29/6/2016 WhyitsaMistaketoReuseOldCoatingSpecs:LouVincentQ&A

WhyitsaMistaketoReuseOldCoatingSpecs:Lou
VincentQ&A
BySandyRice,May8,2015

Takeaway:CoatingsexpertLouVincentsaysthedevilisinthedetailsforcoatingspecificationwriters.Inthisexclusive
interview,heexploresacommonerrorthatcanresultinprematurecoatingfailuresandputassetsatriskofcorrosion.

PastpresidentofNACEInternationalLouisD.Vincenthas57yearsexperiencein
thecoatingsindustryandisawellknownteacherandrenownedauthorof
referencemanualsthathaveinfluencedcorrosionprofessionalsfordecades.
Vincentsbackgroundspanssales,marketing,technicalservice,manufacturing,
R&D,failureanalysis,consultingandexecutivepositionswithseveralinternational
coatingsmanufacturers.

Overthepastsixdecades,thedevelopmentofcoatingspecificationbestpractices
hasmarchedinstepwiththeevolutionofprotectivecoatings,informedbylessons
fromthefieldacrossthespectrumofindustriesimpactedbyinfrastructure
corrosion.Thisinterviewispartofacontinuingseriesexploringthedetailsof
"WhatMakesaGreatCoatingSpec."
LouVincent
Q:Whywouldcoatingspecwritersreuseoldspecificationsfromprevious
projects?

A:Unfortunately,thishappensmuchtoooften.Whetheritisaprojectmanageroranengineerwithathirdparty
engineeringfirm,thereasonsarehardtojustify.

Itiseasyforaprojectmanagertosay,"Wehaveusedthisspecificationmanytimesanditworks."Soratherthantaking
thetimeandefforttoresearchthepotentialdifferenceswiththisprojectfromtheonesonwhichthisspecificationwas
previouslyused,he/shesimplytakesoutabottleofwhiteoutorcranksuptheeditfunctionontheircomputerand
changesthenameandlocationofthespecificationbutleaveseverythingelseessentiallythesameasbefore.

PriortotheproliferationofcomputersIreferredtothisastheXeroxSyndrome.Copyandpasteandvoila,anew
specificationandhe/shedidnothavetopayanengineertowriteit.Anengineerwithathirdpartyengineeringcompany
mightusethistoinflatehisbillabletime.Hecanbillforanormalamountofhoursforsuchatask,yetonlyhavetoinvest
asmallportionoftimeactuallywritingthespecification.

Q:Isspecificationwritingcostly?

A:Itcanbe.Iftheprojectislargeandhasseveraldifferentfacilitieswithintheproject,thespecificationmayrequire
expertisefromchemists,structuralengineers,civilengineersandcoatingsspecialists,etc.

However,itdoesnothavetobecostlyifthepersonorpersonswritingthespecificationusetheavailableexpertisewithin
theircompanyanddotheproperresearchonsiteconditionswheretheprojectwillbebuiltorwhereitwillserve,before
actuallywritingthespecification.Thereisnothingwrongwithusinganoldspecificationasatemplatetomakesureall
thecriticalsurfacesareconsideredwhilewritingthespecificationforthenewproject.

Specificationwritingisonlyexpensivewhenitisnotdoneproperly.Itshouldbeconsideredasaninvestment,notasa
cost.

Q:So,thereusedspecmightbeforasimilarinfrastructurebutinaverydifferentserviceenvironment?

A:Thereinliesthefallacyofsimplyeditinganoldspecificationinsteadofcreatinganewone.

Forexample,aspecificationforafertilizerplantwrittenbyanengineeringfirmspecificallyforasiteintheSouthern
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UnitedStates(thatwillbebuiltbyafabricatorintheU.S.)willhaveahighprobabilityoffacilitatingasuccessfulproject
29/6/2016 WhyitsaMistaketoReuseOldCoatingSpecs:LouVincentQ&A

withapredicableservicelifeforthatfacility.

However,ifthatsameownerdecidestobuildanidenticalfertilizerplantinaforeigncountythatwillbeopenforbidsby
fabricatorsincountriessuchasKorea,Brazil,ChinaorGermany,thespecificationwritermusttakeintoconsideration
severalfactorsthatareverydifferentfromthoseoftheplantdesignedandbuiltintheU.Sforamanufacturingsiteinthe
U.S.

Q:Whatfactorsareaffectedbysitespecifics?

A:Everysingleaspectoftheprojectmustbeinvestigatedtoavoidcostlysurprises.

Thefollowingareseveralconditionsthatmustbetakenintoconsiderationinordertocreatea"sitespecificspecification."
Thislistisnotcompletethelistmustalsobesitespecificinordertotakeintoconsiderationlocalconstraintstoa
successfulproject.

HowdifferentistheclimateintheproposednewsitecomparedtotheoneintheU.S?
Howdifferentaretheconstructionpracticesofthefabricatorsthatwillbeinvitedtobidontheproject?
Howskilledistheworkforceofboththepotentialfabricatorsandthepotentialcontractorsthatwillbeinvitedtobid
ontheinstallationofthefacilities?
Whichcoatingmanufacturershavetrulyglobalmanufacturingandservicefacilitiesbothinthepotentialfabrication
locationandthefinalsite?
Whatisthequalityofsteelthatisreadilyavailableinthepotentialfabricationsites?
Whatistheavailabilityandqualityreputationofsubcontractorsforsuchitemsascompressors,generatorsand
otheressentialsubcomponentsofthefacilitythatwillbeassembledatthesite?
Whataretheenvironmentalandworkerhealthregulationsatboththefabricationsiteandthefinalfacilitysiteand
howwillthataffectthechoiceofmaterialsandcontractors?

Q:Canyoutellusaboutatypicalcasewherereusinganoldspecificationcontributedtopoorcoating
performance?

A:Pipelinestotransportbothcrudeoilandnaturalgasarecommoninvariouspartsoftheworld.Quiteoftenthese
involvetheuseofsolventfreehighbuildepoxycoatingsonthegirthweldsand/orflangejointsofpipethatwasoriginally
coatedwithfusionbondedepoxy(FBE)inaproductionfacilityinonepartoftheworldandtransportedtoanotherpartof
theworldforfinalinstallation.

Thesegirthweldepoxieshaveanexcellenttrackrecordinclimatesthathaveafairlywarmtemperatureonanannual
basis.FailureshaveoccurredwhenthepipewasformedandcoatedwithFBEintheUSAortheFarEastandthefinal
installationwasinacountrythathadsubzeroweatherconditionsthroughoutthefall,winterandearlyspring.

The100%solids(solventfree)epoxysimplywouldnotcurebelowabout40F(~5C).Insomecases,portabletents
hadtobeconstructedovereachgirthweldsothecoatingcouldbeheatcuredwithhotairfromportablepropanefired
heaters.Insomecases,theepoxywasreplacedwithspeciallyformulated100%volumesolidspolyureacoatings.

***
Moreinthe"HowtoWriteaGreatCoatingSpecification"series:

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