Completing any pump station project is a process. First, the pump station has to be designed. Then the design has to be approved. From there, you have to source all of the raw materials and build the pump station. Finally, once it’s built and installed, the pump station has to be started up to ensure everything is working as expected and the local maintenance team must be trained. Within the pump station industry, there are different ways to approach each of these steps; all of which have differences in cost, quality, peace of mind, and overall customer satisfaction.
In comparing field assembled and packaged pump station cost, first we must start with confirming the pump station’s design, sourcing the pump station’s materials, and all of the managing it takes to juggle those moving parts. One takes a wholistic upfront approach, while the other leaves you open to being nickeled and dimed.
The pump station’s components at minimum consist of a wet well, piping and valves, and the electrical controls. To source the raw materials for a pump station’s wet well, concrete is going to be cheaper than HDPE. While there are operational benefits to HDPE (as covered in our Concrete vs. HDPE Wet Wells blog), concrete has been the wet well of choice for the industry for well over 100 years. Concrete is so heavy that it must arrive at the job site on multiple semi-trucks in individual concrete rings and field assembled ring-by-ring. HDPE is approximately a tenth the weight of concrete but the robust structural profile design of HDPE achieves ASTM F894 standards.
A packaged pump station design is typically coming from a pump station design and manufacturer who can gain you some cost benefits by buying the piping, valves, and electrical components in bulk to save you some cost. However, these costs don’t nearly outweigh the difference between a concrete and HDPE wet well.
We're defining pump station administration as the designing and drawing of the pump station, the project management throughout the process, and the submittals of the entire pump station. While an engineering firm or a contractor might already have team members who cover some of these tasks, very few have a dedicated person who specializes in pump stations and is engrained with the project from start to finish.
When field assembling a pump station, typically the contractor will find a standard pump station drawing in the site plans and use a third party engineered design or build and design the station as they go. Designing the pump station as the project goes is incredibly dangerous and something we would never recommend. This can easily lead to scope gaps or a design that doesn’t fulfill the requirements of the design (peak flows, emergency requirements, etc.). Getting a third party engineered design does have costs and time inherently but also assures the pump station will meet the site requirements fully and a safe solution.
As covered in our How Excel Fluid Group Manages Your Pump Station Projects blog, our comprehensive packaged pump station approach includes a dedicated project manager assigned to our project from start to finish. Our team will begin with a kick-off meeting to gather project details and agreements. This is when we handle contracts and paperwork, including supplier access, timelines, and requirements. We are ISO9001 verified, with a certified control panel manufacturing center. The project manager will involve relevant parties in the pump station design and build.
In a field assembled pump station, the contractor has to have their own project manager on staff or manage a collection of subcontractors and paperwork. This person will be responsible on their own for managing the entire scope of a project. This will coincide with any of their other responsibilities on site throughout the process.
With a packaged pump station approach, our project managers will develop a single source submittal for all parties to approve. Based on the complexity of your project, our submittals can range from 10 to 500 pages, detailing every aspect of your project. This comprehensive packet allows for a single review to verify each component of your pump station. It includes information on your electrical, mechanical, structural, hydraulic, buoyancy, and orientation requirements. With our expertise in sourcing and compiling submittals with approved vendor material agreements, we can typically turnaround a completed submittal in around 3 days.
With field assembled pump stations traditionally being one-off projects, the contractor’s purchasing team is burdened with sourcing industry specific products they’re typically unfamiliar. This puts them at a disadvantage in getting what components are needed and can lead to long delays in receiving product to finish the project. This cost is based on a purchaser’s salary for a three week period plus the freight cost to get the material on site.
Once a design is finalized and the product is purchased, it is now time to install a pump station. This is where the difference in preparations and in turn, time needed to be on a job site can come into play. Where a field assembled pump station can take a week or more to fabricate out in the field, a packaged pump station can be installed and connected in a single day.
With a packaged pump station designed to arrive to the jobsite prefabricated, there is little onsite labor need. The pump station simply needs to be set in the excavation, connected to the sewer lines, and mechanical labor is complete.
