The Engineering Business Rises To The Challenge
The importance of time spent in developing management skills, including the ability to look ahead and plan for any contingency, has paid off for The Engineering Business Ltd (EB). An unprecedented growth in business has called for the delivery of 2,000 tonnes of equipment by late summer 2006.
The first 2006 shipment to take place was a 3,000 tonne-capacity pipeline carousel weighing 600 tonnes that was recently delivered to Subsea 7 from EB's Teesside facility - other major shipments for the offshore oil and gas and marine renewable energy industries will take place over the next four months.
"A major feather in our cap was that this high quality, high performance carousel system took just 36 weeks from our first kick off meeting with Subsea 7 through to delivery," explains Dr Tony Trapp, EB's Managing Director.
EB won the turnkey contract from Subsea 7 for the design, build and commissioning of the 3,000 tonne capacity pipeline carousel – for flexible pipe or umbilical cable - with all associated spooling equipment and a number of innovative features. The brief was to supply a high quality system that would allow Subsea 7 to complete installation projects in the most cost effective and efficient manner – key design drivers were ensuring reliability, ease of mobilisation and the ability to use the carousel on a wide range of future projects.
Working closely with Subsea 7, this led to the development of a number of innovative features including a suspension system for the carousel support rollers (reducing the risk of failure due to uneven loadings on individual roller assemblies). Other features include the ability to quickly adjust both the core height and diameter, and to mobiles the main carousel structure in only two lifts.
The build of the carousel, known affectionately as ‘Colossus' by the EB team, took place under cover at the North Sea Supply Base, Teesside.
After completing fabrication of the 24m-diameter deck grillage, the unique sprung roller units were positioned and secured to create the platform for the main reel structure. In parallel, at EB's Tyneside workshop, the drive system underwent extensive factory testing. With the structural fabrication complete and literally miles of electrical cabling neatly ducted, 600 tonnes of equipment was shipped on 27 March by barge from Teesside to Stavanger, Norway. It has now been commissioned on the Skandi Neptune for operations on the Ormen Lange project.
"The equipment is working very well," says Brian O'Neill, Equipment Manager, Lay Equipment at Subsea 7. "We have completed the spooling of the first 4km line and are currently spooling on the 120km length."
Dramatic results from changing the EB game
"These are exciting times for EB with unprecedented growth in orders, and seeing the carousel leave our facility was certainly cause for congratulation and celebrations," explains Tony Trapp.
"We set out to ‘change our game' 18 months ago, since then we have quadrupled our turnover and given financial strength to a team already proud of its technical excellence. It's worth noting that in the autumn I was predicting that we would be shipping a thousand tonnes of equipment, a figure that doubled in the space of just a couple of months.
"It is a real pleasure to see team members rising to the challenges that we, and our customers, have set with real vigour and enthusiasm. I have never experienced such passion in a team of professionals working well together."
SOURCE: The Engineering Business (EB)