TECHNICAL UPDATE Marine Products

Welding Safety Inspection, upkeep safety level on-board By Leif Andersen, Technical Product Manager Welding, WSS Marine Products

If you believe “Safety is Expensive, It’s because you never tried an accident”

An accident on-board can in its worst consequence involve injury or death to person or personnel, damage to equipment and sometime the vessel itself, legal implications and downtime to operation. Accidents must at all cost be avoided because they will guarantied outclass the cost of up keeping the safety level. Hot work like welding and cutting are unfortunately culprits to a number of accidents. The only safe location for hot work to be performed will in most cases be the workshop on-board. Outside the workshop is a dangerous place to perform hot work and must always require a hot work permit. The below Check List points toward what needs to be done before, during, and after hot work have been performed. Make sure to have it available on-board. Product no.811053

TECHNICAL UPDATE Marine Products

Every year there are reports on accidents on-board vessels related to Hot Work

Flashback in oxy acetylene hoses followed by fire. Flashback arrestors where present and stopped damage to regulator and cylinders. Many of these accidents can be related not only to the hot work itself with sparks flying, but to the type or state of the welding or cutting equipment. Equipment need to be maintained and be kept up to standard. Over time, welding equipment is worn down. If neglected they will eventually deteriorate and become a safety hazard.

Accidents also happen using electric arc welding equipment. In the above case (left side) the return cable, wrongly referred to as Earth or Ground, have been connected to the hull endangering the operator and engine equipment. The motor plate on the welding machine (right side) state Open Circuit Voltage OCV 75- 80 volt. This is a Transformer delivering Alternating Current. MCA Rules and Regulations for Merchant Seamen state max OCV 25 Volt for transformer type of welding machines.

TECHNICAL UPDATE Marine Products

Neglectence can in some cases lead up to serious accidents

Explosion in gas cylinder central

Adiabatic compression destroying oxygen high-pressure hose

Flashback destroying regulator not protected by flashback arrestor

Acetylene gas leaking out of faulty equipment. Detonating and destroying workbench

Deadly combination on-board: Alternating Current transformer with Open Circuit Voltage 80 volt

TECHNICAL UPDATE Marine Products

Welding Safety Inspection

In order to improve the safety level of welding equipment on-board, Wilhelmsen Ships Service offer a Safety Inspection of Welding Equipment survey to all its customers. At a convenient location and time, one of their approved port representatives will come on-board to do the survey that takes from 1 to 2 hours. A total of 75 checkpoints covering electric arc welding and gas-welding equipment will be survived & reported upon.

Based on the survey WSS will send a confidential report with its finding and suggested solutions to have any Non Conformance rectified. Picture will support all findings.

Where can the Welding Safety Inspection be performed:

Vancouver Freemantle Piraeus Los Angeles Singapore Genoa New York Hong Kong Algeciras Philadelphia Shanghai Lisbon Jacksonville Guangzhou Antwerp New Orleans Kaohsiung Rotterdam Houston Yokohama Hamburg Panama Dubai Barcelona Rio Fujairah

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What is the most common findings?

We have performed hundreds of welding safety inspections on-board. Some of the non-conformances repeat themselves. What is the most common findings?

• Need for improved “housekeeping” and handling, storage of welding electrodes, brazing rods and welding gear in general.

• Missing and/or incorrect regulators and flashback arrestors used in GDS cylinder central and portable gas welding systems.

• Return cables (earth/ ground) connected to ships’ hull instead of to the work piece when doing electric arc welding.

• Cracked gas hoses and exposed copper wire on welding cables, connections etc.

• Several industrial welding machines are found with Open Circuit Voltage (OCV) exceeding 70V and not in compliance with the MCA’s Code of Safe Working Practices for Merchant Seamen. (These machines may have been installed during new build stage as “yard supply”.

• Missing signage in GDS central cylinder lockers, entrance doors and outlet stations in workshops.

• Lack of posting certificates in GDS central cylinder lockers.

• Storage of non AC/OX gas cylinders and other materials in GDS central cylinder lockers.

• Safety valves on regulators not ventilated out of cylinder storage rooms

Regulators not protected by flashback arrestors

Welding cables with lack of insulation

Electrodes abused and not protected against moisture pick up. Coating starting to disintegrate

Regulators safety valve not connected and ventilated out of the cylinder storage cabinet

TECHNICAL UPDATE Marine Products

Benefit of doing a Welding Safety inspection:

Improve Welding Safety environment on-board preventing accidents to crew and vessel. Improve operating efficiency through equipment in good working order

Welding Safety Inspection Product no. 770077

A proper hose clip is a small investment compered to having oxygen or acetylene gas leaking out causing explosions and fires on-board