Engineering Team on the Ground: Local Support for EPCMs in Central West NSW
Major mining, infrastructure and industrial projects are increasingly being developed across regional NSW.
A range of projects are attracting international investment and bringing major EPCM contractors, specialist equipment suppliers and engineering teams into the Central West.
But not every engineering task on a regional project requires an engineer to fly in from Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne or Perth.
For many projects, having experienced engineering capability already on the ground can provide a practical extension to an EPCM's existing project team.
The Regional Engineering Challenge
Large EPCM organisations bring extensive technical capability to major projects. However, when the engineering team is located hundreds or thousands of kilometres from site, relatively straightforward site requirements can become surprisingly difficult to coordinate.
An existing structure may not match the drawings.
A piece of equipment may need to be measured before a modification can be designed.
A contractor may discover an interference during installation.
The engineering team may need photographs, dimensions, levels or additional information before progressing a design.
Or perhaps an area simply needs to be 3D laser scanned so the design team can work confidently with the existing site geometry.
None of these tasks necessarily justify mobilising an engineer across the country — but they still need to be completed accurately and understood from an engineering perspective.
That's where local engineering support can be valuable.
Your Engineering Capability on the Ground
Trang Imagineering is an engineering consultancy based in Orange NSW, providing engineering and design services to mining, industrial and infrastructure clients throughout Central West NSW.
For EPCMs and engineering teams based outside the region, Trang can provide local engineering resources to support the larger project team.
This might involve attending site to investigate a problem, verifying existing conditions, collecting measurements and engineering information, or completing a discrete engineering package locally.
Rather than replacing the EPCM's engineering team, the objective is to extend its capability to the project site.
Site Inspections and Engineering Verification
One of the biggest challenges when designing modifications to existing industrial facilities is establishing exactly what is already there.
Drawings may be decades old. Equipment may have been replaced. Steelwork may have been modified. Pipework may have moved. Previous projects may not have been fully incorporated into the site's drawing set.
A local engineer can inspect the site, understand what information the remote design team requires and provide more than simply a collection of photographs and dimensions.
Depending on the project, Trang can assist with:
Engineering site inspections and field verification
Existing equipment and structural measurements
Mechanical and structural assessments
Constructability investigations
Site sketches, photographs and engineering documentation
Verification of existing drawings against installed conditions
Engineering support during fabrication and installation
For a remote project team, having someone locally who understands both the site environment and the engineering problem can significantly simplify these tasks.
3D Laser Scanning and Existing-Conditions Capture
Where existing geometry is complex, conventional site measurement may not be enough.
Trang operates its own 3D laser scanning equipment and can capture existing plant, structures, buildings, equipment and surrounding infrastructure as point-cloud data.
This can be particularly useful for brownfield projects involving:
Existing structural steelwork
Conveyors and materials handling equipment
Process plant
Pipework
Platforms and access systems
Equipment replacement
Building and structural modifications
Installation planning and clash investigation
Instead of mobilising a design team simply to gather dimensions, a detailed 3D capture can provide engineers with a much richer representation of the existing site.
Importantly, the scanning is being undertaken by an engineering organisation. We understand why the information is being collected and what the engineers using that information are likely to need.
Mechanical, Structural and Civil Capability
Regional project support frequently crosses traditional engineering disciplines.
A mechanical equipment modification may require new structural steelwork.
A new structure may require foundations or civil works.
Equipment installation may require lifting studies, access platforms or modifications to surrounding infrastructure.
Trang's in-house capability includes mechanical, structural and civil engineering, supported by experienced designers and drafters.
This allows us to assist with either a specific component of a larger EPCM package or undertake smaller multidisciplinary engineering packages locally.
Our capabilities include mechanical design, structural design and verification, civil engineering, finite element analysis, fabrication and detail drawings, 3D modelling, laser scanning and engineering documentation.
Supporting Construction and Installation
Engineering requirements don't stop when drawings are issued.
Construction often exposes the things that couldn't be identified during design.
Something doesn't fit.
Existing steelwork is different from the model.
An installation sequence needs to change.
A contractor needs an engineering decision before work can continue.
For projects in regional areas, resolving relatively small engineering issues can become disproportionately expensive if engineering resources have to be mobilised from a capital city each time they occur.
Having engineering capability within the region provides EPCMs, project owners and contractors with another option.
Trang can attend site, investigate the issue and either provide the engineering solution directly or gather the information required for the project's primary engineering team to make the decision.
Supporting Major Projects Across Central West NSW
Central West NSW continues to attract significant investment across mining, critical minerals, renewable energy, manufacturing and infrastructure.
Recent international attention with projects associetd with Scandium and Tin are examples of the scale of projects being considered and developed within the region.
Projects of this size inevitably involve organisations from across Australia and internationally.
But they also create a need for capable engineering resources close to the project.
Trang Imagineering is based in Orange NSW and provides engineering support throughout Orange, Parkes, Forbes, Condobolin, Fifield, and the broader Central West.
For EPCMs, project owners, equipment suppliers, fabricators and contractors operating remotely from the region, Trang can provide engineering capability on the ground, whether that's a single site inspection, a 3D laser scan, engineering verification or an ongoing package of local project support.
Need Someone on Site?
If your engineering team is working on a project in Central West NSW and needs experienced engineering support locally, talk to Trang.
We can work alongside your existing engineering team to provide the site presence, engineering capability and local support needed to keep regional projects moving.