Safer Maintenance of Critical Offshore Subsea Equipment
HCS Control Systems has launched a fleet of new mobile workshops which will make the maintenance of critical subsea control systems offshore much safer.
The company, which designs, manufactures, assembles and tests subsea equipment, has invested $1.1m in the development of a unique Test and Flushing Workshop. These mobile cabins can be used onshore and offshore to carry out pressure-testing, flushing and cleaning of controls pipework, umbilicals and hydraulic equipment without exposing personnel to the dangers associated with such work.
The compact workshops feature a blast wall partition, effectively segregating the pressure testing and cleaning operations from the operator cabin so that workers are fully protected from the hazards of using pressure testing equipment. Full control, measuring and recording facilities are available in the laboratory part of the cabin allowing remote operation of hydraulic controls in a clean and safe environment.
Colin Milne, Sales Director for HCS, said: “Our new product is the only one of its kind and has been designed with safety firmly in mind. Currently people carrying out these testing and maintenance activities are exposed to the significant hazards of this type of work. Feedback from workers encouraged us to look at what could be done to make these activities much, much safer and the result of our research, design and investment is a safer but effective solution that compares favourably with the rental costs of other test and flushing products on the market.
The units are certified to DNV 2.7.1 and Atex Zone 1 standards. Compact in size, they conform to standard 10’ ISO footprint and are easily configurable for specific applications. They can be used for site FAT/SIT activities, right through to offshore testing, flushing, intervention and production controls operations.