SECTION 1 ~ GENERAL

1.9 Maintenance
Page 1 of 4

1.9 MAINTENANCE

ADHERENCE WITH THIS SECTION IS MANDATORY

OFFSHORE/ONSHORE OPERATIONAL SITE EQUIPMENT MAINTENANCE

Numerous maintenance tasks may need to be conducted offshore on a wide range of equipment and systems.
It is imperative that all work is carried out safely by competent personnel using all necessary procedures and
safety tools available to them.

Before carrying out any equipment maintenance activity, Site/Shift supervisors should be comfortable that the
personnel about to carry out the maintenance are competent to do so and that they understand fully all aspects
of the task they are about to undertake. If the Supervisor is not fully satisfied that this is the case, he should not
permit personnel to undertake the maintenance task.

Some simple maintenance tasks can be carried out with a minimum of pre-job planning. However, a Toolbox talk
should still be held and documented by the Shift Supervisor or document all basic maintenance tasks in your
pre-job safety meetings and ensure that they are discussed fully at these meetings with all crew members. All
relevant risks and control measures required should be documented and Toolbox talk/pre-job safety meeting
minutes must be kept on file and included in the end of job report.

Š Simple Tasks
1. Changing propane bottles over.
2. Removing or fitting burner head test caps.
3. Filling compressors with diesel/lub Oil.
4. Cleaning of equipment/pipework etc.

In all cases, a valid permit to work should be in place to cover all maintenance tasks planned, regardless of
how
simple you may think they are. Simple everyday tasks similar to those listed above can be detailed on the
permit to work used to cover all activities undertaken during any shift period. Simply jot them down on the
permit to work that must be in place to cover the daily workscope.

Š More Complex Tasks

Any maintenance where a degree of equipment intervention is required must be risk assessed prior to
starting the work. This would include tasks such as:

1. Removal/strip down/re-dress of valves.

2. Replacing leaking pipework seals.
3. Replacing worn or damaged parts in moving machinery, eg pumps.
4. Stripping down of Floco Oil meters.
5. Replacing a needle valve in a system.
6. Working on ESD panels.

This list is not exhaustive and all tasks should be Risk assessed prior to commencement of the work.
Any work that requires equipment intervention must be risk assessed.

GTR – Issue 2, Rev O

Sept 2002
 SECTION 1 ~ GENERAL
1.9 Maintenance
Page 2 of 4

EQUIPMENT INTERVENTION

Definition: Any work where a piece of equipment/plant/pipework is reduced to a non-operational condition whilst
carrying out a maintenance task.
Example: Removing a bonnet from a gate valve to replace the bonnet gasket.

Clearly in this example the valve is no longer in an operational condition because you cannot operate the valve
under pressure whilst the bonnet has been removed.
The risk assessment carried out should identify all hazards and probable harm that could occur whilst carrying
out the maintenance task. The required controls should then be put in place prior to commencement of the work.

A risk assessment on all tasks requiring equipment intervention IS MANDATORY.

VESSEL ENTRY AND VESSEL INTERVENTION

Vessel entry is a specialised task. Serious accidents have occurred and continue to occur whilst work is being
carried out.

Inside confined spaces such as tanks, separators and other vessels. The main risks associated with this type of
task are the presence of toxic and/or flammable gases, fumes vapours. Neglect or ignorance of the necessary
safety precautions can lead to tragic results very easily. A significant number of such accidents occur globally
every year in a number of industries, a large number of these accidents prove fatal and multiple fatalities in this
type of accident are not uncommon.

It is therefore imperative that all risks associated with this type of activity are minimised by all Expro personnel
who may need to be involved in a vessel entry. The “Permit to Work” system must be used as the primary tool to
control and plan the work.

The “Permit to Work” is a documented system which ensures that through careful planning, proper supervision
and strict adherence to procedures laid down, dangerous situations can be avoided.

Verbal instruction is not reliable, it is therefore imperative that a system is used that will be fully documented,
fully visible and rigorously observed at all times.

SAFETY OF PERSONNEL IN CONFINED SPACES

Whenever personnel are required to work in a confined space where hazardous fumes or vapours are likely to
be present or there could simply be a lack of breathable air, then a “Permit to Work” must be issued and adhered
to.

It should be noted that entry into a vessel should only be considered when absolutely necessary and no
alternative method is available. An assessment of the situation must be made by a responsible person on site.
This person must be experienced in the work to be undertaken, must have detailed knowledge of the plant and
must understand the legislative and safety requirements. This person could be an Expro employee or a member
of the Rig crew or operating company representative.

If no responsible person can be identified to oversee the work, then a vessel entry must not be attempted.

GTR – Issue 2, Rev O

Sept 2002
 SECTION 1 ~ GENERAL
1.9 Maintenance
Page 3 of 4

SAFETY RECOMMENDATIONS FOR VESSEL ENTRY

Whenever personnel are to enter a confined space on an operational offshore or onshore location the following
recommendations must be considered and adhered to at all times.

