QUAYCONSULT

Ports are complex work areas with numerous safety risks. These risks increase as the maintenance of the structure lags behind and existing structures are affected, for example by long-term intensive use and corrosion. This includes sheet piles, crane rails, fenders, bollards and other quayside equipment. Joint expertise BollardScan’s sister company Quayconsult is specialized in assessing and monitoring quaysides, sheet piles, fenders, mooring hooks and crane rails, both through non-destructive testing and visual inspections. BollardScan is a world leader in testing the structural integrity of bollards. The joint expertise of both companies results in safer port operations. In our view, maintenance should be based on hard data instead of theoretical models. All our inspections aim to reduce security risks and to keep the port facilities as available as possible. Without any doubt both aspects are of great importance to both owners and port authorities. Broad range of services Quayconsult specializes in detecting defects. Pulsed Eddy Current (PEC) is used to test sheet piles. And for testing crane rails, fenders and associated constructions, we use a proven non-destructive vibration test (BollardScanTM) ). Testing the safe operation of quick release mooring hooks is also part of our field of activity. Testing sheet piles Sheet pile is ideally suited for building ports and for almost any form of land reclamation. More and more design offices and construction companies involved in the development of ports are departing from the ‘conservative’ method of using stone blocks and/or concrete structures. The overriding reasons for using sheet pile are the relatively easy use and, provided the right steel is used, the easy maintenance. Quayconsult offers a risk-based inspection approach to steel sheet piling. Such an investigation focuses on quay and dock integrity, safety and availability of the port and provides lower overall costs to the asset owner. Testing crane rails Container crane tracks are carrying the heavy burden of each container loaded onto and offloaded from vessels. Because the rails are integrated in the quay surface and the fact that parts are often also covered, only part of the entire construction is visible. Problems that regularly arise are corrosion of the rail track itself (visibly observable), corrosion and looseness of the mounting clips, material loss due to wear and tear and –more important- faults in the epoxy grout pads and loose anchor bolts. All these problems can be mapped with test methods developed and executed by Quayconsult. Inspecting fenders Quayconsult’s sister company BollardScan has regularly been requested to do fender inspections. Based on these requests Quayconsult developed a robust inspection scenario for fenders. This approach has been rigorously tested by agents in our global network and is now available for independent assessments of fenders and the dock to which they are attached. Further integrity testing with non-destructive testing techniques can also be executed by our NDT-trained staff. Testing mooring hooks The testing of mooring hooks can be divided into three parts. 1) The integrity of the mooring hook seat’s integrity, i.e. the way the hook seat is attached to the jetty or dock. This is typically a task for our sister company BollardScan 2) The inspection of the hook itself and the locking pins securing it, using non-destructive testing. 3) Inspection of the electrical and hydraulic systems, including the calibration of the load cell if fitted. Inspections at 2 and 3 can be done by our specialized staff. Mooring training By our frequent presence in ports and our maritime background we have noticed a decline in knowledge concerning port operations in general and safe mooring operations in particular. To increase professional knowledge, we developed a set of courses containing all the skills needed for those involved in bringing vessels safely alongside. These courses are dealing with the most important basis principles of mooring and are intended for harbourmasters, linesman and other personnel involved.