Highland Power
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Perfect Pearl Deep sea design Safety squeeze Life savers Strainstall’s monitoring prowess Divex’s saturation diving system ScanTech quick to meet James Fisher vessel assists in provides buildings support in to be installed on BP dive stringent new compressor helicopter crew training in the Qatar development: Page 3 support vessel: Page 5 guidelines: Page 7 North Sea: Page 8 QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE JAMES FISHER GROUP OF COMPANIES AUTUMN 2014 IN BRIEF Young talent shines bright This month marks the end of the first year of apprenticeship for Ryan Peacey, 17, Ben Marshall, 18 and Craig Morgan, 23 who were lucky enough to be selected to work with the Strainstall team at Cowes. The three electronics apprentices, who now move in to their second year, have been working on projects such as supplying monitoring systems for a floating deck, as well as vessel approach systems and the new Smartload technology. They expect to stay in the field and complete their apprenticeships MeyGen turns the tide with the company over the next three James Fisher Marine Services’ ground-breaking underwater stream turbine being years, and have just been joined by two lowered into the choppy waters off the coast of Northern Scotland. new apprentices on the Strainstall team. Read the full story on page 7. “I’ve really enjoyed my first year I’m looking forward to my second!” says Craig Morgan, “The hands-on approach to training and working alongside the team on actual customer projects, means you feel as if you are really contributing Highland power to the business” Production supervisor, Leigh Hume, New monitoring systems accurately profiled and compared to their who is responsible for their training, increase longevity of original design assumptions. adds: “We’ve been pleasantly surprised Simon Cross, Strainstall’s SSE works at the progress all three have made in hydroelectric power plant manager commented: “This was an intense such a short time. We expect very high installation due mainly to awkward site standards of workmanship and the lads Strainstall is helping Scottish and conditions, but completed on time and to a have not disappointed.” Southern Energy (SSE) to extend the high standard in order to provide SSE with operating life of its Central Highlands important data, which, hopefully, will prolong hydroelectric power plant. the life of the power station for years.” In August, a small team from Strainstall Part of the Affric-Beauly hydro scheme visited the plant to install a monitoring in the remote Central Highlands, the power system to the Main Inlet valves (MIVs) plant consists of a 48m-high, 727m-long on the generation turbines. These valves dam, plus a second smaller one. A tunnel control the flow of water through the connects the two lochs to the generating turbines and are subjected to huge forces station which has three 22 megawatt as a result of the high pressures involved in (MW) turbines and one 7MW turbine with holding back vast quantities of water. a generating capacity of 7,701 kilo-watt Newsflash: The team fitted a bespoke strain gauge hours. The station is unmanned and is Enter your email address at http:// solution around each valves’ foundations controlled from an operations centre in pelican.james-fisher.com/registration. and inlet-outlet pipes to monitor them. The Perth with electricity being generated php to receive up-to-the-minute news and gauges allow SSE to understand more quickly during periods of high demand, or information about the James Fisher group clearly the strains the MIVs are experiencing as a back-up to onshore wind generating of companies straight to your inbox. so that their operational life can be capacity across the country. Lifting Weak Link Bails to the next level Repeat ScanTech AS’s highly innovative and simple Chris Stevens, managing director of business for Weak Link Bail system has been successfully ScanTech says: “What the guys have deployed on floating rigs worldwide to achieved is brilliantly simple - rather than Subsea Vision increase worker protection and enhance looking at these systems as two distinct safety during well testing, flow backs, pieces of physical hardware, they worked Subsea Vision has started a new clean ups, completions, plugging and together to identify how both could be used project on the Haewene Brim, a Floating abandonment and workover operations. at the same time in the same physical space.” Production Storage Offload (FPSO) The WLB system owes its success to This latest development, created by vessel in the North Sea, owned by a simple self-contained mechanism that the team at ScanTech incorporates the Bluewater. The work, for Shell, involves prevents over-tension of the completion field-proven capability of the WLB into the using remotely operated vehicles (ROVs) to inspect the vessel’s mooring and workover riser if the primary heave CTLF using conventional tension frame lines down to the seabed, as well as compensator fails when the rig is locked to design