SPRINKLER INSPECTION A skilled rope-access team from Skyriders is tasked with ensuring that a deluge fire sprinkler system is ready to deal with any fire at a petrochemicals plant
Since rope-access company Skyriders signed a contract with a large local petrochemicals depot in 2013, a team of the company’s technicians has been maintaining the plant’s deluge fire sprinkler system, with work completed on 30 structures on site.
Skyriders marketing manager Mike Zinn says the team is responsible for inspecting the deluge fire sprinkler system at various points across the plant, including at the storage tanks, the gas spheres and the general plant areas. The company also conducts maintenance on the deluge nozzles and deluge pipes to ensure the fire suppression systems are always ready to operate.
The Skyriders team of four technicians access the various structures using ropes. “With this method, there is no need for conventional access systems, which are time consuming and expensive,” Zinn says, adding that the task of removing, cleaning, maintaining and replacing a deluge nozzle is a simple and inexpensive exercise.
Typical maintenance procedures at the plant include unblocking pipes and nozzles, replacing damaged pipes and nozzles and testing the complete system to ensure that it is in proper working order.
Meanwhile, Zinn highlights that general corrosion rates of certain components and water-quality issues are some of the maintenance challenges.
He also mentions that correctly maintaining such a deluge fire sprinkler system is important as it is a safety-critical system, established to prevent and suppress fires. “In a petrochemicals plant, this is a non-negotiable,” Zinn concludes.