29/6/2016 WritingSafetyIntoYourCoatingSpecification

WritingSafetyIntoYourCoatingSpecification
ByMarkDavidson,Eng.,December22,2015

Takeaway:Safetyshouldbeaprimaryconsiderationinanycoatingspecification,becauseeveryoneinvolvedina
coatingprojecthastherighttoreturnhomeattheendofthedayinjustasgoodastateofhealthaswhentheywentto
work.

Thisisthe10thand
finalarticleinourin
depthseriestitled,
"HowtoWriteaGreat
CoatingSpecification."
Thisinstallmentis
basedonarecent
interviewwith
corrosionand
protectivecoatings
expert,Mark
Davidson.

Insafety,asforall
otherconsiderations
pertainingtoa
coatingsproject,the
specifiermustfirstgo
backtothedesign
basisbeforewritinga
TSAoperatoronmobilescaffolding.
coatings
Source:MarkDavidson
specificationforeither
newprojectworkor
maintenancepainting.Thedesignbasisorequivalentdocumentscontaintheownershealth,safetyandenvironment
(HSE)philosophyandrequirements,anddefinehowsafetyconsiderationswillimpact:

Theselectionofcoatingmaterials
Thehazardsthatapplicatorsmaybeexposedtoduringtheconstructionormodificationofstructures,aswellas
lateroninthelifeofthestructure

CoatingTypesandHazards
Anumberofoperators,certainlyinNorway,havestoppedusingpolyurethanebasedtopcoatsbecauseoftherecognized
andwelldocumentedrisksassociatedwithexposuretoisocyanatesduringapplication.Therearegoodpracticesin
placeforlimitingexposurerisksforapplicators.

Itiswellrecognizedthatisocyanatescangiveofftoxicvaporswhentheythermallydecompose.Heatingcanbecaused
bycoatingremovalwithagrinder,orthecuttingofcoatingsduringstructuralmodificationsparticularlynowwiththe
decommissioningofagingoffshorestructuresandfacilities.Thereisalotofcuttingdone,usuallybygascuttingor
grinding,andthatheatcausesthethermaldecompositionofpolyurethanes.

Inthelastfewyears,certainauthoritiesandoperatorsinNorwayhaveprohibitedtheuseofpolyurethanes.Thatpractice
isbeingadoptedbyothercompaniesoperatingthere.

OnapreviousprojectwhereIwasinvolved,thecoatingspecificationrequiredthatpolyurethanebasedcoatingsnotbe
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used.Thatrestrictionwasactuallywrittenintothespecification,andimplementedbythecoatingcontractor,themain
29/6/2016 WritingSafetyIntoYourCoatingSpecification

fabricatorsandthemajorityoftheequipmentsuppliersforthatproject.

Sucharestrictionensuresthatanybodywhohastoworkonormodifythatparticularcoatingsystemisexposedtomuch
lessriskthanifpolyurethanebasedcoatingswereused.

Theseissuesneedtoberecognizedearlyoninthedesignofaproject,andwrittenintoadocumentlikethedesign
basis.Thenhealthandsafetyrequirementswillbecarriedthroughintothecoatingspecification.

RegulatorySafetyRequirements
Anotherimportantfactorthatimpactssafetyinacoatingspecificationiseachcountry'sregulatoryorstatutory
requirements.

Forexample,ifyouhavemaintenancepaintingbeingdoneinaplantinaparticularcountry,thenitiseasytoincorporate
statutoryrequirementsintoaprojectspecificoractivityspecificcoatingspecification.Itiseasybecausetheplantowner
willknowexactlywhatthestatutoryrequirementsare.Thereforetheowner,theprojectengineerortheprojectmanager
caninformthecoatingengineerorspecificationwriterexactlywhatthestatutoryrequirementsare.Thesecanthenbe
includedandreferencedinthecoatingspecification.

However,ifaspecificationisbeingwrittenforanewbuildproject,whichwillhaveequipmentsuppliedfromdifferent
regionsoftheworld,itismoredifficulttospecify.Generalstatementshavetobeincludedforexample,"Thenecessary
safetyprecautionsshallbetaken,basedonthelocalewheretheworkisbeingdone."

Thiscanrelatetostatutorysafetyprecautionsrequiredfor:

Properstorageandhandlingofcoatingmaterials
Correctuseandmaintenanceofpressureequipment,compressors,airreceivers,blasthoses
Correctuseofrestrainingclamps,chains,scaffolding,staging

Factorssuchastheerectionandmaintenanceofscaffoldingareextremelyimportanttoworkersafety,butnotall
precautionsaremandatoryinallcountries.Forinstance,theuseofdeadmanhandlesonblastinghosesismandatoryin
somecountries,butnotarequirementinothercountries.

OnaprojectwhereIparticipated,theuseofdeadmanhandleswasnotrequiredbylocalregulators,buttheownerasked
forittobeimplementedanditwas.Inthisway,theownerwasdemonstrating"dutyofcare"fortheblastersdoingthat
particularwork.

Otherrequirementsmaybewrittenintothespecificationtoprotectpersonnelagainst:

Damagetohearing,eyesight,respiratorysystem
Explosiveatmospheres

Allofthishastobewrittenintothecoatingspecificationsothatitcanthenbeincludedingreaterdetailintheapplicator
ortheconstructioncontractor'sprocedures.

MetalizingHazards
Thereareotherhazardsdependingoncoatingsystemtypes,whichhaveparticularrisksassociatedwiththem.For
instance,thermallysprayedaluminum(TSA)orthermallysprayedzinc(TSZ)requireearprotection.

