September 17, 2003
Volume 1, Number 8

John A. Swanson Center for Product Innovation - PGC Assists Swanson Center’s Latest Client

Gateways has been involved with the Swanson Center for Product Innovation (SCPI) at the University of Pittsburgh since its inception in April, 2001. Among other activities, Gateways functions as the primary, outside marketing agent for the Center whereby we identify potential industrial clients and introduce them to the Center’s capabilities. We also serve as SCPI’s business agent to help negotiate contracts and develop strong working relationships with such client companies.

Gateways’ most recent activity for SCPI has been with the L. B. Foster Company. Foster, a 100-year old American corporation, is a manufacturer, fabricator and distributor of products for the transportation, construction, utility, and energy markets. The corporation owns divisions and subsidiaries that supply products to industries requiring rail and rail accessories; sheet, pipe and H piling; bridge decking and highway products; earth retention systems and soundwalls; precast concrete buildings; and threaded and coated pipe. L.B. Foster markets products worldwide.

Gateways introduced SCPI to the Foster Threaded Products Division for an evaluation of their existing fabrication and assembly procedures. Their production and implementation concerns were focused on the standard pipe used to line and extract water from a drilled well. This application inserts pipe lengths into a drilled shaft that could reach depths of over 600 feet.

The issues addressed were that Foster purchases their pipe from outsourced suppliers both nationally and internationally. These purchased products utilize an acceptable manufacturing process that can result in irregular, nonsymmetrical shapes. For drilling applications, such uncontrolled pipe tolerances causes several costly situations. If the pipes that are used for underground connection are not true and straight, such connections will fail…often at depths of 500 to 600 feet below the surface. The only alternative for correction is to extract the piping to access the problem connection, which is a very costly and a timely procedure.

The proposed solution is to inspect the pipe lengths for straightness and symmetry, and reject the pipe lengths that do not comply with the specified tolerances. Foster has addressed this problem and has applied a variety of inspection devices to this procedure with little success. SCPI has developed a customized system and devices to inspect each pipe length and assure tolerance compliance. Such devices will implement laser technology, receiving sensors, and computer analyses within the current inspection process. This new procedure will significantly reduce the percentage of underground mechanical connection problems resulting in a significant improvement in productivity.