“Inspecting these areas thor-
oughly can require working at
height, entering confined spaces
and negotiating slippery surfaces
that could be poorly lit, all of which are
high-risk activities that the maritime in-
dustry is keen to address.”
By replacing human inspections with
a drone, routine maintenance can be
monitored remotely and in real time by
office-based staff, with instant feedback
available to the vessel or offshore struc-
ture’s superintendent. This in turn will
reduce costs, increase efficiency and sig-
nificantly reduce risk to human life dur-
ing essential maintenance.
The partnership itself offers a complete
overview of the issues and challenges associated with enclosed space inspections.
These include coatings expertise and
consultancy, drone building, ownership
of marine structures, and an in-depth
working knowledge of current repair and
inspection practices. Additional coatings
expertise will be provided by Safinah Ltd,
AkzoNobel is already using innova-
tive drone technology. The company
is currently testing the use of drones in
Australia for inspecting sites in remote
locations where access is limited and the
movement of heavy equipment is difficult.
As the new project progresses,
the drone will undergo flight trials at
AkzoNobel’s UK-based coatings test site
and Barrier Group’s indoor training facility. The drone’s completion and launch is
planned for October 2017.
Axalta AquaEC 6100
Receives NSF- 51 Standards
Certification in North
America
Axalta Coating Systems announced that
its AquaEC 6100 cathodic epoxy e-coat
primer is NSF- 51 Standard certified after
meeting the strict requirements for prod-
ucts used to manufacture food equipment
and related materials. AquaEC 6100
is the first e-coat product to attain this
certification in North America.
NSF requirements for food equipment
and material safety help ensure products
do not release harmful chemicals into
food and safeguard against products that
may harbor bacteria. NSF- 51 Standard
establishes minimum public health and
sanitation requirements for materials
and finishes used in the manufacture of
commercial food service equipment and
its components, such as refrigerator heat
exchangers and condenser coils, tubing
and valves.
To earn the certification, a regimented
product evaluation process and testing
must be performed. The manufacturing facility needs to pass an inspection,
confirm production methods, and allow
product sampling by NSF International
auditors to certify that consistent quality
standards exist.
“AquaEC 6100 is the first e-coat in
the industry to receive this coveted approval status,” said Mike Stuhldreher,
Axalta North America sales manager.
