There are three areas of the scrubber installation process that are commonly overlooked or underestimated according to Fassmer Technical Projects general manager Craig Gundry: health and safety, design and planning, and existing system modifications
Speaking at Riviera’s Maritime Air Pollution Conference, Americas, Mr Gundry made the case that the health and safety of the people running the project from the office is just as paramount to the success of the installation as that of the onboard crew. These individuals include shipowners, operators and even team members from supporting organisations.
“We all know about the importance of the safety of the crew on board, but it is also important to highlight the health and safety of the people behind the scenes who are often charged with executing large-scale installations in an unreasonable amount of time – like four months, when it should take 12,” he said.
“I have seen the effects those stresses can have. At the end of the day, we are only human,” Mr Gundry said.
Similarly, he said critical aspects of design and planning are commonly undervalued from the outset of scrubber integration projects, specifically material selection. To ensure good material choices, he said manufacturers must choose team members with enough experience to make the right decision the first time.
“Paying attention to material selection in the beginning can not only impact what you pay for later, but also the progress of the job. Certain pipe materials, for example, can maybe make your installation faster, but you will be replacing it later… I think you want to pay upfront instead of afterwards. I have dozens of people sailing on vessels to complete installations and change out wrongly suggested materials because not enough attention was paid at the front end, when it came to material selection,” he said.
Finally, Mr Gundry pointed out that, in many projects, 50% of all installation costs (both in time and materials) often can be attributed to existing system modifications. Because of that, he said it is imperative to work with organisations, shipyards and design firms that not only have a wealth of experience with a particular scrubber system, but understand all other existing vessel systems too, should other systems (such as HVAC or hydraulics, for example) be affected by the scrubber integration process.
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