1. The vessel must be fully isolated from associated systems and flushed as a minimum with water, as much
hydrocarbon liquids and vapours removed as is practically possible. This can be done by flushing directly to
the flare or by emptying the vessel into a suitable receptacle and then flushing afterwards. (If Nitrogen is
available on site or can be sourced easily, the vessel should be purged with N2) If purging a vessel with N2
great thought should go into considering all systems that may be connected to the vessel that may still
contain vapours, eg Flare systems, vent lines, knockout vessels on Gas legs etc.
2. The personnel who are to carry out the vessel entry must complete a full Risk Assessment.
3. The atmosphere in the confined space must be tested before it is certified as being safe to enter, or before
safety precautions to be taken upon entry are specified.
4. Under no circumstance should a confined space be entered in which the Oxygen content is lower than
20.9% without wearing breathing apparatus. (See note below).
5. It may be necessary to enter the confined space wearing breathing apparatus to undertake initial gas check.
6. Sludge can lie undisturbed in the bottom of vessels, even after flushing and purging. Great care should be
taken when entering a confined space where sludge may lie undisturbed. If sludge is disturbed by personnel
or equipment inside the vessel it can release vapours and fumes.
7. A safety Sentry must be positioned outside the vessel or space at all times whilst personnel are working
inside. The main purpose for the sentry is to give the alarm should it become necessary and he should
therefore remain at his post at all times whilst personnel are inside the space. The sentry should never enter
the space himself or attempt a rescue himself. Lifelines should be attached to a harness run back to a point
outside the vessel or confined space.

NOTE: Normal Composition of air - Nitrogen (N2) 78.09%

Oxygen 20.95%
Argon 0.93%
Carbon Dioxide (Co2) 0.03%

OTHER CONSIDERATIONS

Some of the other topics that should be discussed and perhaps included in the risk assessment are:
− Training and Work Procedures
− Competence, Physical and Mental state of Personnel
− Safety equipment use, availability, maintenance and suitability
− Adequacy of the “permit to work” system and awareness of its contents to all personnel
− The potential for flammable risk
− Communications – Both during work and in the event of an emergency
− Adequate Ventilation
− External Impact from other systems or concurrent work, eg Crane lifts over the vessel.
− Weather conditions
− Supervision of the men inside the vessel
− Concluding work

CERTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS

The responsible person must decide whether:

1. The confined space is safe for entry without breathing apparatus for a specified period.
2. Breathing apparatus and a lifeline must be worn.

In either case persons entering the confined space must be affixed to a line held by a man positioned outside the
vessel who will have the facility to effect recovery of the persons in the confined space.

GTR – Issue 2, Rev O

Sept 2002
 SECTION 1 ~ GENERAL
1.9 Maintenance
Page 4 of 4

PERMIT TO WORK

The responsible person must make out a “Permit to Work” prior to any vessel entry commencing.

1. The Permit should clearly state all safety measures that have already been taken, eg flushing, purging of the
vessel.
2. The Permit must list all precautions for entry into the space, eg ventilation, breathing apparatus, lifeline, and
resuscitation equipment.
3. The time of expiry of the permit.

A copy of the “Permit to Work” must be displayed at the place of work, the original being retained in the control
room of the installations. This may differ from Rig to Rig, please ensure that adherence to the local permit to
work system is complied with.

COMPLETION OF THE WORK

Upon completion of work, the responsible person must ensure that the vessel or space is clear of all equipment
used and that the work party have safely withdrawn from the vessel or space before cancelling the permit.
Conclusion of the work should be signed off by the responsible person once he is satisfied the job is complete.

VESSEL INTERVENTION

Any maintenance task that may require vessel intervention must be Risk Assessed. Vessel intervention may
include the removal of a PSV from a vessel or the removal of a flange or valve on a vessel. In this type of
situation gases or vapours may escape from the vessel to atmosphere. It is therefore imperative that as an
absolute minimum the vessel is flushed with water and if possible the vessel be N2 purged. N2 purging may not
be an option if N2 is not readily available.

All interconnecting lines or systems that may be attached to the vessel should also be flushed and isolated. If
lines cannot be isolated normally by using a valve in the line, the line should be “spaded off” if possible or broken
and blanked.
Examples of this would be Lines to flares and vents, which will probably not have valves fitted in them.

Lines to flare stacks and burner booms are especially hazardous, as they can be quite long and could potentially
hold a large inventory of vapours or flammable liquids. These lines must be adequately flushed and gas free as
well as is practicably possible.
Any line that leads from a vessel to a flare boom, flare stack, or any PSV line must be completely mechanically
isolated from the vessel during vessel or plant intervention operations.

No equipment intervention maintenance tasks should be attempted until all necessary flushing and isolating of
equipment has taken place.

NOTE: A risk assessment must be carried out prior to any equipment intervention maintenance work
commencing.

When conducting the Risk Assessment, consideration of the following hazards must be considered:

1. Gases, vapours, chemicals and flammable mixtures may be present in equipment.

2. Where do interconnecting systems go? What substances might they contain? Could they affect the
equipment I am about to work on?
3. Is the equipment about to be maintained connected to a flare/relief or vent system? Can these systems be
adequately isolated?
4. Could there be stored pressure? Ensure that correct venting, flushing and isolating of the equipment has
been undertaken.
5. Consider the use of gas-monitoring equipment.
6. Adhere to the “Permit to Work” system at all times.

GTR – Issue 2, Rev O

Sept 2002