Demonstrating its global appeal in a time-is-money world, BrandSafway’s QuikDeck was put to work in the Middle East recently on a large oil rig off the Arabian Peninsula. A patented and proprietary suspended access system, QuikDeck provides factory-floor-like working conditions under areas where scaffold can’t be built up from below.
In this case, a global marine and industrial services company was hired to do work on a massive oil rig that rents for more than $100,000 a day – when she’s not laid up. For the job, the rig’s owner had towed it to a remote town on the northeast shore of the Red Sea. The rig needed a range of refurbishment, including nearly 30 tons of steel replacement. Complete access to the underside of the platform was required for the work.
“We knew we wanted QuikDeck as soon as we got the purchase order,” said the contractor’s project manager, noting that his team had to scramble when the owner moved up the start date by a month. In fact, QuikDeck was so critical to the success of the project that the contractor paid to have it flown in. QuikDeck is provided exclusively by BrandSafway Services, a Wisconsin based company that serves customers around the world.
Timing critical
“It was all about time on this job. There was no leeway – the rig had to go out on schedule,” the project manager said, noting that the rig actually left port before all the work was completed, and his crew had to finish some of the painting at sea.
“It’s all about speed and safety.”
A key feature of QuikDeck, which was a big part of the reason the contractor decided to use it, is that QuikDeck can be “built in the air.” Once an initial section is in place, subsequent sections can be safely and efficiently built out from the starting point with no support from below.
“It’s just a great way to do scaffolding. It’s just brilliant, really,” the project manager said.
The 26-million-ton platform was a jack-up rig, meaning its legs move up and down: up, so that the rig floats and can be towed into position; and down, so it can sit solidly on the sea floor. During the lay-up, the legs needed to move for inspection. So while the legs could be used temporarily to get the QuikDeck platform started, the suspended access system needed to be free of the legs during the bulk of the lay-up. This situation made QuikDeck perfect for the job.
QuikDeck can handle up to 75 pounds per square foot live load. Its rigid, flat surface meant that equipment on wheels could easily be moved. Another advantage of the solid, unobstructed surface is that the 130 people working on the project were secure and safe at all times, and because they felt secure, they were more productive. Additionally, the large, continuous factory-floor-like surface makes it easy to contain materials, including debris from blasting and grinding.
Results delivered
The team began work in late 2014, just three days after being mobilized. Crews worked around the clock, 24 hours a day, and the entire job, including surface prep, painting, adding pipes and reinforcing the helideck with additional steel, was completed, with no safety incidents, just 35 days later.
The rig’s owner was highly impressed with what the contractor was able to do with QuikDeck, and the contractor is keeping the QuikDeck equipment in the region in anticipation of “quite a bit more work there,” in part because, in bidding on jobs, QuikDeck gives them a considerable advantage on time. “When working on marine assets that rent for tens of thousands of dollars a day it’s all about speed and safety,” he notes.
“It’s just a great way to do
scaffolding. It’s just brilliant, really.”
BrandSafway’s QuikDeck Division Manager Jerry Dolly noted this was the first use of QuikDeck in the Middle East. He said BrandSafway is looking forward to supporting future projects with QuikDeck and other innovative BrandSafway access products in the future.
