I would like to hear from anyone who has first hand knowledge of the fabrication practices in China. For instance anyone who has worked on the Oakland Bay Bridge project. This same fabricator is doing some work for NYS and I would like to know what to expect. I dont need opinions or personal feelings, I need facts. Thanks. Dave
dmilesdot, Enter Nanjing in the search engine. He is a Scottish Welding Engineer based in China with a very good idea what is going on in China, Regards, Shane
At a minimum I would strongly suggest that you have one of your people go to the fab shop and monitor fabrication. If only for a short time to independently verify compliance to job specifications.
Have one of your people go visit here & there--in addition to whatever 3rd-party inspector(s) you have there full-time.
I have found that just because someone has AISC Major Bridge certification with Fracture-Critical Endorsement, that doesn't mean they have the least bit of clue about what's in AWS D1.5. (Granted, this was a different company than the one you're about to deal with, but still.) (But if you're lucky, Caltrans already broke your shop in pretty well to AASHTO standards.)
absolutely not. CALTRANS has opted to get the bridge up asap. Firing the company that was reporting too many deficiencies and hiring one that will not hold up production. This is just what I have heard from several of the inspectors on the project.
According to a newspaper article posted here not too long ago, Mactec was the inspection company on that job for a while. If you know anyone at Mactec, that would be a good start for brains-picking.
Asking for facts puts people in an ethical bind. The people with first hand knowledge, are usually bound by confidentiality agreements. In this particular instance, I would be careful of any information received from anyone with direct knowledge of the OBBP Project.
I suggest you ask for generalities, rather than specifics.
My "first hand" observations are based on the final products that we received to erect and the quality extended to both ends of the spectrum. None of this had anything to do with bridges.
In one case, about 4-5 years ago, the welding was terrible -if you could call it welding at all. We were asked to repair a number of welds and correct dimensional deficiencies, and that didn't even scratch the surfce. That was for a large marine application.
In the other very recent case, the fit-up and welding was phenomenal. The only parts that did not fit were due to detailing errors- not workmanship. Welding was great. I was very impressed with the quality. I do not know who the company was (I do know they were in China). This was for a large structural steel project.
The trend I have seen leads me to believe that the first example I described would have been markedly better today. China is pushing very hard to be taken seriously.
AWS'ers, Made welding presentations in China including to the ones in charge of shipyards employing over ten thousand people. The first major project involvement that I had with China was over 25 years ago for ABS (American Bureau of Shipping). They had done work in China for many years. I was in California doing a daylong class to Caltrans people close to the situation mentioned. Quality control has been reduced to practice in China in shipbuilding. The concern mentioned is tied to petroleum and other areas where pain has happened. Be careful is suggested. Sincerely Len Andersen BSChE CWI 914-237-7689 212-839-6599 212-839-4042 FAX
www.lenandersen.com
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Heard some interesting rumors regarding this project, sounds like things are not going to plan for Cantrans (or maybe they are). Need to verify some of this stuff but it does not look like this project should have went to China. Bottom line, No US shop would be able to get away with this c$#@ if it is true. Maybe they are not using D1.5 so fracture critical doesn’t apply? Apparently a lot of issues are being brought up but not being addressed. For starters, what is an ‘incident report’ verses a ‘nonconformance report’? I thought an NCR was an NCR. That might clear up some of the confusion. Anyone had to deal with this before?
I'm sure federal funding is involved, so I would hope the feds get involved.
That's what happened several years ago when CalTran was charged with misappropriating funds during their efforts to improve the seismic resistance of their bridges.
If the fabrication is substandard, it doesn't meet code requirements and it would stand to reason that to pay for such work would be a misappropriation of funds once again.
btw, on a historical note... There is a bridge connected to the Alexander hamilton Bridge which is named the High Bridge...This is the oldest bridge in New York City connecting the two boroughs of the Bronx to Manhattan Island, and nOT the Brooklyn bridge as most folks have been led to believe by some 40 years earlier than the age of the Brooklyn Bridge...
The two contractors, Halmar International LLC, based in New Jersey, and China Construction of America (CCA), a subsidiary of China’s largest construction company. Two-to-three hundred new construction jobs are being created. Hmm... let's hope that most if not all of the work is done in the USA!!! :) :) :)
I read that these folks have been awarded a contract for that bridge as well:
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