Collett complete Kennoxhead Wind Farm

Friday, 29th April 2022

Adding another wind farm to their Renewables Portfolio, Collett complete the delivery of 13 Nordex N133 turbines to Kennoxhead Wind Farm in South Lanarkshire, Scotland.

Located south of the A70, near the village of Glespin on the Douglas Estate, the thirteen turbine site features Nordex N133 onshore wind turbines with an individual blade length of 64 metres and a tip height of no more than 180 metres.

Collett, who are industry leaders when it comes to heavy load transportation, was appointed to undertake all logistical planning and execution to deliver each of the 130 components, including the preparation of all method statements, risk assessments and all supporting documentation.

Beginning with a test drive of the 46-mile route from King George V Dock to South Lanarkshire, the Collett Team simulated the 68-metre loaded vehicle to ensure that the 64 metre blades could safely traverse the route. Utilising the data gathered during the test drive, coupled with the preliminary planning reports, allowed the Collett Team to determine the suitability of the route, identifying any necessary modifications ahead of the commencement of deliveries. This included the removal of street furniture at King George V Dock and required civils work on site to prevent the loaded trailers grounding on the wind farm access roads.

Having undertaken all these modifications ahead of the delivery schedule, phase one of Kennoxhead Wind Farm began. Utilising King George V Dock’s 32.6 hectares of storage, all components were imported to the Glasgow facility for onward transport.

Following the recent expansion of Collett’s renewable energy fleet, the Team utilised several specialist wind turbine trailers to undertake deliveries. This included clamp trailers for the base and middle tower sections, 6-axle step-frames for the top towers, nacelle, hubs & drive trains and Faymonville quadruple extendable wing max trailers for the 64 metre blades.

Each of the loaded components left King George V Dock between 9:30am & 11:30am travelling under police and private escort for the 46-mile journey to the South Lanarkshire site. Leaving Glasgow, each of the blades, towers, hubs and nacelles followed the M74 towards Abington before joining the B7078 and travelling via Andershaw Wind Farm before merging on to the Glentaggart Road to the Kennoxhead Wind Farm site entrance. With the identified civils having already been completed, each component travelled to the respective pad site, employing Collett’s specialist onsite towing vehicles to overcome steep gradients and unpredictable access conditions due to adverse weather.

Phase one of the Kennoxhead Wind Farm is now completed with the 133.2 metre diameter turbines featuring a 13,935 sqm rotor sweep expected to enter commercial operation later this year.
Phase 2 of the project is still in development with 14 proposed additional turbines expected to enter commercial operation in 2024.

Hydramec & Scantrol Provide Equipment for Endurance

Thursday, 21st April 2022

Hydramec and Scantrol are honoured to have worked together once again to supply bespoke subsea winches to facilitate the Endurance22 expedition.

In 1915, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s ship, the Endurance, was crushed by ice and sank in Antarctica’s Weddell Sea. Although there have been several expeditions to find the ship, none have previously succeeded. But this year, the Endurance22 expedition, carried out by The Falklands Maritime Heritage Trust, found the vessel in March 2022.

Hydramec, who are industry leaders in Hydraulic Engineering, provided the expedition with two 25000m winches with 3.5mm fibre optic cable. The fibre optic cable would be tethered to the autonomous unmanned vehicle (AUV) to gather real-time data during the ship’s survey. Without this type of cable, the crew would have had to bring the AUV back to the vessel to see the images.

It was also a requirement that the winches be made from aluminium to cope with the cold temperatures of the Weddell Sea. The winches, including the cable, needed to weigh less than 1.5 tonnes. This was to ensure they could be helicoptered onto the ice if necessary.

Other bespoke design features included having a special drive set up on the level wind. This allowed tension to be kept on the cable continuously and could be adjusted by a control system. The winches also had to have skis on the bottom to be easily towed along the ice if required.

Hydramec’s Managing Director Danny Church said: “We at Hydramec are so pleased to have been able to play a part in this momentous achievement. Being able to take on a project of this nature and turn it from a concept to operational equipment is again a testament to the hard work and dedication of the Hydramec team and its valued supplier, Scantrol. To say I am proud of my team is an understatement and the result cements Hydramec’s position as one of the worlds go to companies for launch and recovery systems.”

