Page 99: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (October 1992)

New Blasting Method In Coast

Guard Yard Results In Saving

Dollars And The Environment

At the Coast Guard Yard in Curtis

Bay, Md., using dust collectors to shroud an entire vessel and install- ing curtains at the ends of a drydock allowed the Coast Guard to collect about 20,000 pounds of dust from interior and exterior blasting which could have gone into the air. Ac-

The CGC Valiant Is pictured under the shroud while in drydock undergoing renovation at the yard. cording to Fran Cohen, the indus- trial hygienist at the yard, "The ultimate test of success for the new blasting procedures was we received zero complaints during blasting from the work force—a first for the yard!"

The new procedure reportedly re- sulted in a total savings of $126,000.

Abrasive blasting of cutters' sur- faces is one of the first jobs that is completed when a vessel arrives at the yard for work. Then the vessel's interior and exterior surfaces must be prepared, which initially requires blasting of existing paints, rust, marine growth, etc. to the bare metal. The surfaces are then primed and painted.

The Sandblast Quality Action

Team (QAT) faced the challenge of changing the yard's standard oper- ating blasting procedures to new procedures. The new procedures could essentially reduce production scheduling delays and costs while improving trade sequencing, worker safety and the environment. The

QAT focused on protecting the work- ers' health and the environment and then designed a production plan which would increase productivity and allow workers of various trades to access the vessel during blasting.

The QAT's analysis of the cur- rent and the desired state of blast- ing operations involved the com- parison of data received from two vessels currently at the yard for extensive renovations. Tradesmen used the traditional blasting tech- niques on the Coast Guard Cutter (CGC) Vigorous as a baseline and tested the proposed ideas on the

CGC Valiant.

In order to test the proposed ideas dust collection units were rented and the vessel was completely shrouded in a translucent polypro- pylene fabric designed to catch the blasting grit. Then sectional cur- tains made of strips of clear vinyl were erected at the ends of the drydock to prevent grit from escap- ing during exterior blasting.

Once this was completed both blasters and painters were able to work on the vessel simultaneously, something which was unheard of before the new procedure was imple- mented.

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