In a site-assembled pump station, the civil or mechanical subcontractors must assemble the pump station at the job site. This not only is less efficient with many tools and equipment better from a factory floor, but it also leads to longer time on site. In line with the supervisor’s timeframe, this accounts for the onsite labor of four team members being onsite for at least a month.
Similar to the shoring, a field assembled pump station keeps the excavation open for longer. Because of this, the crew has to spend more time dewatering the excavation before being able to install the pump station. This can be amplified when installing a pump station deeper than 20 ft. or one that’s close to a water source. Additionally, it leaves the excavation susceptible to precipitation which can delay full dewaterment longer. Counter to that, with a packaged pump station the contractor gets to pick the exact date they want to receive the shipment and can be more prepared for any dampened hinderance.
In a packaged pump station, we’ll design and test your electrical control panel specifically for your pump station. This means once it arrives to site, the electrical contractor only has one power hook up to complete instead of the traditional full setup. The inverse is when an electrical contractor must arrive to site to field assemble a full electrical rack. This not only leaves the potential for scope gaps but also doesn’t allow for proper testing of the system’s components until you’re out on the site.
With a packaged pump station solution, we’re able to test your pump station’s components before they arrive at the site. This allows you to get peace of mind knowing that your system will work as designed. In our factory we test your pump station’s controls with your specific pump station pumps to find any inconsistencies before that truly matters. Additionally, we can perform a hydro test on wet well as needed. Unfortunately, with a field assembled pump station, these headaches can appear at the site which is typically at a remote location and difficult to fix quickly and efficiently.
When required using a packaged pump station approach, pump station start up and training is included. You are getting someone who has been a part of the pump station’s creation and knows the ins-and-outs of your specific pump station. In a field assembled pump station, the pump station is being created as you go. It’s impossible to know all the ins-and-outs when the ins-and-outs didn’t exist until it was built.
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Packaged Pump Station |
Field Assembled Pump Station |
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HDPE NoVault Pump Station |
Conventional Concrete Pump Station |
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Complete Total: |
$339,200 |
$348,300 |
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Materials and Administration Costs |
||||
Pump Station Components |
$320,000 |
$228,350 |
||
Purchasing Costs |
Included |
3 Week Process |
$18,000 |
3 Week Process |
Freight |
Included |
$9,000 |
||
Materials and Administration Total: |
$320,000 |
$255,350 |
||
Onsite Costs |
||||
Onsite Safety Supervisor |
$1,200 |
1 Day Onsite |
$6,000 |
1 Month Onsite |
Onsite Labor |
Included |
$22,950 |
||
Shoring |
$2,000 |
1 Week Needed |
$10,000 |
1 Month Needed |
Dewatering |
$5,000 |
$25,000 |
||
Electrical Contractor |
$11,000 |
Single Connection |
$20,000 |
Building a Full Electrical Rack |
Testing |
Included |
$3,000 |
Day Rate |
|
Start Up |
Included |
$3,000 |
Day Rate |
|
Training |
Included |
$3,000 |
Day Rate |
|
Onsite Costs Total: |
$19,200 |
$92,950 |
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We hope you see that while a packaged pump station may have more upfront costs, a field assembled pump station can incur more costs throughout the project in the best of times. In the worst of times a field assembled pump station leaves you vulnerable if and when an unexpected event occurs.
Not being ingrained in the pump station industry typically means you’re not as big of a priority to a vendor. This can lead to challenging lead times when waiting for a particular part to arrive. Buying pump station components in bulk allows us to build relationships with vendors and catch any supplier errors ahead of time. Having a vast network to source from also helps us pivot when required if a product isn’t in stock. This can help make it a non-issue for the client and their project deadlines.
Lastly, weather delays are something none of us can control. Unfortunately, rain at an excavation can increase dewatering times, shoring, labor costs, and much more! A package pump station solution tries to protect you from the unexpected. Our project management team will work with you to pick an exact date that you can expect a pump station to arrive to site. This leaves the window of time the excavation is open to a minimum, and leaves you less defenseless to weather delays.