 |
OFFSHORE E-NEWS
May 2000
|
 |
DEMAND
FOR ABS CERTIFICATION OF
DRILLING SYSTEMS HAS INCREASED SHARPLY
Lynnda Pekel,
front, and Bret Montaruli help clients coordinate the high volume
of certifications on large offshore projects |
ABS
has seen a marked increase in the number of owners requiring
certification of equipment, particularly the drilling packages,
onboard FPSOs and MODUs. While part of the reason relates to
statutory requirements for North Sea and other locations, many
owners are now certifying equipment with ABS because it can
reduce costs and save time, said ABS Engineer Lynnda Pekel of
the ABS Vendor Coordination Program. |
Certifying vendor
equipment results in an additional class notation and can reduce
the incidence of equipment arriving at an offshore installation
site uncertified and possibly unfit for its intended usage, thus
causing costly delays.
In the past
fifteen years, offshore work has matured to such a degree that,
today, a single project can have as many as 75 to 100 vendors as
well as third, fourth and fifth-level subvendors. With the growing
complexity of offshore equipment, the need for equipment to operate
effectively within a larger system and the expense that is incurred
when it does not operate as required, more owners and operators
are turning to certification as a means to exercise greater control.
"In a sense,
certifying vendor equipment provides added certainty," said
Bret Montaruli, ABS Manager of Engineering Services. "There
is always a need on the part of the owner to reduce as many unknowns
as possible and that’s one of the reasons why ABS certification
of vendor equipment has grown at the rate it has."
The increasing
demand for vendor certification helped create the ABS Vendor Coordination
Program, which streamlines certification by working closely with
a client and its vendors to smooth the process.
Explained Pekel,
"We take a very proactive role, sometimes calling a vendor
everyday to find out the status on equipment, when it will reach
us so we can review and certify it. This piece of equipment is just
one of hundreds that will eventually end up onboard the vessel or
unit, and we do the same thing for every piece. We like to keep
the client fully informed of the progress. We have a same-day answer
policy. When a client or vendor needs to know status, we find out
and reply within 24 hours."
The overall
goal, said Bret Montaruli, Manager of Engineering Services, is "to
make certain that everybody knows where things stand. Our hope is
that by communicating this, every piece of equipment covered by
class arrives at the project site with no outstandings."
Pekel and the
Vendor Coordination team have become an integral part of the overall
projects they help coordinate.
The cost of
the Vendor Coordination Program is borne by vendors. The class fee
charged to the owners or builders is not impacted by the program.
To find out
more about vendor equipment certification and the Vendor Coordination
Program, contact Bret Montaruli or Lynnda Pekel at 1-281-877-6217,
or email lpekel@eagle.org.
To learn more
about a free, upcoming ABS seminar on Equipment Approval for
the Offshore Industry, contact Norm Wallace at nwallace@eagle.org
or phone 1-281-877-6600.
|
