Humber Gateway Wind Farm Inspection, Maintenance & Repair

Customer:

Anonymous

Location:

United Kingdom

Markets:

Wind power

Scope:

Bilfinger UK's Wind Power department asked to complete several B.O.P inspections.

Requirements:

Protective external coatings for general integrity, deformations/evidence of failure and DFT checks.
Visual inspections of boat landings/fenders/rest platform/external platform - handrails, self-closing gates, walkway gratings, J tubes and cable hang offs.
Check for loose or missing bolts, visual check for deformations/signs of damage/fatigue at weld locations.
Visual inspection of coating and coating integrity, visual inspection of main connection bolts checking for corrosion and staining of paintwork adjacent to the bolts, confirm double-nut arrangement and check for evidence of movement of platform.
Cathodic inspections.
Visual detailed inspections of the internal protective coatings (MP/TP level) and basement area.
Visually inspect the airtight seals of the access hatch upon entry to the area.
Monitoring 02 and pressure in the controlled environment.
Steel thickness checks at 5 x different points in the basement and around the structure using ultrasonic equipment.
Visual inspection of the MP/TP bolted connection - checking for signs of cracking, necking, loss of thread and signs of corrosion. ‘Tap check’ bolts to check for loss of preload.
10% of the bolted connections require phased array to check for and elongation of cracking.
Undertake ultrasonic measurements of the MP/TP flange connections.
Installation of Latchway Single line retrieval wires to the access ladders of the wind turbine generator.

Services:

Given the variety of the inspections required by the client, Bilfinger UK completed the scope utilising a small multi-skilled team consisting of NDT-ANDT, Coatings (NACE qualified) Technicians confined space/rescue trained to fulfil the all scopes. The reason we were able to complete the scope on time with so few personnel, was due to Bilfinger UK having a large pool of highly trained technicians from which to deploy. The client stated that this scope in the past was undertaken by three different suppliers.

Added value:

Zero incidents reported throughout the project
Scope completed within the allocated time
One supplier completing multiple scopes resulting in less interfaces for client
Less inductions for client to undertake
Cost savings
Consistency of teams/personnel