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CLASS
TAKES A SEAT ON PROJECT TEAMS
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Todd
Grove, Director, Offshore Business Development, discusses
the sometimes unexpected role that class and ABS can
play on projects.
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ometimes
I think class suffers from a case of mistaken identity,
especially in the |
offshore
industry. We’re out there on the frontlines of a company’s
project. Our surveyors are watching and approving -- often times
as a regulatory requirement -- and, from those who don’t
know us well, we can sometimes be seen as a rubber stamp.
Part of
this stems from our history, almost 140 years of surveying
vessels to our safety standards. It’s a noble reputation,
and safety is still our number-one priority at ABS. But the
reasons our clients class an offshore installation, especially
when class is not required, go far beyond the reputation for
safety ABS is probably best known for.
Those
in the offshore industry who know us, especially longtime
clients of ours, understand the multiple roles we can and
do play on projects.
There
are five main aspects – some more widely known than others
– of what class contributes to an offshore unit or project
team:
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- Safety.
Whereas designers and fabricators are driven by a number of factors
including functionality and costs, ABS has a single driver: safety.
It is our mission, and our dedication to safety means that aspects
of a facility – its structure, stability, mooring, marine
systems, production systems, load bearing components, pressure
retaining components and electrical installations – are reviewed
to ensure the safe installation and continued operation of the
facility.
- Continuity.
Where an owner or primary contractor usually utilizes a number
of subcontractors to perform various tasks, the ABS project team
assigned to a project is responsible for all aspects delegated
to us on a project’s class and regulatory reviews. The project
team includes the ABS engineers who will review hull and deck
structure to assess global and local structural details, and all
major substructures, for compliance with applicable ABS Rules
and regulatory requirements. In most cases, the same engineers
review design drawings and vendor drawings so that interrelationships
are noted and/or other issues are more likely to be identified.
- Independent
Third Party Review. Even though the owner and/or the owner’s
designer may be carrying out reviews, a complete independent third
party review, as performed by ABS in the classification process,
verifies that applicable codes and standards are complied with.
It also provides the owner with additional confirmation that the
facility complies with appropriate standards.
- Confidence
of the Industry and Governments. ABS facilitates regulatory
compliance and provides technical advice across a wide range of
industry projects, including marine, process and structural systems.
Tying together class with this regulatory expertise, ABS engineers
and surveyors can help get design and fabrication right the first
time. Additionally, governments and Flag states typically recognize
and rely on class for safety and technical expertise. In many
cases, governmental authority has been delegated to ABS to review
and approve designs and conduct surveys.
- Familiarity
with Marine Applications. ABS draws on significant ship, MODU,
TLP, FPSO and spar/DDCV experience to assist in the appropriate
development, fabrication and installation of such structures.
Additionally, a very important consideration is the long term
maintainability of these structures. ABS brings this same experience
to bear in supporting the operations of these production systems
that are routinely aimed at being kept onsite for 20 years or
more.
- International
Network. ABS has 189 offices in 59 countries worldwide. With
this worldwide distribution of staff, ABS is well positioned to
provide local call-out for monitoring fabrication in fabrication
yards and vendor plants.
But class is
only one facet of the offshore work we do today, one small facet
with the rest of our work coming from outside these traditional
parameters.
Among the ranks
of our overall organization and the Offshore Project Development
team are surveyors and engineers, feasibility experts, project managers
and risk and reliability specialists. We have industry-leading research
scientists working on issues ranging from structural hot spots onboard
FPSO conversions to mooring techniques, including the growing use
and acceptability of synthetic ropes. Our broad experience, which
encompasses every type of unit in every type of sea environment
from the North Sea and West Africa to the Caspian, has given us
insight into the best industry practices for safety and quality.
Working with
affiliated company ABS Group, we can carry out risk and reliability
studies, conduct technology and research, manage engineering verification
and asset integrity, and provide software products and services.
This, together with our research and the experience of our project
engineers and surveyors, has helped form a key component of ABS
Group’s Asset Integrity Management services, which take offshore
units from inception through construction and commissioning to decommissioning;
in other words, cradle to grave.
We do the work
that can substantially contribute to the safety and life of an offshore
installation. That, to me, is the real definition of class.
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