Success Story I DPR Construction Biopharma Plant

Biopharma Manufacturing Plant

Durham, North Carolina, United States

Project Summary

 

Expanding Potential for Life-changing Treatment

When a global neurological biotech company sought to increase production capacity of an investigational drug to address Alzheimer’s disease, they had to upgrade their 20-year-old manufacturing facility, requiring a three-month shutdown. Time was of the essence to resume operations, requiring aggressive timelines, compounded by integrating new and existing assets. DPR Construction (DPR) also faced the challenge of having to work around existing piping and infrastructure covered up and buried under successive improvements that were made to the facility over the years. They would need to visualize and effectively track assets during construction, as well as streamline digital workflows, to ensure commissioning of systems in accordance with drug manufacturing release schedules.

Upgrading Plant Assets, Improving Manufacturing Capacity

DPR was hired to deliver the USD 32 million technology upgrade that would triple drug production. The project required adding filtration equipment and larger equipment vessels, as well as included over 7,000 linear feet of stainless-steel piping, 11 miles of new power and data cabling, and over 40 tons of steel platform, all within a confined space. Despite the enormity and complexity of the project, production had to resume as quickly as possible. Traditional, manual, and visual methods were inaccurate and could not meet these challenges. DPR desired a digital solution that not only provided a quantitative and visual representation of asset tracking, but also facilitated construction monitoring to make informed decisions based on accurate data to help the client plan for future manufacturing line commissioning.

Finding Success with SYNCHRO 4D

DPR realized that SYNCHRO 4D offered the digitalization and simulation necessary to achieve their desired virtual construction planning. Using Bentley’s interoperable software, they were able to establish highly visual digital workflows and 3D models. The software provided accurate representation of all the new-work piping in the factory and the current status of work throughout all stages of construction, eliminating guesswork of manual inspections. They relied on the software to make informed scheduling decisions, move work crews to support lagging areas, and to foster transparent, data-driven communications with the client.

Digitalization Drives Savings

With SYNCHRO 4D, DPR thoroughly tracked construction progress, establishing a digital dashboard available for all stakeholders and the client to monitor construction and schedule their respective activities accordingly. Through careful, automated scripting, they assigned over 27,000 model objects to 950 resources in just 15 minutes, saving over two weeks of work. The automated software features helped coordinate labor resources and drive data-driven decisions and discussions, completely optimizing change management. Using SYNCHRO 4D, DPR completed the 14-week project six days ahead of schedule through advanced planning and collaboration, providing the client the ability to increase production capacity and timely commission future life-changing drug manufacturing.

Project Playbook: SYNCHRO 4D

OUTCOME/FACTS

  • DPR was hired to deliver a USD 32 million technology upgrade to a global neurological biotech company developing an investigational drug to address Alzheimer’s disease, which would triple drug production.
  • DPR realized that SYNCHRO 4D offered the digitalization and simulation necessary to achieve their desired virtual construction planning based on 3D models that they created with various modeling applications.
  • Using SYNCHRO 4D, DPR completed the 14-week project six days ahead of schedule through advanced planning and collaboration.
 

“Use of SYNCHRO 4D was not an afterthought. The team planned on using it from the get-go.”

Amol Soman
Senior Project Engineer
DPR Construction