Economics of Prefabricated Electrical and Instrumentation Buildings in Industrial Applications

The use of modular prefabricated buildings for the integration of electrical, instrumentation, and control systems equipment is an established practice in the industry. The concept of prefabrication has developed to the point that entire processing plants today are being fabricated in modules at dedicated facilities and shipped to the final project destination for reassembly. This paper discusses the economics of prefabricated electrical buildings in today's economy by looking at major factors that can affect the execution of large industrial projects: modular fabrication, method of transportation, shortage of skilled workforce, size for electrical enclosures and splits, type of enclosed equipment. The paper includes a comparison of a prepackaged power control building installation of a multiple split building with the installation of a large single piece building. The two approaches are compared in terms of risks, scheduled tasks, and estimated labor, to provide a framework for the execution of similar industrial projects in today’s economy.