Electricarcmetalizingequipmentcanproduceveryhighlevelsofnoiseupto110decibels.Itisthereforeimportant
thatthermalsprayoperatorshaveproperhearingprotectionthathasbeentestedandshowntobeeffective.

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29/6/2016 WritingSafetyIntoYourCoatingSpecification

LightfromTSA

applicationnecessitatestheuseofprotectiveeyegear.

Ultravioletandinfraredradiationareemittedduringmetallizing,soapplicatorsmusthaveairfeedhoodsormaskswith
therightfilterstoprotecttheireyesight.Othergasesaregenerated,suchasozoneandnitrogenoxides,sotherehasto
beadequateventilationtomakesurethatallofthosegasesarecarriedoutfromtheworkarea.

Allpersonalprotectiveequipment(PPE)mustbeinspectedatintervalsrecommendedbythemanufacturerandreplaced
whenexpiredoriffaulty.

SurfacePreparationHazards
Dustisgeneratedinsurfacepreparation,sotherehastobeeffectivedustextractionintheblastingshopsorareas
wheretheworkisdone.Dusthastobeextractedbysuction,thencollectedanddisposedofinaccordancewithlocal
regulations.Thecontainmentofcontaminantsisimportantforworkersafety.

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29/6/2016 WritingSafetyIntoYourCoatingSpecification

Spentabrasives

contamination.

Dust,cuttingmaterials,blastmediaandsteelshavingsremovedfromsubstratesduringprofilingmustbecontainerized
sothattheydon'tescapeandaffectotherworkers.

Anotheraspectthatisnolessimportantistopreventthesematerialsfromgettingoutintotheplantanddamagingother
equipment.Thatisabigconcern,particularlywithmechanicalandrotatingequipment,whichcanbedamaged
byabrasivesanddust.

EnsuringSafetyinConfinedSpaces
Anotherimportantsafetyaspectinthecoatingspecificationisworkinginconfinedspaces.Inarefineryorplant,there
arepressurevessels,tanksandotherequipmentthatrequireregularinspection,andtheoperatingcompanywillhave
veryspecificconfinedspaceworkingprocedures.

Confinedspaceprocedureswouldconsidersurfacepreparationandcoatingactivitiesperformedinsidepressurevessels
andtanks.HSEprocedureswouldaddresstheneedto:

Cleanoutinternalareas
Conductgastestingtoensurethatanyflammableorexplosivevaporsarebelowthelowerexplosivelimit(LEL)
Useventilationsystemstokeepairmovingthroughtheworkarea
Provideaccess/egresspointslikehatchesorcoverssothatworkerscangetinoroutoftheseclosedspaces
easilyintheeventofanemergency

Firstrespondersalsoneedproperaccess/egresstoandfromtankorvesselinteriors,inordertoextractpeopleincase
ofanemergency.Adequateaccess/egressmustbeincludedinthedesignbasisandtheeventualdesignofthepressure
vesselsorthetanks.

Asanexamplefromapastproject,therewereanumberofindecktanksbuiltintothedrillingmoduleforstoringvarious
processmaterials.Someofthetankshadtobeslightlyredesignedtocreateadequateaccessforfutureinspectionsand
operations,andtoallowspaceforlargeairextractionnozzlesandequipmenttobeconnected.Alloftheirhatches 4/5
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29/6/2016 WritingSafetyIntoYourCoatingSpecification

neededtoberedesigned.

Thisallcomesbacktothedesignbasisthatconsidersnotonlytherequirementsfortheoperationallifeofavesselor
tankdesign,butalsowhatisrequiredforcoatingsworkduringnewconstructionandlatermaintenancepainting.

Eventhoughtheconfinedspaceworkmayformaverysmallsegmentoftheoveralllifeofavessel,itisstillanextremely
importantconsiderationinvesseldesign.

SafetyLiabilities
Ifthespecificationonaparticularprojecthasmadespecificrequirementsthatperhapsresultinaninjury,itispossible
thatthewriter/ownerofthatspecificationmaybeliableforanydamagesresultingfromthatinjury.However,ifthe
specificationisverythoroughandstatesparticularprecautionstobetaken,andtheyarenottaken,theliabilitycouldbe
withthepartythatisshowntohaveignoredthoserecommendationsorrequirements.

Safetycontributestooverallvalue,andshouldnotbeconsideredacost.Oneofthebiggestassetsthatanownerhasis
his/herworkforcesowithoutthis,nothinghappens.Itisabsolutelyvitalthattheworkforceoperatesinasafemannerso
thattheycancomebacktoworkthenextday.

Workingsafelyisnotdifficult.Itjusttakesarecognitionofthehazardsbyallparties,creationandimplementationofthe
rightprocedures,andtheuseofapplicableprotectiveequipment.Thensafetybecomessecondnatureandapartofthe
organization'sculture.

***
Moreinthe"HowtoWriteaGreatCoatingSpecification"series:

CoatingsSpecifications,Good,BadorUgly:LouVincentQ&A
WhyitsaMistaketoReuseOldCoatingSpecs:LouVincentQ&A
WhoParticipatesinSelectingEqualCoatingProducts?
ConditionSurveyTheBackboneofaGoodCoatingSpecification
DefiningServiceRequirements&EnvironmentalFactorsforCoatingSpecification
DefiningClientObjectivesforCoatingsSpecification
Methods&PitfallsinSelectingCoatingSystemsforSpecification
Tightrope:IdentifyingLimitingConditionsforCoatingsSpecification
ProblemsCausedbytheLackofClarity&DefinitioninCoatingSpecifications

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