Fabric Maintenance of Structural Beams underneath Mining Jetty

Overview

iasgroup was part of an alliance that was awarded a inspection, access, blast, paint and remediation scope on a mining jetty in the north west of Western Australia. The jetty is critical to loading product onto ships and the transportation of goods to market.

The beams underneath the jetty are exposed to a highly corrosive environment given its coastal proximity, and were coated in a lead based paint. The client required significant life extension for this critical distribution asset, whilst removing the hazardous coating in a safe and environmentally friendly manner.

Scope

The project had the following specifications:

Structure	Jetty
Application Type	Blast, paint and structural reinstatement
Operating Environment	Marine
Quantity	180 Primary, secondary and bracing steel members
Remediation Area	340 m2
Method	Web Decking Low Dust Dry Abrasive Blasting - Sponge-JetTM Protective Coating FRP Structural Steel Repairs

Solution

• Access involved web decking, which provided a suspended working platform underneath the jetty
• Sponge-Jet^TM low dust abrasive blasting to remove existing damaged coating system, rust & contaminants, create a surface cleanliness of Sa 2.5 and a profile of 50 microns
• Stripe coating for areas with difficult geometries, such as connections, to ensure consistent and complete coverage of new protective coating
• Spray applied protective coatings for remaining areas of the beams
• Customised inspection and test plan developed to ensure the highest standards of QA and QC were maintained at all times during the blast and paint scope
• Fabrication and installation of steelwork

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Benefits

• Multi-disciplined fabric maintenance solution provided suitable life extension for the client
• Web decking provided a more cost effective, efficient installation, with a reduced dead load on the structure than traditional scaffolding
• Sponge-Jet^TM provided a significantly lower cost option for this application than traditional garnet blasting
• Sponge-Jet^TM reduced the lead level (µg/dl) effects of workers, 36 x less than industry requirements
• Sponge-Jet^TM typically provides 90% reduction in emissions due to vacuum effect and absorption of the sponge media, and 10 x less waste and disposal due to recycling of the media
• Sponge-Jet^TM provides for a lower footprint than traditional garnet equipment and materials. This allowed the blasting component of the job to be under the weight limitations of the jetty
• Sponge-Jet^TM also allowed the ability for other trades to work nearby
• Highly experienced and knowledgeable blast and paint applicators delivered a high quality outcome in challenging operating environment
• All works were delivered safely (without incident or accident)