20-03-2013

SGS comprehensive corrosion services for South African Engen refinery

SGS has received a contract for rope access maintenance and inspection services from Engen for the preservation and corrosion protection of storage tanks and piping insulation at its refinery in South Africa.

Over the last three years, SGS has been awarded several projects to provide diverse services at the Engen refinery and, provided SGS delivers the continued quality service to which our client has grown accustomed to, does not anticipate an end-date to this particular project demanding continual maintenance.

In February 2013 alone, Engen has chosen SGS to complete in excess of twenty different projects at the refinery due to the professional and invaluable services SGS provides. Ground-breaking and unique SGS methods of protecting equipment from corrosion by means of rope access is saving Engen money on costs traditionally generated by expensive scaffolding.

SGS experts will remove old paint and rust on the storage tank exteriors with an ultra-high pressure (UHP) water jetting system. These surfaces will be repainted via qualified rope access as well as a customized tank crawler for which SGS is the singular provider in South Africa.

SGS Corrosion Monitoring
Due to harsh operating and environmental conditions and corrosive chemicals, industrial equipment installations and plants are all subject to high rates of corrosion which can lead to structural damage, leakage, costly repair, lost or contaminated products, environmental contamination, risk to personnel and decreased public confidence. SGS corrosion monitoring services continually focus on critical equipment to avoid catastrophic failure and maintain safe and reliable operations. In South Africa, highly qualified SGS engineers, certified inspectors and material specialists will develop a unique corrosion management strategy to meet the specific needs for the Engen refinery. SGS will bring unrivaled experience, knowledge and equipment necessary to offer a full range of corrosion monitoring services. SGS experts will detect and monitor corrosion to determine corrosion rates, identify potentially hazardous conditions, locate structural defects and flag material non-compliance.

SGS strategies will promote a proactive culture of safety and substantially reduce maintenance costs. SGS professionals will calculate the remaining life of equipment and implement cost-effective inspection and maintenance programs for items with a high probability for failure. SGS solutions will ensure the integrity and safety of the Engen refinery assets and contribute to the successful health, safety and environmental (HSE) management program.

SGS Industrial Rope Access
Locations such as off-shore farms and industrial plants and buildings often prove difficult for inspectors to access. SGS industrial rope access services offer safe inspection, testing and structural surveys in areas or heights proposing such difficulties. SGS rope access services assist in carrying out essential inspection, testing and survey work of hard-to-reach assets quickly and safely with minimal disruption to other operations while offering a cost-effective alternative to traditional access methods such as scaffolding or mobile elevated work platforms.

A leader among industrial rope access services providers, SGS boasts an exemplary safety record. SGS technicians undergo extensive training and independent assessment every three years. In addition, SGS membership in the Industrial Rope Access Trade Association (IRATA) guarantees all rope training and operational work compliant with international guidelines.

SGS will conduct thorough external inspections with the unique method of implementing rope access along with tank crawler capabilities to save time and ultimately reduce cost in the maintenance of tank surface paint coatings at the Engen refinery.

SGS is proud to serve Engen in this particular project promoting industrial safety in South Africa.