Page 36 - Danish Offshore Industry 2019

TODAY, WE WORK MUCH CLOSER TO OUR CU-
STOMERS. WE ARE EXPECTED TO COME UP WITH

INNOVATION AND DEVELOPMENTS, MAKING US
MORE OF A PARTNER THAN A SUPPLIER

TONNY KLEIN, CEO, SUBC PARTNER.

to cut off excess parts of a structure and lift it to a safe such a job, and our client was positive to the idea. It all
position on the platform. Previously, such an operation just started as an idea, but now it is a product and a pro-
was handled by a combination of rope access and divers, cedure that our customers have embraced and are proud
today a robot is doing the job. of having been involved in developing.”

“We saw potential in finding out a new way of handling This is a distinct change in approaching potential custom-
ers.
“We strive for a partnership when solving a problem, not
to be told to use a certain solution.
This leads to better, cheaper and safer methods for han-
dling the job.”

As an example, the crawler was not developed because
a customer wanted a crawler. It was invented because a
customer wanted to have a problem solved. The concept
worked out, and now the crawler has been further
developed to handle ultrasonic measuring, cutting and
taking photos.
“Today, the crawler means a lot of tools having easy
access to the splash zone. Nobody else has developed a
similar tool for providing all such capabilities – high pres-
sure cleaning, camera for inspection, a special wire saw
and UT-equipment for measuring thickness. Our crawler
is the only robot providing all such features, and we are
developing even more tools to be attached to it. We see
it as a kind of Swiss Army Knife. A system holding lots of
opportunities for innovation.”

GREATER OPERATIONAL SAFETY
The easy and practical way of getting access to the splash
zone is not the only advantage of the crawler. Safety
during operations offshore has been greatly improved as
well.

“For companies focusing on HSE the crawler is an im-
pressive risk reducer. It is not without risk for a diver to
approach and work at the splash zone, and the same
goes for personnel using rope access. And both types of
operation require a considerable set-up to mitigate the
risks. The crawler doesn’t have such restrictions. And it
provides a larger weather window in which to work as
no personnel is exposed to a dangerous environment.
The innovative crawler is an example of the work SubC Partner does.
The crawler can work without problems in up to 2,5
Photo: SubC Partner
meter waves,” explains Tonny Klein.

34 / SUBC PARTNER