Metacor Q & As
What areas of corrosion are most likely to be overlooked?
The important thing is to recognise external corrosion and quantify it. Most elements on an offshore platform will have some implicit ‘corrosion allowance’. It’s not that the corrosion is overlooked, it’s that nobody understands how much can be tolerated.
However, generally thin wall hollow sections (such as helideck supports) should be monitored closely, and of course smaller members such as Primary Escape Route walkway supports.
External Corrosion Management Ltd was established in 2001 to provide a solution to the problem of defining scopes for offshore fabric maintenance projects. Scopes which were safe, rational and cost-effective.
Previously, external corrosion management had been an expensive source of frustration to asset managers. Caught between the conflicting demands of cost reduction and safety standards, maintenance had often been carried out on an ad-hoc basis – and frequently deferred or eliminated altogether, based on subjective judgements without the benefit of informed risk assessment.
Through an expert system, which quantifies and predicts external corrosion and provides justifiable coatings maintenance options, ECM puts the asset manager back in control of paint maintenance programmes.
