December 22, 2023
by Jason Bricker, Level 1 Thermographer, IRISS Inc.
Overview
Recently, the chief electrician of a large offshore drilling company realized the
problems his staff were having performing safe and efficient infrared inspections on
their electrical equipment. In order to comply with the corporate safety policy for
mandatory inspections on the drillship, he hired multiple consultants to explore
faster and safer alternatives. Ty Keeth, Level III Thermographer, IRISS Certified
Installer, representing Offshore Inspection Group, was from one of the companies
attempting to solve the problem.
After Ty analyzed the electrical equipment on the drillship, he quickly realized that
there were only visual viewing windows and no sign of any infrared inspection
windows. According to Ty, “There are a unique set of problems on a drillship with the
main concerns being the safe and reliable operation of power distribution assets on
the ship. It is a major undertaking to turn off equipment.” As a result, any inspections
take a considerable amount of manpower and time.
At the time Ty was contacted, the process for one inspection involved:
With this complex process, the time involved in performing an inspection on
one electrical asset was between four to six hours.
The drillship had six thruster transformers, six mud transformers, six drilling
transformers and 66 high-voltage switchgear cabinets. There were approximately 30
different types of equipment needing to be inspected. Due to the volume, the existing
inspection process took three to five people between two to three weeks to perform.
Another consulting firm suggested that standard 6-inch IR windows be installed in
front and back of the heavy switchgear equipment, but this would require multiple
significant modifications to the existing panels that would be both time-consuming
and could jeopardize the enclosure integrity.
The better solution was proposed by Ty Keeth. He took the time to analyze how
the IRISS FlexIR Custom Windows could be a bespoke design to require negligible
enclosure modifications and save the company both on installation labor and IR
window procurement cost. He was able to accomplish this by replacing the existing
visual viewing windows in the switchgear with the IRISS FlexIR Custom Windows that
allow both infrared inspection and visual inspection through the clear reinforced
polymer optic.
The cost-benefit of performing the infrared inspections was phenomenal. The total
inspection time was reduced to one person inspecting all equipment over three to
five days. Over 90% of the inspection labor hours were eliminated by implementing
the IRISS FlexIR Custom Windows. It’s estimated that the IR window investment was
paid for within two inspection cycles after installation.