principles within the confinements examining its hull. the seabed. of the existing space. This new design The new project underlines the strong In the past, height restrictions have made incorporates a detachable 3-axis injector working relationship between Subsea using the existing WLB system tricky (and table, which reduces bulk and makes Vision and the petrochemicals giant potentially dangerous) when working with rigging-up easier, so reducing rig-up time and follows successful completion of Coiled Tube Lifting Frames (CTLF). More than while increasing worker protection, safety a project for Shell on the Brent Bravo half of rig work operations are estimated to and reliability in what is a recognised platform, which included subsea use coiled tubing, at least as a contingency, industry risk – compensator lock up. inspections of production risers and so the technical teams at ScanTech AS and With confirmed interest from a major oil structural surveys. It also attests to key partner Stavanger Engineering AS have corporation the first production version of the cost savings the company offers been developing the WLB-CT as a workable the WLB-CT is at the final design stage for by placing its ROVs directly on clients’ solution to this challenge. use in a North Sea campaign in 2015. FPSOs, removing the need to charter additional expensive support vessels and associated mob/demob costs. In-depth understanding (for subsea baskets) Digging deep Fisher Offshore (FO) has created its own subsea basket for transporting equipment James Fisher and Sons plc (JFS) and KDM Marine have joined forces to create from the surface to the (subsea) worksite James Fisher Mass Flow Excavation Ltd and for bringing it back up again. Product (JFMFE). The new company will be run by development was based on industry executives from Aberdeen-based KDM consultation where the company researched Marine, with staff from JFS’ group company specific customer requirements, leading to Fisher Offshore providing engineering, the in-house design. Similar to others, FO’s operations and maintenance support. basket can be launched from deck allowing JFMFE will combine Fisher Offshore’s subsea operations by ROV or diver. existing fleet of HydroDiggers™ with KDM Marine’s latest offering, TwinProp™, to offer mass flow excavation services to the offshore energy sector. Both tools channel Eastern promise a low-pressure controllable water column towards the seabed and are non-contact, Offshore has joined the growing reaping rewards, as Gary Anderson, Fisher so they can be operated remotely and Fisher used safely around live pipelines. contingency of James Fisher group Offshore Asia Pacific regional manager The new company will also offer other companies in Singapore supporting its explains: “By basing ourselves in the heart tools, such as dredge pumps and jetting clients’ worldwide activities by opening a of the Asia-Pacific Offshore centre we aim equipment, for subsea excavation. new base to support subsea construction to ensure local and effective engagement Kenneth Mackie, former KDM Marine and maintenance activities. throughout the delivery of our clients’ chief executive and managing director This forward-thinking strategy made subsea engineering projects, enabling them of JFMFE, says: “By combining KDM it possible for FO to complete a recent to achieve the same high safety standards management’s expertise with JFS’s global project for multinational Schlumberger in as within the North Sea.” footprint and the equipment to complete Malaysia and work is already in progress for “This puts us in a stronger position numerous different types of subsea Indonesia’s Pipeline Technologies. to supply back-deck marine equipment excavation, we aim to create the world’s The strategy of following customers (winches, marine cranes and deck rigging leading subsea excavation business.” and showing commitment to its clients is equipment) worldwide,” he adds. 02 QUARTERLY NEWSLETTER FOR THE JAMES FISHER GROUP OF COMPANIES AUTUMN 2014 Piling it on at ‘The Pearl’ Forging Strainstall creates new testing its end-bearing and frictional resistance. process for higher-than-ever test What’s more, preparation takes only a few stronger hours and there is no need for overhead loads in Qatar beams because the load is applied from within the pile, which makes it more cost- links When the team at Strainstall were asked effective than conventional load testing. to devise a new load testing facility for These tests, part of a £100,000 contract, RMSpumptools re-designs its Ammico in Qatar they knew they faced a follows inspections carried out last year tough challenge. by the company on one of Abraj Quartier’s subsea wet-mate connectors Senior engineer, Don Albero worked with “Gateway Towers”, which, at 201m-high, and wins more contracts Mark Jeff Garcia, a full-time technician based are the tallest buildings in the development. in Qatar to create and perfect a new testing The contract, for NSCC International, The team at RMSpumptools has technique called Bi-Directional Static was worth more than £150,000.