As Hydramec’s partner of control systems for many years, Scantrol is extremely proud and excited to take part in this successful project.
“Scantrol has been part of many unique and exciting subsea operations, it is great to also contribute to this historical event that has taken place in extreme and harsh conditions”, says Rolf Krogh Hjelmeland, Business Development Manager for Scantrol’s Active Heave Compensation Solutions.

We are all incredibly honoured to have been a part of this historic moment.

DLM Wheel De-Trenching Grapnels

Tuesday, 12th April 2022

Dynamic Load Monitoring (UK) Ltd. (DLM), of Southampton, UK has received a landmark order for two wheel de-trenching grapnels, which will be deployed from subsea cable repair vessels in France. The products will be delivered to a long-standing DLM customer in May.

DLM, who are industry leaders when it comes to Marine load testing, is already renowned for the manufacture and supply of running line monitors (RLMs); saddleback monitors (SBMs), used in pre-lay grapnel run (PLGR) and route clearance operations to measure line tension; load pins; and load cells that capture data as tension is applied to the winch rope towing the grapnels. However, these products are unique in that they are specifically for recovering cable that is buried in a seabed.

A wheel de-trenching grapnel (or WTG) is used to de-trench cables buried at depths of greater than 0.5m. The WTG is one of the most robust grapnel products available; it can be used in harsher seabed environments, for example, rocky conditions, but also in soft and crumbly (friable) seabeds, where the addition of the wheels will help to maintain penetration. The end user operates a fleet of cable repair vessels, but the solution will be of interest to anyone that completes repair work on laid cables.

The customer knew of the concept, but asked Dynamic Load Monitoring if it could design a version that was suitable to penetrate 1.8m into the seabed. Previous designs were only suitable for 1.1m. Notably, DLM is the only company that offers a 1.5m and 1.8m fluke (a prong-shaped tool that penetrates the seabed) version of the product.

Chris Scrutton, technical manager at DLM, said: “We will never sell lots of these products, as there is a limited number of cable laying ships in the world capable of handling them, but the fact that we have upgraded the design for the 1.5m and 1.8m penetration shows that we have one of the best offerings on the market and this will appeal to any cable ship owner in need of this type of equipment. Further, it reinforces the engineering prowess for which we are renowned. This type of product represents a steady source of income for us—and we can design them quickly and confidently. We completed a feasibility study for the client prior to them placing an order to ensure that the product would be suitable for the application.”

The de-trenching grapnels will be used repeatedly in a suite of cable repair equipment. They can also be used for plough assessment surveys to assess what the industry calls “plough-ability” of the seabed, providing important information prior to laying a new subsea cable. In other words, this deciphers how tough the seabed conditions are and what equipment will be required to lay a new subsea cable.

Scrutton explained that traditional versions of these products would use wheels and foam-filled tyres. DLM effectively upgrades the wheels to a newer method of rubber blocks in place of tyres, allowing for individual rubber blocks to be replaced in the event of damage. There is also an option to fit load monitoring equipment to the shear pins to record the loads seen when in operation. This data is recovered when the grapnel is back on the deck of the ship again.

He added: “This end customer has had three ships newly built, which serves as a barometer of the buoyancy in this marketplace, driven by the constant increase in offshore wind energy.”

DLM celebrates being granted Made in Britain Membership

Monday, 11th April 2022

Dynamic Load Monitoring (UK) Ltd (DLM) has been accredited as a member of Made in Britain. DLM’s adoption of the official, protected mark will help buyers recognise its products as good quality, great value and British-made.

The mark also lets customers know that DLM is a trusted company and industry leader when it comes to marine load testing, values transparency, sustainability and ethical business practices. Consumers are increasingly recognising the Made in Britain mark as a mark of confidence.

