Page 74: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (August 2013)

PRODUCTSPIPES & FITTINGSOf all the market segments where Victaulic mechani- cal pipe joining products are used, the maritime in-dustry is one of the most strictly regu-lated. Product testing carried out here is among the most challenging and di-verse of all markets and industries ? and rightly so. Products need to withstand a wide range of forces and loading con-ditions generated by vibration, tem-perature ß uctuations, pressure surges, movement resulting from wave motion, not to mention exposure to weather and seawater that pose a constant threat for corrosion of metallic components. If a piping system were to be compromised at sea, it could have serious conse-quences for the vessel, crew and pas-sengers. For the maritime market, there are 13 classiÞ cation agencies within the IACS organization. Victaulic submits new products for design assessment, perfor- mance evaluation and Type Approval to a large number of these. The agencies in this group are American Bureau of Shipping (ABS), Bureau Veritas (BV), China ClassiÞ cation Society (CCS), Croatian Register of Shipping (CRS), Det Norske Veritas (DNV), Ger- manischer Lloyd (GL), Korean Regis-ter of Shipping (KRS), Lloyd?s Register of Shipping (LR), Registro Italiano Na-vale (RINA), Polish Register of Ship-ping, Indian Register of Shipping, the Russian Maritime Register of Shipping and Nippon Kaiji Kyokai (ClassNK). IACS sets the minimum standard for all of the classiÞ cation agencies. How- ever, each individual agency may add requirements as needed for a particular system or on a discretionary basis for a critical application. This leads to some variation between agencies, resulting in further challenges during the testing and qualiÞ cation process. Regulation is a highly complex and costly business for most manufacturers. With a large range of grooved-end cou- plings, Þ ttings and valves used in many onboard piping systems, Victaulic has a number of different products in the approval cycle at any given time. Each model and size is subjected to a number of both short- and long-term tests. Ad- ditionally, each manufacturing location will be subjected to periodic audits to ensure product quality and consistency is being maintained. Both processes - product testing and factory production control auditing - require considerable management and coordination to meet both agency requirements and custom-er / market demands. Getting the groundwork right Victaulic is a design-focussed com- pany that drives industry trends. Its engineers are involved in research and development year round, evaluating new ideas and working on prototypes that often Þ nd their way into unique maritime applications. Since Victaulic invented the grooved piping system more than 85 years ago, it has pio-neered many new designs to solve mar- ket problems and make products more robust and yet economical to install. But before the company can even begin the regulatory process to obtain Type Approval, a tremendous amount of time is allocated to research and development and internal testing. The product development process can eas-ily extend over 18 months and entails design, modeling, construction and internal testing of prototypes. The pro- cess also includes making adjustments as needed to ensure the product can meet both agency requirements and the established ratings for temperature, pressure, end load, vibration, Þ re expo- sure and other possible service condi-tions. Concurrent with this is process development to assure consistency of global manufacturing to a wide range of international standards. Once a new design is Þ nalized and the Testing Times for Seaworthy Products Len Swantek is Director of Global Regulatory Compliance at Victaulic. www.victaulic.com For shipbuilders, Type Ap- proval by the International Association of ClassiÞ cation Societies (IACS) is a key cri-terion in the selection and installation of products and systems for a wide range of shipboard applications. For manufacturers, meeting IACS standards is a major factor in the design, devel-opment and qualiÞ cation of products to ensure the high- est levels of safety, Þ tness for purpose and reliability Len Swantek, Director of Glob- al Regulatory Compliance at Victaulic, outlines the regulatory Type Approval process for its pipe-joining products from design to post production and explains the importance of maintaining high standards for quality and performance.74 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News ? AUGUST 2013 Internal testing is carried out before the regulatory process begins. MR #8 (74-82).indd 74MR #8 (74-82).indd 748/2/2013 9:15:12 AM8/2/2013 9:15:12 AM