Pipelines
Offshore pipe markers and other maritime signs and labels are essential for maintenance, repairs and emergencies
By Jack Rubinger and Martin Carter, Graphic Products, Inc.
Seeing the signs W
hen you think of drilling for oil offshore, consider the
isolation, the gale-force winds, massive waves relentlessly pounding platforms, pelting rain, Arctic cold – and that’s on a good day! Offshore structures must also be super tough to perform in these conditions.
Equally important – for maintenance, repairs and emergencies – are the many signs, labels, tags and markers that provide instructions, di- rectional flow, contents, proce- dures, and explain emergency routes.
“The exploration, produc-
tion and transportation of off- shore oil and gas on remote sites is a heavily regulated in- dustry.” said Grady Hurley from the law firm of Jones Walker.
“On an offshore produc- tion or drilling facility, miles of piping systems with flanges and valves are integrated in a close quarters setting under ex- treme conditions.” Offshore sign and label ap- plications are numerous. It’s important to understand where and why they’re applied and what the best type of sign is for each job. Many manufacturers pro-
vide a surveying service to de- termine requirements for es- cape routes, fire and IMO safety signage and why current signs and labels may be failing. Just having another set of eyes is extremely useful. An initial examination
may indicate the need to mark subsea pipes, return lines, ris- ers, J-tubes and caisson walls. But markers can also be used for subsea applications, in- cluding identification, asset tag- ging, positioning, orientation and valve actuation indication. Offshore pipe markers in- dicate the direction and con- tent of fluids and gases contained in pipes – and they need to be maintained, re- placed and repaired on an on- going basis. One vendor warns that using the wrong or inappropri- ate marker type could easily re- sult in users experiencing serious or catastrophic plant failures, and manufacturers facing questions about their ap- plication. “In order to warn, identify
and protect pipe, markers and labels are essential in any off- shore production operation. Many of the industry stan- dards for pipe markings and tags are set forth by the ISO under 14726, et seq., and ANSI A.13, et seq. As of November
15, 2011, owners, operators and contractors were required to implement a Safety and En- vironmental Management Sys- tem (SEMS) under 30 C.F.R. 25,” said Hurley.
ANSI offers sound advice about where to place pipe marking labels. ANSI A13.1 requires the direction of flow be indicated, the pipe con- tents be identified and spe- cific label colours be used, based on the pipe contents. ANSI also specifies the mini- mum label size, minimum let- tering size and minimum label locations.
Pipe labels should be posi- tioned so that they can be eas- ily seen from the normal angle of approach - for instance, below the centreline of the pipe if the pipe is overhead, and above the centreline if the pipe is below eye level. Pipe labels should be placed:
Adjacent to all valves and flanges; Adjacent to all changes of direction;
On both sides of wall or floor penetrations; At
regular intervals on
straight runs. On many piping systems,
there will be valves, actuators, and/or transmitters that can be
Pipeline flow direction marker
Marine labels 16 November/December 2012 Offshore Technology
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