Author: Maria Lusardi

Foreign Material Exclusion

  • August 27, 2018
  • Maria Lusardi
  • Comments Off on Foreign Material Exclusion

What is Foreign Material?

To put it in a simply, Foreign Material is any material that does not belong. For this discussion, we are going to focus on industrial lubricants and service contractors.

Common Foreign Materials in this category can include anything from:

  • Particulates
  • Comingled lubricants
  • Lint / fibers
  • Moisture

Where does foreign material come from?

Foreign Material can come from many locations including but not limited to:

  • Dust, dirt, airborne particles while a system is open
  • Rice Paper (Weld Purge Paper)
  • Rags, Oil Pads
  • Improper draining and storage of equipment and fittings.
  • Welding, grinding activities

How do you protect yourself?

As with any service, the work performed is only as good as the contractor you use. What does that mean?

  • Does your contractor understand Foreign Material Exclusion?
  • Do they use proper techniques to drain equipment and hoses going from one site to another?
  • How does the contractor maintain their equipment? Is it in good working order and presentable.
  • Are the materials they bring in good condition? Are they carbon-steel or stainless? If carbon, are they rust free?
  • How are the contractors transporting their hoses? Are they blinded and drained?
  • Does the contractor perform a final inspection when performing reservoir cleaning to verify all material are removed? In extreme cases, do they inventory items in and out of reservoir?

What can you do?

First and foremost, ask questions.

  • What precautions does your company take for Foreign Material Exclusion?
  • What type of product was in your system last?
  • Will you need 100 gallons (example) to purge out your hoses and equipment?

Secondly, do not hesitate to inspect equipment upon arrival. Make sure the contractor understands FME is a priority to your site and include in the plan.

At RIG, we pride ourselves in being solutions providers. Using proper FME techniques is one way we ensure we bring our technical expertise to our clients. Always verify proper FME processes are followed and you can save both time and money when executing lubrication related services.

For more information on how RIG can help with your lubrication services please call 800-770-4510.

RIG Emphasis on Pre-Commissioning Safety

  • August 26, 2018
  • Maria Lusardi
  • Comments Off on RIG Emphasis on Pre-Commissioning Safety

At RIG, pre-commissioning safety is paramount, and we have put measures in place to reduce the risk of injury and damage to personnel and equipment. Safety is important to us because it protects our crew (whom we like, or else we wouldn’t employ them) and it protects you from liability and risk.

Our crew takes ownership and responsibility for their safety and wellbeing on every worksite. They are trained to be observant and detect potential hazards, reporting any instances that could cause injury to personnel or damage to equipment. Precautions taken during every phase of the job, from pre-commissioning through completion, ensure successful delivery of your services.

Things we do to create a safe work environment while on-site include:

  • Hire only highly trained MLA 1 & MLA2 trained & certified technicians that we trust to be on our crew — all of our guys have proven on-site safety track records
  • Use high-quality materials and proper tools to reduce the risk of leaks and injuries
  • Always wear proper PPE onsite including steel-toed boots, hard hats, flame-retardant clothing, safety glasses, and hearing protection equipment
  • Conduct internal safety observations and daily safety tool box talks
  • Lock-out tag-out any equipment before maintenance
  • Walk-down the site before any job to pre-plan procedures and address any logistics so there are no surprises
  • Pre-meet with your site coordinator to discuss and plan for further safety precautions to prepare our technicians ahead of time

We proactively pursue our goal of zero quality defects, environmental incidents and OSHA recordable incidents. We do our due diligence to create and maintain a safe working environment throughout our time on-site. By taking the necessary precautions and following the proper procedures from day one, we significantly reduce the risk and liability for you while making sure our valuable crew members make it home safely.

For more information, or if you have any questions, contact one of our certified technicians today at 800-770-4510.

The #1 Thing Most EPC’s Forget that Will Cost You Later

  • August 25, 2018
  • Maria Lusardi
  • Comments Off on The #1 Thing Most EPC’s Forget that Will Cost You Later

Did you remember to plan access points for pre-commissioning and cleaning procedures? You would be surprised how many EPC’s can’t answer this with a yes. Why does it matter? Can’t we just find a way to get in there and clean the system anyway?

Closed systems with no access points at all are fairly common. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve had to cut into existing piping or, occasionally, couldn’t clean a system at all because there was simply no way in. The problem with either of those scenarios is that you are stuck with two crappy choices: spend money ripping apart process equipment/piping or significantly lower the lifetime value and ROI of your systems by not properly cleaning them.

There is a better way!  Pre-engineering for pre-commissioning and cleaning. In other words, planning for future system cleaning. When should you start planning for this? As early as possible. Bringing your pre-commissioning partners into the early drawing development and P&ID designs will save lots of headaches down the line and improve your overall project outcome. Our team has many years of experience cleaning all types of systems, and that real-world knowledge can help shape piping and plant designs that mean debris, mill scale, varnish and contaminates don’t ruin a perfectly good plant.

If you are an EPC, this means you have a lot less redesigning to explain to your end-client. As an end-client, this reduces unplanned expenses and ensures systems are running at peak conditions as long as a possible. For us, it means we can do our jobs more effectively and help plants stay clean and safe. A win-win-win if we’ve ever heard of one!

To learn more about our pre-engineering for pre-commissioning services, contact us or call: 800-770-4510.

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