Offshore staff
OSLO, Norway– DNV is looking for partners for a joint industry project (JIP) on jacking gears for self-elevating drilling rigs and jackups.
Main focus will be on defining best practices for maintenance and inspection of jacking gears, which DNV claims are often neglected onboard.
“The consequences of jacking gear failure range from the operator being unable to reposition the platform to logistical challenges in correcting the failure,” said Michiel van der Geest, DNV’s offshore class product manager.
“The worst case scenario is if the failure occurs in the middle of a jacking operation, as this may lead to an unstable platform that is prone to wave impacts…Facing these risks, the need for professional follow-up in the inspection and maintenance of jacking gear is obvious, but not directly straightforward from a practical point of view.”
Problems include the high turnover of people with the required knowledge onboard, the evolving nature of the systems, and the operator prioritizing the production process and other onboard systems, he added.
DNV and Dutch company WillTeco have initiated a project to improve the inspection and maintenance of jacking gears.
The JIP’s goal is to develop a recommended practice document that describes the solution to achieve higher availability, at the same time reducing the risk of jacking gear failure. It will also examine overall jacking system life cycle costs.
Data will be compiled an analyzed on near-incidents, with a review of current inspection and maintenance work supported by risk-based modeling, leading finally to a definition of best practices.
4/15/2013
