CHPP Shutdowns: Why 3D Scanning Is the Difference Between Fit-Up and Rework
Coal Handling and Preparation Plants (CHPPs) are unforgiving environments when it comes to shutdown upgrades. Every conveyor, chute, screen, and pipe tie-in has to fit first time — because once the plant is down, the clock is burning money by the minute.
Yet many shutdown projects are still planned using outdated drawings and site sketches that don’t reflect the reality of years of modifications, wear, and emergency repairs.
That gap between “what’s drawn” and “what’s actually there” is where shutdown budgets disappear.
Scanning Turns Assumptions into Facts
3D LiDAR scanning captures the true as-built condition of a CHPP before design and fabrication begin. Instead of guessing clearances around:
-
transfer chutes
-
structural steel
-
conveyor stringers
-
pipework and services
-
access platforms
engineers and fabricators work from a millimetre-accurate point cloud.
This means new components can be designed to the plant — not to a drawing created ten years ago.
Why CHPPs Are High Risk for Fit-Up
CHPPs change constantly:
-
liners are replaced
-
drives are upgraded
-
guards are modified
-
emergency repairs alter geometry
-
structures move under load
By the next shutdown, the plant rarely resembles the original model. Fabricating without a current scan is effectively hoping everything lines up on the day.
Hope is not a shutdown strategy.
The Real Cost of Getting It Wrong
When something doesn’t fit during a CHPP outage:
-
cranes sit idle
-
crews wait for rework
-
hot works increase
-
safety risk rises
-
production restart is delayed
A few hours of pre-shutdown scanning can remove weeks of uncertainty.
See the Full Guide
We’ve published a detailed article showing how engineering-led 3D scanning supports CHPP shutdowns from capture → design → fabrication → installation:
👉 https://www.hamiltonbydesign.com.au/chpp-3d-scanning-shutdowns/
