The Girder Shop was built in the mid 1980’s to provide the Yard with an efficient in-house capability for the fabrication of plate girder and box girder sections which were commonly used in the framing of platform topsides. The 77 m long x 30 m wide x 10 m high building housed equipment specifically designed for the fabrication of girder sections in a manner which eliminated the need for temporary jigs and fixtures used when building these items by traditional means. The shop operated with two discreet assembly lines, with one line being dedicated to the fabrication plate girders up to 18 m long and operated by means of hydraulic positioning rolls and integrated welding equipment. The other line dedicated to the fabrication of box girders or large plate girders comprised of a rail mounted welding gantry operating over a permanent jig framing base.
