BACKGROUND
Siemens is one of Australia’s largest suppliers of power generation turbines. They play a crucial role in driving sustainable and innovative power solutions for the nation’s growing energy demands. Their Turbine Services arm is dedicated to servicing, maintaining, and optimizing power turbines in various industries, ensuring their reliable and efficient performance.
An essential component in the lifecycle of a power turbine is a planned maintenance program that occurs approximately every six years. This scheduled maintenance program typically involves hundreds of personnel and weeks of power-producing downtime. During maintenance, the power turbines are completely disassembled, cleaned, tested and re-assembled.
The cleaning process involves abrasive blasting, creating a massive mess as particles, contaminants and blasting media are projected at high pressure in every direction. Consequently, abrasive blasting must occur in an enclosed space.
THE CHALLENGE
Traditionally a wrapped scaffolding system would be erected, requiring up to three days each to assemble and disassemble the structure. Considering the workforce costs and the power turbines’ downtime, the traditional scaffolding setup and disassembly process come at a significant cost. Because the turbine maintenance programs represent an ongoing operating cost, finding scalable efficiencies would result in considerable savings over a short period.
The Service Operation Team at Siemens approached Giant Inflatables Industrial (GII) to custom design a Portable Abrasive Blasting Shelter tailored to their specific needs regarding size and design.
After considerable consultation, GII designed and fabricated the ideal-sized Portable Abrasive Blasting Shelter. Striking the perfect balance of manageability and surface working area, the fully equipped Siemens Blasting Shelter could be set up using a fraction of the workforce for setup, and the quick setup time also reduced the overall maintenance period by up to three days. Siemens saw a return on their investment within three maintenance projects.
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