1. Is your vendor giving you a good RATE without optimizing the WEIGHT of the building?

 

PEB structures design is a combination of science and arts. The science is provided by softwares like Stadpro, MDS and so many more. Nevertheless the art of PEB structure designing comes out of years of experience wherein the natural brain is enriched by the artificial intelligence gained out of designing so many PEB projects.

 

The experience of the designer who will design your PEB structure is always a grey area for the Buyer.

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2. A good steel structure must be made out of good steel?

 

Customers have become knowledgeable enough to realize that they should buy project grade (Yield Strength of 345 MegaPascal and Grade ES250 / 350) from JSW , Tata or SAIL. The grey areas revolve around the fact that , for example, E350 grade of Tata Bluescope comes in multiple versions viz. A grade, Cut Lengths, Export Reject and Auction material! Which one are you buying? How are you sure that you are buying the right grade unless you get samples tested? This grey area can only be resolved by choosing a vendor who can be relied upon.

 

3. Your PEB Vendor promises you a date of delivery which he never fulfills.

 

Vendors who employ the services of non standard erection teams with no project management experience cannot help delays in the project. This is a grey area because you may have saved Rs 25 lakhs on a 100 Tons PEB building but if the rental from your godown is Rs 15 lakhs per month, a mere delay of 2 months in erection will wipe out all the profits that you thought that you have saved!

 

The only way one can counter this menace is by asking your PEB vendor to sign a penalty clause with you for non performance of any sort on timelines.

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4. The Quality of screws used in PEB erection is much more important than its cost!

 

There are lakhs of screws used in a screw-down technology PEB structure and these screws are points where rust starts eating up the PEB structure. The screws used by your PEB Vendor must have passed the “1000 Salt Spray Test” so that the same inhibits rust to attack the Steel used in the PEB structure.

 

5. The Quality of Paint on your PEB Structure could be an invitation for Rust to attack.

 

Direct to Metal (DTM) Paint from good brands (Jotun, Asian, Berger) must be applied up to 80 microns on the steel structure after having ensured that the surface finish of Swedish standard (SA 2.5) is attained. Post-painting there should be an oven through which painted surfaces are passed for heat treatment of the painted surface. For the surface finish, processes like sand blasting or shot blasting is used. Does your vendor do this?

 

Many vendors who play in the grey area , apply enamel up to 20 microns, red oxide up to 20 microns followed by paint of 40 microns to make it 80 microns. Now this is really grey, isn’t it?

 

6. While erecting PEB if Process 2 and 3 should follow Process 1, does your PEB Vendor attempt 1,2 and 3 parallel to save on rental cost of Hydra or labor or any other such incidental costs?

 

The erection practices of your PEB vendor directly affects the timeline of the project as well as the stability of the building. Always insist on deputing your site engineer to supervise the erection practices of the PEB vendor.

 

More such grey areas in PEB structures can be listed but this in enough for you to understand the grey areas. Many of these grey areas cannot be seen with naked eyes and you need experts to identify the same.

 

In conclusion, it is always prudent to deal with a credible brand of PEB Vendor rather than trying to learn and master all the gret areas in PEB Structures.