Carly Collins, Marketing Manager Comments ‘We are proud of every single product that goes out the door here at DLM. We want people to know that our products are designed and built here in our factory, in Southampton. Working across a variety of industries including lifting and rigging, offshore and renewables, we have a large international span of customers with an extensive list of requirements for each individual job. By joining the Made in Britain community and displaying the logo across all of our digital platforms, we are confident it will enhance our profile and show all of our potential customers what quality, great value products we have to offer.’

John Pearce, chief executive of Made in Britain said: “We’re delighted that DLM has joined the community of more than 1200 British manufacturers. The more the mark is used and seen, the more it is recognised as a mark of quality. In addition to getting access to the official protected mark, DLM will also start to enjoy the many other benefits membership to Made in Britain brings, including support in sales, marketing, PR/comms and export. We look forward to watching DLM grow with our help and support.”

Dales Marine Services announces the appointment of Chief Naval Architect

Friday, 8th April 2022

Dales Marine Services Ltd (Dales Marine) is delighted to announce the appointment of David Gray as Chief Naval Architect, which will add to and broaden Dales Marine’s services portfolio.

Dales Marine Services Ltd are industry leaders as marine engineers.

David Gray brings to the business a wealth of experience and expertise in ship and yacht design, culminating from over 30 years of industry experience, supporting defence and commercial shipping communities, and being a skilled CEO for several design-led companies.

David Gray’s areas of specialities cover the design and development of new vessels and conversions, including ships & floating structures, large yachts, and small commercial vessels such as workboats, dredgers, fast ferries, and other special service craft. In addition, David has a keen interest in electric propulsion, hydrofoils, roll stability and stabilisers, and stability on larger vessels, including inclining tests and the development of full stability documentation to class approval. In 2017 he spearheaded and led a team to win the Monaco Solar & Energy Endurance Race in both 2018 and 2019 with two newly designed & built high-power electric boats.

As Chief Naval Architect, David will be working closely with Dales engineers based at its facilities in Aberdeen, Greenock, Leith, and Troon. In addition, he will be actively involved in a range of projects, including the design, construction, repair, conversion and decommissioning of crafts and structures, applying his experience and expertise in supporting a range of projects from ferries to merchant ships, support vessels, workboats, and more.

Andrew Malcolm, BD Manager at Dales Marine, said: “David’s appointment comes at an ideal time for the business. Following the success of our recent workboat build, the Realt na Farraige, we are exploring further opportunities for future builds. Having David’s breadth of expertise in-house will be invaluable in enabling us to take on future work scopes for vessel alternations, vessel build and much more.”

Dales Marine is also pleased to announce the promotion of Kevin Paterson to Contracts Director; Kevin has been with the company for over 16 years and will continue to manage contracts and commercial teams in the business.

Michael Milne, CEO at Dales Marine Services, said: “We are pleased to have David join our team and to announce Kevin’s promotion to Contracts Director, he will continue to play a key role in the management team to develop and grow the business further. Having both Kevin’s experience and David’s outstanding expertise on board will support Dales Marine’s growth plans, and further strengthen the services we provide our clients.”

How Hydroscand Reduce Costly Downtime Through Effective Hose Maintenance

Tuesday, 5th April 2022

Forklift trucks are an expensive asset to your company. You invest in them because you need them to keep things moving. The last thing you want in your busy operation is for your FLT to be out of service. Downtime is expensive. Estimates on the cost of downtime range from £500 to £5,000 per hour depending on the size of your business.

The optimum way of reducing downtime caused by hydraulics hose failure is to carry out regular maintenance checks on your hoses. By doing this, you will replace your hoses when they have worn out, thereby not only increasing the life expectancy of your hose but also saving time and money and decreasing the hours you are not able to use your forklift.

It is good practice at the start of each day to carry out daily inspections and visual checks of hydraulic hose lines. This way, you can minimise hose failures and call a technician quickly if there is a problem.

Forklift trucks are essential to keeping goods moving and our team have the experience and expertise to replace broken hoses quickly, minimising your downtime.

