Customised Stainless Steel Water Tanks: How to Reduce Last-Minute Decisions During Installation

A tank is ready to go. The foundation's been prepared, the installers are booked, and the site manager is expecting it to be all done that day. Then it's discovered that the outlet doesn't match up with the pipework as planned. Have to stop, call the contractor and work out what can be altered without impacting the rest of the project.

It's a right frustrating situation, especially as the issue could have been picked up long before any fabrication had even started.

With a custom tank, the drawing is doing the heavy lifting. The decisions you make on the drawing will dictate how easily the equipment will fit into the building subsequently.

The site drawing needs a reality check.

Architectural drawings are of course useful, but they don't necessarily take into account all the constraints that the installation team will face. A beam might reduce the headroom; there may be an existing pipe in the way; the route into the building may be too narrow for the finished tank, etc.

Before you go ahead and approve the Custom SS Water Tanks, you need to check the actual space in which they are to be installed. You need to measure the available height and width, check the access routes and confirm where the tank connections are going to sit. If it's going on a roof or an elevated platform, then the supporting structure itself will also need to be checked to ensure it can take the expected load.

These checks are much easier to do whilst the design is still open to change. Once fabrication is complete, however, even a minor alteration can mean an extra amount of labour and cost.

Get the plumbing contractor involved early.

Tank dimensions are only one part of the drawing. The inlet, outlet, overflow and drain connections have to be designed to work with the building's plumbing.

This is where co-ordination invariably breaks down. The tank supplier will have worked from one drawing, the plumber from another and the installers are left on site trying to make sense of both.

For Custom Stainless Steel Tanks, connection positions, sizes and all other relevant specs should be agreed with the plumber prior to fabrication commencing. The plumber should also confirm how the tank will be filled, how it will be drained and how it will be isolated for maintenance.

It might seem a bit much to go into all that over a few pipe connections. It's a heck of a lot easier than doing it once the tank has arrived.

Don't keep changing the brief.

Customisation allows a project to be tailored to unusual dimensions, specific storage requirements and constrained installation spaces. The downside, of course, is that it can make the process of managing the project more difficult if there are a lot of changes.

A late request to increase capacity, to move an outlet or to change the access opening will impact the approved drawings, the fabrication schedule and the delivery date. It may be that the change is simply unavoidable. The key thing is to assess the impact before you go ahead and authorise it.

One person must be responsible for confirming the final specs and passing on the approved changes to both the supplier and the contractor. All parties should be working from the same version of the drawing.

For Custom Stainless Steel Tanks, this simple discipline will prevent confusion as to which actual dimensions and connection details have been approved.

Delivery day is too late to plan access.

A tank is still going to need to get to its final position. On some sites the route will involve narrow doorways, stairwells, rooftop access or lifting equipment. Those constraints have to be considered prior to dispatch, particularly if the tank can't be got through the building as a single unit.

The installation schedule should also take into account site readiness. The foundations, the supporting structure, the access and the lifting equipment required should all be checked prior to delivery being confirmed.

Purever can be part of those early discussions to help the project team work through the product specification and the installation requirements prior to the tank even getting to site.

Leave fewer questions for the installation crew.

Prior to fabrication being approved, bring the drawings, the plumbing details and the site measurements together for a final review. Check the dimensions, the locations of the connections, the access requirements and the delivery arrangements. Keep a record of the approved spec so that any subsequent changes are clear.

None of that removes all the surprises, really. Construction projects don't work like that. It does, however, reduce the number of decisions that need to be made under pressure with a completed tank right there and several people waiting for you to make a decision.

The best time to deal with an installation issue is before you actually have anything to install.