Socrate is an Italian engineering company that manages every stage of a project, from design and material supply to construction and commissioning.
The company is recognized for its meticulous attention to detail and unwavering commitment to getting things right, even under tight deadlines.
Its team brings design and construction together, using digital tools to ensure every project is safe and reliable.
Identifying goals
Socrate worked on a project for a gas power plant in Italy, where the team designed and built two metering skids from the ground up. Both skids were designed for fiscal gas measurement, each using different flowmeters to quantify flow. Gas quality analysis was performed by a single gas chromatograph, which was connected to one skid and received samples from both via a sampling probe.
Overcoming challenges
The project timeline was the greatest challenge. The team had only a few months to design the system, order materials, build the skids and complete testing. Since the plant was completely new, the team had to design everything from scratch.
Coordinating deliveries from several suppliers added complexity. Every valve, pipe and instrument had to arrive on time so the work could proceed.
“We had just a few months to deliver two complete metering skids,” says project engineer Fulvio Melas. “Managing suppliers and keeping the schedule on track was tough, but we knew we had to get it right the first time.”
To execute the project successfully, Socrate chose Octave’s Forte 3DWorx.
The engineers used it to build 3D models, prepare workshop drawings and generate material lists automatically, saving hours of manual work. They used the software throughout the project and found it easy to learn after brief online sessions.
Realizing results
With Forte 3DWorx, Socrate completed the project on schedule and saved approximately 200 hours of engineering time.
The software helped the team stay accurate and keep quality high, even under tight deadlines. “With Octave, we achieved the quality and efficiency we needed to meet our client’s goals on time,” says Fulvio.
Both metering skids are now complete and ready for installation at the gas plant in Italy, proving that a small team can do a lot with the right tools.
Moving forward
Following the project’s success, Socrate is extending its use of Octave solutions: Octave Facets P&ID is already integrated with the electro-instrumentation capabilities of Octave Forte 3DWorx Instrumentation and structural workflows based on Octave Forte StructureWorx have recently been introduced.
The next phase centers on strengthening this integration by fully leveraging existing capabilities across Octave Forte 3DWorx and related applications. Socrate will also evaluate additional solutions that can deliver a tangible contribution to engineering execution.
“It would have taken us close to a year to design two metering skids from scratch if we had done it manually. Forte 3DWorx helped us complete the project in under five months, with the quality and efficiency we needed to meet our client’s expectations.”
Fulvio Melas, Project Engineer, Socrate