Jason Bray, HoseExpress Development Manager at Hydroscand UK, explains: “Due to the design of forklift trucks hoses, especially on mast hydraulic hoses, are constantly under tension to enable the hoses to run smoothly over guide rollers and through clamps. Over time, due to the nature of how forklifts operate, these hoses can ‘stretch’ and ‘crack’ the outer cover of old hose assemblies. By doing daily visual checks this can be prevented by ensuring hoses are tensioned correctly.

“Hydroscand mobile hydraulic engineers while on site replacing an old hose due to failure or hose fatigue, will ensure that all hoses are visually checked for fatigue and report findings to our customer. It is about understanding why hydraulic hose has failed and supplying a solution that can prevent this from happening again. This could be for various reasons. For example:

• General wear and tear

• Original hose too long for the application required

• Rubbing or ‘catching’

• Incorrect routing of original hose assembly”

Our mobile hose technicians have been called out on numerous occasions to replace side shift hoses, auxiliary hoses, and several high-pressure hydraulics hoses on Combi Lift drive circuits on forklift trucks for our customers.

Stuart Larkin, Mobile Hose Technician at our Birmingham branch, attended a job where the customer needed a repair on a forklift. He replaced two side shift hoses and cleaned up the spilled hydraulic oil. He said: “I left the job with happy customers, ready to start their days work.”

Jason Bray said: “The Managing Director of a local company called me as the side shift hoses on their forklift truck had failed. I inspected the hoses and discovered the hoses had been incorrectly routed. I had a look at routing the hose assemblies differently and after turning valve adaptors 90 degrees, new hoses were now free from being caught. Sometimes the best solution is the simplest.”

Josh Legg, Mobile Hose Technician from our Southampton branch also replaced side shift hoses on a forklift. Josh said: “We always have our customers’ needs in mind, which helps to reduce their downtime and ensures they work efficiently.”

When Josh inspected the old hoses, he discovered they had failed. So, he wrapped plastic hose protection on the new hoses to avoid abrasion which made it better, as the old hoses were rubbing together. “The customer was very happy with the result.”

Craig George, one of our long-term customers said: “There are hundreds of hoses that can fail on combi lifts. We use Hydroscand as they are a first-time fix. I will call Jason Bray and the job is done. I would never use anyone else apart from Hydroscand, and their prices are reasonable too. They have an electronic system, so, you can see what they have done and how they have done it.”

If you need our reliable and trusted hose technicians, call us on 0800 0116 999 or visit: https://www.hydroscand.co.uk/uk_en/branches

Rotec Pledges to Become Net Zero

Tuesday, 5th April 2022

Businesses taking action to reduce their carbon footprint is critically important in achieving the UK’s goals to tackle climate change by 2050, from cutting emissions in their supply chains to opting for sustainable business practices.

Rotec, a leading provider of hydraulic, pneumatic and electrical mechanical engineering services and products, has committed to becoming a net zero business by pledging to half its carbon emissions by 2030 and become carbon neutral by 2040.

A recent ‘Carbon Footprint Assessment’ identified the main sources of the Rotec’s carbon emissions and has ensured necessary management frameworks, processes and systems for decreasing the company’s carbon footprint are data-driven and have measurable targets. The business has also recently received its FNZ Standard – a benchmark and progress recording and monitoring tool, which is verified and audited by future Net Zero.

To achieve net zero by 2040, Rotec will first focus on reducing emissions caused in-house and by their supply chain to the lowest possible level. Any emissions that cannot be eliminated will need to be offset through schemes that remove carbon from the atmosphere.

The business, with service centres based throughout the South West of the UK, have already taken a number of steps towards their net zero goal, and will continue to take future action in the coming years; continuously looking for new ways to become more sustainably responsible and ultimately carbon neutral.

Paul Prouse, Rotec’s Managing Director, commented,

“We are pleased to announce our environmental commitment to achieve net zero by 2040. Reducing Rotec’s carbon footprint is embedded within our business strategy.

“As part of being an environmentally responsible company, we are committed to supporting our customers to become more sustainable by designing and offering more energy-efficient and eco-friendly engineering solutions.”

Month: April 2022

Advertise with Seaplant

Join us