Overview

Porbeck Engineering Corporation was formed in 1986 to provide quality professional mechanical engineering services to a broad range of clients in the areas of special products and machine design; process engineering; process piping design and layout; computer analysis, including in-house piping stress analysis and finite element analysis; equipment modification and/or installation; material handling; and power generation/cogeneration.

Frank Porbeck, President of Porbeck Engineering has used the PIPE-FLO product line for over 10 years on a broad spectrum of projects. These projects have come from industrial, manufacturing, and commercial clients, where the company has been successful in assisting the engineering departments of larger companies in handling their temporary work overloads as well as providing to clients without engineering capabilities the design expertise and routine engineering support necessary to maintain efficient operation.

The Challenge

More than 10 years ago, Frank Porbeck, went searching for the ideal hydraulic analysis program to conduct both initial system design and upgrades to current systems. Frank needed a universal, easy-to-use program that could solve complicated calculations quickly including looped systems and indeterminate flows.

PIPE-FLO's Solution

After evaluating several programs, Frank decided on PIPE-FLO, and he hasn’t looked back. The first system that Frank built in PIPE-FLO was a large heath care facility. 10 years and several versions of the program later, that original system Frank built in PIPE-FLO is still being updated and used as the facility expands.

“The PIPE-FLO program is integral to what we do as a company. All of the engineers in our company use the program. I do even the simplest calculations using PIPE-FLO. If a client called me up right now to ask me a hydraulic calculation question, the first thing I would do is to open up the PIPE-FLO program,” Porbeck said.

As PIPE-FLO has become central to much of the hydraulic analysis conducted by the company, putting a specific value on the program was difficult for Frank.

“The time and money we save using PIPE-FLO is difficult to evaluate as we really consider the software to be essential to our normal work. How much money do you save with a telephone, calculator, e-mail or pencil? The importance of PIPE-FLO to our company cannot be overstated,” Porbeck said.

Of all of PIPE-FLO’s fantastic features, it is the ease-of-use and ease-of-documentation that Frank is most impressed with.

“The program is extremely easy-to-use. In addition, the ability to keep notes on the FLO-Sheet is important as it keeps everything in one place. You can use it for a variety of functions. From design specifications to maintenance record keeping, it is great to have easy access to all the necessary documentation,” Porbeck said.

Troubleshooting is also made easy using PIPE-FLO.

“To find a problem with a section of pipe without PIPE-FLO, you would have to use an experienced person in the field conducting physical exploration trying different time consuming scenarios. With PIPE-FLO we can troubleshoot in the comfort of our office, most importantly with no system down time,” Porbeck said.

Though the company rarely needs technical support due to their familiarity with the program, technical support has always been a strong component of the PIPE-FLO product line.

“While we seldom need support anymore, it has always been great when we’ve needed it. Having experienced engineers who are experts on the program available to answer questions when they arise gives us a nice feeling of security,” Porbeck added.