Offshore Maintenance Service
IPU’s offshore maintenance service lightens the burden faced by today’s platform operators. The ageing equipment on our platforms is becoming more maintenance-intensive as our platforms move beyond their expected lifespan. Although maintenance demands are rising, staff availability is not. The low oil price puts operators under intense financial pressure.
IPU equipment preserves the operation of major installations and the safety of the staff who work in them. Our systems support Safety Critical Elements (SCEs) on ships and platforms in the world’s wildest oceans. IPU engine starting systems ensure fire pumps start if there’s an emergency. IPU Fuel and Oil Conditioning systems improve the reliability of backup generators.
IPU’s offshore maintenance service installs, inspects and maintains engine starting, fuel and oil conditioning systems.
This places a massive responsibility on our shoulders. Our systems have to be reliable. When you press the Go button the systems we support have to start on time, every time. We accept that responsibility. We build our systems to be tough and reliable.
But there are two factors that can affect the long-term, reliable operation of the equipment we manufacture:
- Was it properly installed?
- Is it properly maintained?
That’s where the IPU Service Division steps in. Our staff and partners are specialists in the configuration, installation and maintenance of engine starting and fuel conditioning systems. Our experience with these systems goes back to the infancy of the industries themselves.
We know our business and we understand yours too. IPU takes enormous pride in its history working with the oil and gas and shipping industries. We understand the safety, security and time constraints you work under. Our schedulers manage our activities so they complement your working day instead of disrupting it.
- 7 reasons to use IPU’s offshore maintenance service for installations
- Rapid Deployment: Installation can go ahead before your own staff are available. Lloyd’s Register has already raised concerns that operators are delaying maintenance tasks because of the increasing burden. This is an unacceptable position for Safety Critical Elements (SCEs) such as fire pumps and emergency generators.
- Specialist Knowledge: Equipment is installed by specialists in the technology. The days of the generalist are over. SCEs occupy such a critical position they have to be installed, tested and certified by engineers with a deep understanding of the systems.
- Safety Experience: Equipment is installed by experts with experience of appropriate security and safety constraints. Installing an engine starting system in an ATEX zone imposes very different constraints to installing it in an office block. IPU understands offshore safety.
- Industry Experience: Installed by professionals who understand your industry, application and environment. IPU has been supplying the oil and gas industry for over 25 years. We work fast and liaise easily with your staff because we know the scenario, terminology and working practices.
- One Contractor, Many Tasks: One contractor can install multi-technology installations as one project. IPU’s Service Division can simplify your logistical headaches by installing engine starting, fuel and oil conditioning systems in a single project. This reflects the streamlined approach we expect in other walks of life. You wouldn’t want one mechanic to work on your car’s gearbox, another on the engine and a third on the electrics, would you?
- Reliability & Warranty: Too often, incorrect installation damages equipment at the outset. Not only does this stop it working effectively it also invalidates the equipment’s warranty. With professional installation by IPU’s Service Division, equipment works from Day One. Your warranty is secure.
- A Safer Working Environment: All these reasons add up to the most important reason of all: a safer working environment. By combining professional standards, relevant skills and industry experience IPU’s Service Division delivers on the promise of your SCEs.
The IPU Service Division uses specialist staff to professionally maintain emergency firepump components and gensets.
- 8 reasons to use IPU’s offshore maintenance service for inspections and maintenance
- Rigorous & Effective Testing: IPU’s Service Division employs rigorous and truly effective testing protocols. For example, we test the secondary starting systems your fire pumps might need in an emergency. It’s not acceptable to test the battery starter alone. Batteries are prone to failure in adverse conditions.
- Problems Solved: IPU Service Division doesn’t just find problems, it solves them. Our service is ‘Test & Repair’ not ‘Test & Report’.
- Quality Spares: We always recommend genuine, original manufacturer spare parts. You have the reassurance of knowing that equipment is restored to the same specification as when it left the factory. Third-party spares are also available for customers working to a tighter budget.
- Fast Response: IPU Service Division reacts fast. We know that when a system fails you usually need it repaired yesterday. We have extensive stocks of spare parts and offshore-trained staff ready to leave on short notice.
- One Contractor, Multiple Systems: Your scheduling and logistics can be simplified by using one supplier to inspect and maintain engine starting, fuel and oil conditioning systems. Lloyd’s Register highlighted the scale of the maintenance headache in an article for Offshore Energy Today. “For a typical offshore installation with an operational life of 30 years and approximately 50,000 maintainable equipment items, in the region of 750,000 Work Orders will be generated, leading to some 9,000,000 hours of activity.” The more those tasks can be streamlined, the better. IPU Service Division offers a faster, cheaper and simpler option.
- Specialists For Specialist Systems: Safety Critical Elements (SCEs) rely on specialist technology. Only specialists can correctly inspect and repair those systems. An untrained generalist is not qualified to inspect or repair equipment. Reliable operation cannot be guaranteed unless it is properly maintained by qualified staff. If the reliability of SCEs isn’t guaranteed, is there any point having them?
- Helping ISO55000: IPU Service Division issues valid inspection certificates for submission to your ISO 55000 (PAS 55) Asset Integrity Management regime.
- Wide Experience: With decades of experience, we have worked on a massive range of products from competitors. We are qualified to assess and, if necessary, replace any obsolete systems we find.
- ISO 55000
You can find further information on ISO 55000 and Asset Integrity Management at:
- At the ISO’s website (charges apply).
- From The Institute of Asset Management, the UK endorsement agency.
- At third-party websites.
- Or, if you’re feeling brave, you could even risk Wikipedia’s entry.
IPU and the IPU Service Division are not ISO 55000-endorsed organisations.
- Lloyd’s Register
You can find the full text of the Lloyd’s Register Whitepaper on maintenance costs at their website.
