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Asset Maintenance & Engineering: expert support to lifting equipment

Asset Maintenance & Engineering: expert support to lifting equipment

 

Combining Maritime Development’s innovative approach to tackling offshore challenges with technical expertise and a transparent approach, MDL Asset Maintenance & Engineering (AME) is the new alternative for cost-conscious maintenance of cranes and other lifting equipment.

In the lifting world, MDL is best known for market-leading technology for flexible and rigid pipe handling. The company’s origins, however – dating back to 1999 - are in the fishing industry: repairing and maintaining mechanical equipment and mobilising personnel to ports around the UK or further afield; all to ensure vessel’s idle time was down to a minimum – because idle time meant lost revenue.

From there, the company transferred this mindset into the energy sector, where it engineered and delivered innovative cable and pipelay equipment – first made to order, then to grow its own rental range. MDL operates a modern fleet of equipment and the forward-thinking approach incorporated in the design creates a technical advantage, optimising the uptime and efficiencies on projects. To ensure these benefits are safely replicated on every project, the equipment undergoes a rigorous maintenance programme, keeping everything ready for the next challenge.

To deliver such performance takes ownership of the product at all stages. MDL has honed a wide skillset who can design, manufacture, assemble and commission bespoke mechanical systems, hydraulic or electrically driven, and project manage the complete delivery to suit a specific brief.

These skills and experience that made MDL a highly competent and respected equipment manufacturer are directly transferable, and come together to form a truly value-added service, under the name of Asset Maintenance & Engineering (AME).

Complete solution

The AME division is focussed on the various challenges associated with the day-to-day operations, keeping equipment safe to operate and at the same time minimise any downtime.

MDL has been making positive traction with a number of Operators by offering a viable and cost-effective service to supporting mechanical lifting or pulling equipment. Services provided under

AME include:

  • Project Management & Engineering
  • Crane / Winch Integrity & Maintenance
  • Mechanical Handling – Lift plans, Storyboards, Design of Handling Aids
  • Hydraulic Systems Design / Assessment
  • Electric & Instrumentation Systems Design / Assessment

MDL AME’s focus is on performing as much of the front-end Project Management & Engineering work as possible from the “desktop”, minimising unnecessary trips to an Asset - demonstrating a cost aware approach, which also introduces efficiencies in the overall execution of work scopes.

MDL’s multi-skilled technicians can perform the maintenance and overhaul works on location, minimising impact to POB and off critical path.

This approach is best demonstrated by a recent challenge to reinstate a riser pull-in winch on North Sea FPSO that had not been used in over 10 years.

A single-source approach

On this project, the initial scope of work carried out by MDL’s engineers was to survey and inspect the lifting equipment on board the facility, to assess condition and plan a 5-year maintenance and testing programme.

Following the survey, the MDL team prepared a detailed schedule and work pack to execute the refurbishment on board the FPSO during the summer shutdown without taking the equipment ashore, which was not feasible as the winch could not be removed from the turret. The work pack covered method statements, lift plans, storyboards, structural design and detailed drawings.

The on-board equipment overhaul included complete winch strip down, service, re-certification of ATEX-rated HPU to DNVGL code, reassembly and overall system load testing.

MDL offshore expertise also came into play for the winch wire respooling, carried out in-situ under tension by experienced MDL technicians, followed by operation of winch to carry out riser pull-in under the direction of the installation contractor.

Thanks to its complete in-house capabilities, MDL was able to deliver a complete solution that was fit for purpose and added value by extending the equipment’s service life without costly and lengthy repair works onshore. Since then, MDL has executed numerous scopes across the client’s North Sea assets, including feasibility studies, safety assessments, delivery of bespoke handling aid solutions and crane control system upgrades, amongst others.

“The two-decade experience of working with a variety of clients on and offshore - including Operators and Pipelay Contractors - is reflected in MDL AME’s safety culture, work processes and procedures, and – importantly - through consistently delivering on targets of optimising schedules and meeting budget,” says Marvin Morrison, MDL Commercial Developments Manager.

“At the same time, MDL retains all the benefits of being an independent business: agility, impartiality, responsiveness and flexibility to adapt to our clients in terms of work scopes, schedules, deliverables and system processes; providing truly tailored solutions, with complete transparency from the onset - meaning no surprises at any stage of the project."

Read the latest issue of the OGV Energy magazine HERE.

Published: 17-01-2021

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