Terri Meyer Boake B.E.S. B.Arch. M.Arch.
Professor School of Architecture University of Waterloo

Vancouver International Airport Vancouver, British Columbia Architectura with Bush Bohlman Engineers   Fabrication

The structure was fabricated and erected over a 16-month period, with the main contract involving 18,500 components and 10,000 tonnes of structural steel at a cost of $22 million. To take advantage of the different capabilities of each of the steel fabricator's three plants in Western Canada, the work was divided between the Winnipeg, Edmonton and Vancouver shops. As the pieces delivered to the site originated from three different provinces, a control system was developed to ensure delivery of the proper component at the proper time and to minimize the number of loads shipped to the site.

The fabrication work was divided among the steel fabricator's three plants in Western Canada in order to take advantage of the capabilities of each. The Winnipeg plant fabricated pieces suited to their paint and automatic beam line; the Edmonton shop fabricated, cleaned and painted the 400 semiautomaitcally welded cruciform columns; and the Vancouver shop fabricated unpainted and larger components, including those for the Transport Canada control tower (thereby reducing shipping costs). With pieces arriving from three different provinces, the need for a control system that would deliver the correct pieces to the site in the proper sequence was apparent. A program was developed that not only controlled delivery, but substantially reduced the number of loads shipped to the site through the use of load lists that optimized weights for each trailer.

After analyzing the construction schedule, the project team concluded that, in order to avoid running out of steel during the erection phase, the plants had to fabricate and store at least 4,000 tonnes (or about 6,500 pieces) of steel before erection began. Algoma Steel of Sault Ste Marie, Ontario, delivered the first load of steel to the fabricators in January 1994 and at regular intervals thereafter. Fabrication began in mid-March 1994 after the first phase of detailing was completed, with erection commending on July 25, 1994, one week earlier than planned. Averaging 165 tonnes per week during the stockpiling stage (within 5% of target), overall production reached highs of 300 tonnes per week, ensuring that the stockpile was always adequate.

Two ironworker crews assembled the entire structure, which comprised a total of 16,690 structural pieces or a combined daily average of 110 pieces over the 34-week erection period (with overcast and rainy weather throughout the winter showing little effect on productivity.) The two erection crews each consisted of two connectors, two ground men and one foreman. Each had a 140-ton crawler crane at its disposal, useful for sandy site conditions and the ability to work over a full 360 degree range. Working alongside the erection crews were bolting, plumbing, welding, field revision and off-loading crews: at the peak of activity, 74 personnel, including site office and supervisory staff, worked onsite.

While working on the suspended walkways that form part of the structural frame, the erection crew hung the walkways from the roof without attempting to set the elevations; final levelling, alignment and rod tensioning were carried out after completion of the main structure. Turnbuckles incorporated into the suspension rods allowed levelling of the walkway within 3 mm and were also used to tension the horizontal and longitudinal sway rods. Brackets carrying the glazing panels enclosing the walkway were installed at last.

The pretendering and preordering of steel and a team approach by all parties contributed to the completion of the structure in March 1995, one month earlier than originally scheduled.

Partially finished view of the cruciform column	Welding additional plates onto the cruciform column
Base plates attached to the cruciform columns - painted ready for shipping.	Welding operations at midheight on the WF columns
Single tree of the moment frame structure being test erected to verify correctness	Flatbed loaded reach for shipping. The breakdown nature of the tree structures made for economical shipping strategies.

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last updated February 11, 2021