Case Study – Ship Lagging Overhaul
Being a solutions-oriented company, we love helping companies find the best insulation solution for their particular application.
Often times, this requires a bit of ‘digging’ on our part, in order to get a clear picture of the situation and provide the customer with the correct solution. Such was the case with a recent marine application. The customer had a fleet of drill ships and the exhaust ‘lagging’ (another term for insulation) had come apart on part of the exhaust, and needed to be replaced.
The customer’s initial request was for Firwin to construct removable insulation blankets of a specific size and thickness to cover the exhasut flexes for six generator sets. Although a quote was provided as per the customer request, we indicated that without any knowledge of the parts to be covered, we could not guarantee that the blanket size specified by the customer would properly cover his exhaust. We referred the customer to an article from our summer newsletter, indicating the risks inherent in ordering a blanket size, as opposed to providing the dimensions of the part to be covered, and letting Firwin’s designers determine the appropriate size for the blankets.
The customer agreed with our assessment, and forwarded to us photos and dimensions of the parts they wish covered. It seems that the existing lagging, once removed, would come apart. Exhaust Flex with dimensionsWhat the customer really wanted was a more ‘elegant’ solution, that would cover both the exhaust flex and the upper and lower flanges, and be removable / reuseable.
Firwin’s design team went to work and prepared two options for the customer – a single blanket that would cover the flex and the flanges, similar, at least in design, to the customer’s current solution; and a 3 blanket solution, where separate blankets would be made for the flex and flanges.
The customer chose the 3 blanket solution, as it provided more flexibility, and would be easier to install and remove when necessary. A single set was ordered as a test fit, and subsequently the remaining exhausts were covered as well.
“This is a perfect example of why it is always best to let our engineers see the parts that the customer wants covered”, noted Brett Herman, Firwin V.P. of Sales and Customer Service. “In this case, we were able to design a much better solution for the customer than what he would have received had we simply just duplicated his existing insulation lagging”.
Other Articles: Clean Water & Removable Insulation Blanket Part III – Energy Efficiency
