Last month, we discussed how certain factors including low-cost bidding and lack of proper planning can severely impact your project progress. These factors, like a lack of contractor experience in executing the bid work, inadequate resources and more, all contribute to delays and cost overruns.
Today, we’re taking the power of proactive planning one step further—we’re taking a look at the “make-or-break” impact of manufacturing, shipping and implementing your equipment in a timely manner.
During the pre-commissioning phase, one of our most recent partners discovered that approximately half of their 95 heat exchangers were severely contaminated, requiring tube and/or shell side cleaning. As it turns out, the exchangers were not preserved or shipped correctly—from the time they were manufactured overseas to their placement onsite, they corroded severely. Now, B&W Energy Services is cleaning them as the project is moving into the startup phase, which could’ve been executed well in advance.
Our partners’ heat exchangers are manufactured overseas and shipped when complete. They are supposed to be shipped under a nitrogen blanket to preserve the equipment. Instead, due to the harsh shipping environment and time spent sitting idle in a lay-down yard, the equipment ends up corroding significantly by installation time.
We wish we could say that this issue is just a rare occurrence, but the truth is: B&W Energy Services is frequently called to clean poorly preserved equipment for major projects across several industries. Several of the large petrochemical projects our team has been involved in on the Gulf Coast have been affected by these same issues.
The good news? B&W provides turnkey inspection services and top-to-bottom heat exchanger cleaning processes.
All this said, don’t wait until you’re cornered by tight timelines and unusable equipment to give us a call. If you identify a problem with your equipment, reach out and have your equipment cleaned. It won’t help anyone if you’re rushed into an emergency situation with the project approaching startup.
It takes an experienced set of eyes with hundreds of successful pre-commissioning projects under their belts to take these projects on. B&W Energy Services is unrivaled in effectively inspecting and cleaning your equipment.
Contact a member of our team today to learn more about our inspection and cleaning services.