Friday, July 17, 2009

Industrial Rope Access Enables Record Shutdown Time for Refinery in Malaysia


One major benefit of Industrial Rope Access is the minimization of shutdown time of industrial assets. With industrial rope access, scaffolding, cradles or mobile elevated work platforms are no longer necessary to be able to access high or remote locations. Compared to traditional approaches, inspection and testing can be performed faster, resulting in cost savings for clients. --- Time is money. Shutdown time is more money. However, production facilities, refineries, petrochemical and power plants must be regularly closed down or taken out of service to make way for scheduled maintenance operations. To be able to minimize the duration of the shutdown and allow operations to resume more quickly would be a laudable accomplishment. The leading integrated palm oil player in Malaysia usually schedules eight days of downtime for inspecting their splitter towers, which will be accessed by means of traditional scaffolding. However, no more than four days were available for the current assessment of the Splitter Tower 1. Having no experience with Industrial Rope Access, the company was interested in knowing the capabilities and limitations of the method. Industrial rope access is a form of work positioning developed from techniques used in caving. It is an internationally-recognized alternative to traditional means of access such as scaffoldings, ladders, gondolas, boson chairs, mechanical lifts and staging. With industrial rope access, a worker uses two ropes - a working rope and a back-up, safety rope - and is permanently attached to both to prevent falls. SGS carried out a pre-job site visit, free of charge. All necessary IRATA documentation including task-specific risk assessments, method statements and rescue plan were submitted in advance. To perform the Dye Penetrant Examination (PT) (also known as Liquefied Penetrant Examination) of all welded T-joints inside their splitter tower, a two-man SGS-IRATA certified Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) team was mobilized from Singapore. It took only two days to set up, carry out inspection, de-rig the ropes and prepare the inspection report -- a record downtime for the refinery. SGS Industrial Services SGS holds numerous accreditations from all over the world, and we can carry out periodical statutory and voluntary inspections of industrial utilities and all kinds of equipment. With the worldwide network of SGS Industrial Services, we can develop the best suitable conformity assessment procedure for your equipment and your target markets, as industrial inspection procedures directly affect safety. Contact information: SGS Testing and Control Services Singapore Pte Ltd Business Unit Operations Manager - Industrial Rope Access Andrew Johnston 26 Ayer Rajah Crescent #03-07 Singapore 139944 t: (65) 6379 0111 industrial.pr@sgs.com http://www.sgs.com/rope-access http://www.sgs.com/industrial The SGS Group is the global leader and innovator in inspection, verification, testing and certification services. Founded in 1878, SGS is recognized as the global benchmark in quality and integrity. With more than 55,000 employees, SGS operates a network of over 1,000 offices and laboratories around the world.

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