to access the breaks in the pipe,” explained Chuck Menkhaus, CME’s CEO.
Once the broken areas of pipe were individually exposed CME was able to replace the broken sections of pipe and then line it with their 225F rated vinyl ester resin lining before refilling the hole with gravel and restoring the sections of concrete floor.
The work was completed on June 1 to the satisfaction of all involved. “CME did an outstanding job,” said the company’s Sr. Manager of Engineering. “They arrived on site when they said they would, they hit or beat all of their timelines, they were on budget and they provided great communication of scope changes.”
The Customer
Pharmaceutical Compounding Facility
The Problem
Broken main drain line from production area resulting in production stoppage
The Challenge
Repairing the broken underground pipe without compromising the cleanliness of the facility
The Solution
CME designed a solution based on the specific needs and challenges of the environment, including extensive work-area containment, pipe spot-repair and pipelining
“This was major surgery in the middle of an operating pharmaceutical clean room manufacturing plant. The heavy construction was completed with minimal impact.”
“The company who augured and camera’d our pipe didn’t have the equipment or expertise to repair the breaks. We needed to find a company that could come in and fix the pipe completely.”
“I really appreciated the crew’s attitude: they were clean, well-mannered and professional at all times. I work with a lot of subcontracotrs – CME Services is hands down one of the best.”
“This repair was immediately adjacent to the clean rooms. Poor containment of the dust could have caused up to 1 week of post-shutdown cleaning, adding millions in lost-production costs.”
