29/6/2016 ProblemsCausedbytheLackofClarity&DefinitioninCoatingSpecifications

ProblemsCausedbytheLackofClarity&Definition
inCoatingSpecifications
ByMarkDavidson,Eng.,December7,2015

Takeaway:Disputesonthecoatingjobsiteoftenoriginateinanunclearlywrittencoatingspecification.Thatlackof
clarityanddefinitioncanleadtoconflictsaboutthescopeofworkandwhatisacceptablequalityfrom,forexample,
weldingandsurfacepreparationquality,tofirstcoattimeframerequirements.

Ivefoundthat
unlessproper
thoughtisgiven
totheintentand
writingofa
specificationora
procedure,itcan
leadto

Typicalweldingofastructuralnodeforanoffshoreplatform.Justasmuchtimeisspentgrindingandfinishingtheweldsasweldingitself.
Source:MarkDavidson

misinterpretationsthatcanbecostly.Clarityanddefinitionisextremelyimportantbecausewithoutit,thepeoplewhoare
supposedtousethespecificationareunawareofexactlywhattheclientwants.

Thislackofclaritywillleadtomisunderstandings,possiblyincorrectwork,delays,disputesandinevitableadditional
costs.SoIamagreatbelieverinclarityanddefinitioninaspecificationreally,inanyprojectdocument,butparticularly
inthespecification,asitisthecontrollingdeedinacoatingsproject.

Therearecommonphrasesthatoccurincertainsectionsofcoatingspecifications,writtenbypeoplewhoareprobably
justnotthinkingaboutwhattheyarewritingandnotconsideringtheramificationsofwhattheyarewriting.Someprime
examplesareoftenfoundintherequirementsforsurfacepreparation.

WeldPreparationQuality
Innewconstruction,preparationofweldsisdonebeforeanysurfacepreparationstarts.Anysteelobject,unlessitisa
totallyboltedstructure,willhavemanymetersofweldsinit.Ashipwillhavehundredsofkilometersofwelds.Therefore,
clearlydefinedstatementsinaspecificationaboutweldqualityandfinishareextremelyimportantbecauseweldscan
becomeanareaforearlycoatingbreakdownduetolocalized,reducedcoatingthickness.

HereisasamplephrasefoundintheSurfacePreparationsectionofacoatingspecification:
https://www.corrosionpedia.com/2/4174/procedures/generalprocedures/problemscausedbythelackofclaritydefinitionincoatingspecifications
Weldspatter,slivers,inclusions,millscale,rust,slag,undercuts,laminations,andsimilarsurfacedefectsorirregularities 1/4
29/6/2016 ProblemsCausedbytheLackofClarity&DefinitioninCoatingSpecifications

shallberemoved.

Thisstatementimpliesthatalloftheabovearedefectsandshallberemoved.Inanattempttoclarify,thewriterstates
thatAWSD1.1weldprofilesshallbeacceptable.However,thatstandardallowstightlyadherentspatter.

Soshouldtheweldingcontractorremoveallweldingdefects,oraresomedefectsacceptable?Thetwostatements
conflict.

ThespecificationengineershouldhavesimplyreferencedtheAWSD1.1standard,orsimilarISO85013forweld
profilesinsteadofdescribingwhatwasconsideredtobewelddefectsandrequiringtheirremoval.Alackofclarityand
definitionregardingweldpreparationcanbeavoidedbysimplyreferencingtheapplicablestandard(s)andstatingthe
requiredstandardoffinish.

AbrasivesandSurfaceCleanliness
Anotherareacommonlyaffectedbyalackofclarityisthequalityofabrasives.Atypicalspecificationstates:

Abrasivesshallbeclean,dry,sharp,angular,andfreeofclay,saltandoil,and,Abrasivesshallnotleaveexcessive
residueonthesurface.

However,acertainquantityofcontaminationisgenerallyacceptableandthetestmethodsfordeterminingtheir
presenceandconcentrationareincludedinstandardssuchastheISO8502series,whichwerereferencedinthis
particularspecification.

