Symposium Report - Yorkshire Branch

Brendan Fitzsimon from Pyeroy Ltd then spoke on the subject of project management, beginning with a description of the ‘perfect’ project manager, before discussing the realities of project management in the coatings sector. Brendan explained how good project management permeates all aspects of any undertaking, including preparing a specification, cost control, time management, training, equipment requirements and health and safety. His presentation finished with a cautionary description of the ‘psychopathic’ coating inspector who, according to Brendan, has invariably been there/done that, knows everything, tells you how it should have been done after it has gone wrong, etc. Judging by the murmured responses from some delegates, such characters are not a myth!

The final speaker before lunch was Steve Davies from Rema Tip Top who gave a presentation on surface preparation and coating application. Steve provided an overview of the standards applicable to surface preparation, with a comprehensive discourse on the requirements of BS EN 14879. This six-part standard provides guidelines on aspects such as permissible design features, substrate imperfections and weld imperfections. Steve then went on to discuss some of the issues surrounding abrasive blast cleaning and the additional need to test for (and remove) non-visible impurities such as soluble salts, organics and acids.

Following the lunch break, Dave Griffiths from Griffiths Associates spoke about quality control. He quoted ‘Old Nick’s Law’ which suggests that the causes of coating system failure can be attributed to surface preparation, application efficiency and material selection, giving each of these factors ‘weightings’ of 65%, 25% and 10%, respectively. To this list Dave also added in-service failures caused by design shortcomings, poor specification, misuse and lack of maintenance. He placed particular emphasis on the need for a good specification as a starting point for a successful project but thought that the instance of poor specifications was increasing. He quoted numerous examples of how a poorly worded specifications can lead to confusion and, ultimately, premature failure of the coating system. These included using the term ‘average coating thickness’ without considering variations in the coating thickness caused by surface roughness. He followed this by explaining how a magnetic coating thickness gauge can give different reading depending on the calibration technique used.

Recurring themes throughout the day were the need to minimize corrosion problems by careful design and manufacture of components or products and the importance of preparing well-written specifications for coating projects. Comments from both speakers and delegates suggested that the latter is of particular concern. It is apparent that a ‘Back to Basics’ approach to educating designers, specifiers and contractors is required if the economic impact of corrosion is to be reduced.