INNOVATIONS
ENGINEERING AND INNOVATION HANDLED WITH CARE
Houlder’s Marine Equipment business works with wind farm O&M contractors and installers to speed up operations improve efficiency and drive commercial advantage.
As a result Paul Shaw, Marine Equipment Director knows a thing or two about equipping wind farm installation vessels under pressure…
“The clients we work with,” he explains “need large pieces of innovative handling
equipment to be operational on time and within tightly controlled budgets. They
come to us because we are a genuine turnkey supplier – delivering the project from FEED, to setting, to work.”
ONE-STOP-SHOP
The team works from Tyneside providing a ‘one-stop-shop’ for design, analysis, engineering, project management, procurement and installation services. With a sound understanding of both offshore wind and oil & gas challenges, Houlder has found itself talking to major players about maximising efficiency when handling turbines, foundations and monopoles, as well as the best contracting strategy to ensure successful delivery.
ENGINEERING CHALLENGE “Installation vessels, already in short supply, often need to be mobilised with project specific handling solutions”. Paul added “One size does definitely not fit all.” The engineering challenge this presents, despite everyone’s best efforts, can be risky and expensive to overcome if not managed carefully.
The good news is this is precisely the kind of equipment supply contract Houlder has been successfully delivering lately. The company is immediately recognisable for its ingenuity when it comes to marine engineering. It is at its best when its people apply their brain power to develop new ideas and solve exacting problems within challenging constraints.
DELIVERING STEP CHANGES The marine equipment Houlder supplies is seldom standard. The innovative company focuses on delivering step changes in vessel operational capability, uplifts in efficiency and extensions of operating envelopes.
This implies risk taking, uncertainty and cost, however Paul explains “We work on our clients’ behalf, acknowledging we are developing bigger, more complex and better performing equipment. We work to fixed costs and mitigate risk ourselves. That’s the benefit of coming to us as a genuine one-stop-shop for equipment.”
PARTNERSHIP
The company aims to form a genuine sense of partnership from initial conception to delivery. A key example is Houlder’s work with MPI Offshore.
They contracted Houlder to lead the design, fabrication, installation and commissioning of a pair of ‘gripper arms’ to maintain offshore wind turbine piles in place during installation.
PROJECT SPECIFICATION
The 200t specialist arms aid the installation of piles in up to 40m of water – handling piles of up to 650T weight, 7m diameter and 65m in length. They are built in to the MPI Discovery stern and provide the horizontal restraint required to support piles in the vertical position while they are being driven.
When the arms are stowed, they are mechanically and manually 'latched' at main deck level. This allows the vessel to safely transit and the hydraulic system to be powered off. Both arms can be controlled from a single console to be located on the deck. The console is fitted with an X-Y joystick, emergency stop and one touch screen panel for information and mode selection.
EXACTING STANDARDS Structurally, the ‘gripper arms’ and associated vessel reinforcement are designed against DNV Classification Rules and fully checked using finite element analysis.
At the time, Peter Robinson, Managing Director of MPI Offshore Ltd said, “We are delighted with the final engineered solution created by Houlder Ltd. Both their engineers and ours have worked in collaboration to construct this equipment to exacting standards.”
FLEX-LAY EQUIPMENT
Houlder also has a growing reputation for flex-lay equipment. Delivering a Reel Skidding Drive System (RSDS) from its Aberdeen operation for example. Designed, engineered and constructed by Houlder to a client specification, the RSDS consists of a skid frame, skid trolley and push beam.
Weighing 75t, the modular system receives a loaded cassette reel of flexible product, engages its drive system and then transports the unit 10 metres along the vessel deck to the product deployment position.
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www.windenergynetwork.co.uk
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