So,therequirementthatallabrasivesshallbeclean,dry,sharpandangularfreeofclay,saltandoilandshallnotleave
excessiveresidueonthesurfaceiscontrary.Thiscausesconfusionandleadstolossoftime,theneedclarifyandlikely
additionalcosts.

Ratherthantryingtocontroltheabrasivequality,thespecificationengineershouldhaveconcentratedoncontrollingthe
effectoftheabrasives,whichissurfacecleanliness.

Allhe/sheneededtostatewas:

Surfacecleanlinessatthetimeofpaintingshallmeetthespecifiedrequirements.ItshallbeSA2,inaccordancewith
ISO85011.Thepermissiblemaximumdustlevelisgrade2measuredinaccordancewithISO85023.Theresidualsalt
levelshallnotexceed20mg/m2asperISO85029.Abrasivesusedinthisworkshallproducetheforegoingsurface
cleanliness.

Cleanlinessstandardscanbevariedforspecificmaterialsandservicerequirements.Thisway,allpartiesunderstand
whatisrequired.Thespecifyingengineercandoawaywiththeseunclearstatements,whichjustcauseconfusion.

FaultyRuleofThumb:TimeFrametoFirstCoat
Thefollowingissuecancauseproblemsforbothpaintingcontractorsandcoatinginspectors.Iregularlyseethisindustry
ruleofthumbstatementincoatingspecificationsandprocedures:

Themaximumperiodbetweenthecompletionofsurfacepreparationandtheapplicationofthefirstcoat,orprimer,
shallnotexceed4hours.

Sometimesthistimeframeisacceptableandappropriate,butothertimesitisnot.

Iftheenvironmentandambientconditions(humidity,temperature)aresuchthatthesurfacequalitydoesnotdeteriorate
(forexample,flashrusting),thesurfacecleanlinessqualitycouldpersistfor24or48hours.Iveseenlargeoffshore
platformblocksincoatingshopswheretheenvironmentishumidityandtemperaturecontrolled,andthoseblockshave
retainedtherequiredsurfacecleanlinessforuptosevendaysbeforethefirstcoatingisapplied.Youcandothatin
controlledenvironments.

Similarly,ifyouhavestructuresinanoutdoorareawheretherelativehumidityislowenough,wheretheatmospheric
https://www.corrosionpedia.com/2/4174/procedures/generalprocedures/problemscausedbythelackofclaritydefinitionincoatingspecifications 2/4
conditionsaresuchthatyoucanmaintainthesurfacepreparationquality,thenthatisquiteacceptable.
29/6/2016 ProblemsCausedbytheLackofClarity&DefinitioninCoatingSpecifications

Sothefourhourlimitisapotentiallyconflictingrequirementthatcanbeverylimitingforthecontractor,anditwillcause
problems.Iveknownittocauseissuesforinspectors,whoareexpectedtoenforceaspecificationwiththatrequirement
init.Itsunrealisticandunhelpfulforallparties.

Theonlywaytoclearlydefinethisistosay:

Thesurfacepreparationqualityshallmeetthe[cited]standardatthetimeofcoatingapplication,becausethat
isexactlywhatisrequired.

"Good''and''Clean''
Subjectiveterminologycommonlyusedintheindustry,termslikegoodandclean,leaveitopenfordifferent
interpretationstobemade.Therefore,itisimportanttoreferencespecificstandardsthatgivethecontractorandthe
inspectorarecognized,measuredwaytodeterminetheacceptablelevelofcleanliness.

Soitsextremelyimportanttoreferencetherightstandardstosetparameters.AllofthepertinentISO,NACE,SSPCand
otherindustrystandardsprovidethemeanstomeasuremanyofthecharacteristicsincoatingoperations,whichthen
allowthespecifiertostatetheacceptablelevelsforeachinacoatingspecification.

