For more than 15 years, SSOE has provided a wide range of engineering services to this Fortune 500 glass manufacturer including process improvements, production line rebuilds, and facility enhancements. Through our work on process conversion, the company integrated new materials to comply with EPA regulations. Projects for this client have spanned 46 facilities in 11 countries.The long-term relationship gave SSOE the opportunity to leverage its intimate knowledge of the client’s processes and standards to save more than $4.6 million over the past six years. For example, SSOE recently developed a more efficient layout for installing a new process in an existing facility that required less space and saved approximately $600,000.

A manufacturer of corn-based ethanol, needed to increase its existing capacity. SSOE provided full engineering, design, procurement, fabrication, erection, and commissioning support. Our team coordinated with the client, an EPCM contractor, and the process provider to successfully complete a fast-track, turnkey project that doubled its annual ethanol production.SSOE worked with our Shanghai office to provide 24-hour support. With this approach, we compressed the schedule by 30 percent. The client saved $60,000 per day, which equaled a profit of nearly $2 million.

SSOE assisted with the preparation, submittal, and multiple agency approval of the air permit for a new $1 billion automotive assembly plant. The tight project schedule required our team to immediately mobilize in Germany and the U.S. to meet the demands of the timeline and permitting requirements.SSOE personnel travelled to Germany to work with the client’s environmental and planning teams to understand design parameters for the new facility, translate the data to U.S. requirements, transfer it, and coordinate with an environmental consultant in Tennessee. Our team organized multiple stakeholders to develop the schedule and confirm the requirements unique to this permitting process.Typically the permit application process can take up to six months; the agency review process up to a year. In this case, the three-part permit application was assembled in 45 days and the agency permit approval was accomplished in 63 days, two weeks ahead of the project’s timeline.

A major automotive manufacturer’s new assembly plant in Mississippi was the largest site work and earth moving project it had ever undertaken in the country. It was a civil engineering feat that required moving 16 million-cubic yards of earth in order to make the site level enough for construction of the plant.SSOE used an integration of NavisWorks 3D/4D design review software and Bentley InRoads road and site design software to help shape the site before and after the civil engineering portion of the project. We effectively incorporated results from the InRoads site evaluation with the virtual building design to arrive at a single 3D model. This model clearly showed where the earth would be moved and its effect on the overall design. SSOE also developed a plan for using earth removed from the site to fill in other areas. This ensured that no soil would have to be brought to or removed from the location and it minimized the distance the earth had to be moved within the site, saving time and money.This effort enabled the client to save approximately 5 million-cubic yards of earthwork and 2,400 linear feet of pipe, which reduced the project costs by approximately $20 million.

Following a natural disaster, a food client called upon SSOE to quickly return the facility to full operation, and improve processes. Because every week of lost production meant lost revenue, the team was directed to fast track the project, but not at the expense of the client’s stringent quality standards.

SSOE repaired various inefficiencies and redesigned the production system to enhance food safety. At the height of the project, our team included ten onsite engineers and designers to sustain the crucial schedule. SSOE and the client took advantage of the plant shutdown to upgrade controls, increase yields, reduce energy consumption, and incorporate a new air quality system.

Through innovative strategies and implementation of multiple cost savings opportunities, SSOE saved the client more than $700,000 annually. In addition, SSOE designed a process to sanitize the complex product piping system using hot soybean oil — a safe solution that did not sacrifice product quality.

When a regional government agency embarked on the development of a 3,600 acre megasite in Tennessee, it needed to ensure it was on the radar of big name manufacturers looking for shovel-ready land. It also needed a partner to help increase marketability of the land to clients, particularly a firm with expertise in auto assembly plant development. With experience designing 50 percent of greenfield automotive assembly plants in the U.S. over the past 10 years, SSOE proved to be a natural fit for the project.SSOE developed a conceptual layout of all major components of the megasite. This included the location of transportation access points such as highway interchanges, plant access roads, and railways. We also worked with various government entities on options for water, wastewater, natural gas, and electricity services. As a result, the regional government agency was able to compress its planned development schedule for having infrastructure in place from 5 years to 18 months.

To meet the market demand for new products in China, this major automotive manufacturer built its first Chinese Research and Development (R&D) facility in Shanghai. SSOE applied its vast experience in designing automotive R&D facilities, and familiarity with the Chinese design and construction process, to deliver this high-caliber, sustainable project.SSOE provided an innovative design that minimized environmental impact, while maximizing occupant safety, health, and comfort. Design criteria emphasized the use of sustainable materials and other energy-reduction features. During the programming phase, SSOE met with stakeholders to determine space requirements, and were able to utilize the common space requirements to reduce the building footprint by approximately 15 percent. Additionally, to reduce the facility’s overall energy consumption, SSOE integrated a system to capture and reuse power generated by the facility’s dynamometer test cells.

When a smokeless tobacco manufacturer wanted to convert a recently purchased facility into a new processing facility, they called upon SSOE’s EPCM expertise. With the goal to increase capacity and achieve FDA compliance, SSOE proved key to renovating and expanding the site. Originally designed in the 1970s by SSOE for another manufacturing client, the brownfield site had been abandoned for eight years, making the conversion challenging. However, SSOE’s extensive cGMP and renovation experience allowed it to accommodate immediate and future manufacturing needs.To achieve the client’s ambitious schedule, SSOE recommended construction sequencing (phased construction with multiple primes) to compress the project construction schedule by three months. Also, our aggressive cost management and early identification of cost trends put the project on track to be delivered within budget.

A client with whom SSOE has a 15+ year relationship enlisted the firm for a series of facility expansions. The work initially involved capital investments of $50 million; subsequent expansions grew to over $2.5 billion in capital investment. SSOE leveraged design technology, as well as developed new tools, to streamline data management and development of construction drawings.

As part of the expansion program, SSOE customized Smart P&ID software to automatically generate material take-offs from 3D models. Doing so improved accuracy and eliminated the thousands of hours it would have taken to create these documents manually. By extracting isometric piping drawings directly from the 3D model, our team was able to save the client approximately $3.25 million in engineering costs in one year. Our team also developed the ability to annotate each isometric drawing with necessary information, providing another $1.1 million in savings.