Doingitthiswayprovidesthenecessaryclarityanddefinition.Thoserequirementscanthenbeincludedinthe
ContractorsProcedureandtheInspectionandTestPlandocuments.Sowhenqualitycontrolactivitiesarecarriedout,
allpartieshaveaclearlystatedparameterthattheymustinspectfor,inordertodeterminewhetherthespecifiedquality
hasbeenmet.

ACaseofClimbingCosts
Hereisacasewhereconflictsbetweentheweldingspecificationandthecoatingspecificationcausedexpensivedelays
byrequiringthatweldingsurfacesbereworked.Whenconstructinganewoffshoreplatform,thetopsidesaremadein
blocks,whichareweldedandthensenttoashopforpainting.Onthisparticularproject,theownerhadaconflicting
requirementinhisspecificationabouttheneedforacertainweldfinishorquality.

Itiscommoninfabricationyardsforthesubcontractorswhodothewelding,andgrindandpreparetheweldsfor
painting,tohaveacertainstandardtheyworkto.Theyknowthattheycanachieveaparticularproductionratewhen
workingtothatstandard.

Inthiscase,theyardweldqualitystandardwaslessthantheclientscoatingengineerbelievedwasnecessaryto
achievethedesiredcoatingdurability.

Thecoatingengineerlookedatanumberofblocksbeforetheywereduetogotothepaintingshopandhesaid,Now
thisweldqualityislessthanwerequire.Butthecontractorsaidtohim,Well,yourweldingspecificationsaysthisand
wehavecompliedwithit,butyourcoatingspecificationrequiressomethingbetter.

Theblockswereheldbackanddelayedfromgoingtothecoatingshopwhilemeetingswereheldandcopious
correspondencechangedhands.Theweldingspecificationandthepaintspecificationwerebothclientdocumentsand
finally,theclientrequiredthatthecoatingspecificationshouldbethecontrollingdocument.

Theclientthenhadtopayextramoneyforadditionalweldgrindingandpreparationtobedonetomeetthecoating
specificationrequirements.

Notonlycanyouhavelackofclarityinoneparticularspecification,youcanalsohavelackofclarity,orconflicts,between
twodifferentclientspecificationsononeproject.Itisimportantthatthedifferentdisciplines,suchasthestructural
engineerandtheweldingengineer,talktothecoatingengineertoensurethatalloftherequirementsforpropercoating
areclearlywrittenintotheweldingspecification.

Inevitablyinthiscase,therewasathatcosttheownerhadtopayforthisadditionalgrindingtobedone.
https://www.corrosionpedia.com/2/4174/procedures/generalprocedures/problemscausedbythelackofclaritydefinitionincoatingspecifications 3/4
Disputes,delaysandadditionalcostscanariseoncoatingprojectsduetoalackofclarityanddefinitionindocuments.
29/6/2016 ProblemsCausedbytheLackofClarity&DefinitioninCoatingSpecifications

However,ifthereisfocusonthesevitalingredientsbythewriterandreviewersofcoatingspecificationsandprocedures,
mostoftheseissuescanbeavoided.

***
Moreinthe"HowtoWriteaGreatCoatingSpecification"series:

CoatingsSpecifications,Good,BadorUgly:LouVincentQ&A
WhyitsaMistaketoReuseOldCoatingSpecs:LouVincentQ&A
WhoParticipatesinSelectingEqualCoatingProducts?
ConditionSurveyTheBackboneofaGoodCoatingSpecification
DefiningServiceRequirements&EnvironmentalFactorsforCoatingSpecification
DefiningClientObjectivesforCoatingsSpecification
Methods&PitfallsinSelectingCoatingSystemsforSpecification
Tightrope:IdentifyingLimitingConditionsforCoatingsSpecification
WritingSafetyIntoYourCoatingSpecification

https://www.corrosionpedia.com/2/4174/procedures/generalprocedures/problemscausedbythelackofclaritydefinitionincoatingspecifications 4/4