Steel structures most often have to be protected where production is already running: in workshops, warehouses and on the pipe racks of operating plants and power facilities. Shutting a plant down for painting is usually not an option, so the work is built around the client’s process. Here is how we organise it and what is worth agreeing before we start.
What to agree before mobilising to site
- Permits and responsible persons. Work permit, safety briefings, a responsible person on the client’s side and on ours, and how we keep in touch during the shift.
- Zones and schedule. We divide the site into areas and agree when each of them can be taken over: at weekends, on night shifts, during planned equipment shutdowns.
- What must not be contaminated. Running equipment, products, switchboards, ventilation — we decide in advance what we cover and where we put up barriers.
- Space to work. Where we connect power, where we place compressors and store materials, and where spent abrasive is taken.
Surface preparation next to running equipment
Abrasive blasting gives the best result, but it means dust and rebounding abrasive. At an operating site we blast inside an enclosure: the area is closed off with tarpaulin or film, and neighbouring equipment is covered. Where blasting is not possible, the steel is prepared with power tools, and the coating system is chosen to suit that preparation — there are primers designed for hand and power tool cleaning.
Application without paint mist or unnecessary odour
- Next to sensitive equipment and products we apply by brush and roller so that the paint does not drift across the workshop. In open areas we use airless spraying.
- In rooms where people are working, we choose water-based or low-odour materials and arrange ventilation.
- Solvent-based materials are stored and applied in line with the site’s fire safety rules: no open flame nearby, and with ventilation.
Inspection and handover area by area
In every area we check the surface preparation and the thickness of each coat with DeFelsko PosiTector 6000 and Elcometer gauges. Concealed works are recorded in inspection certificates, and each area is handed over as soon as it is finished, without waiting for the whole scope. This way the client gets the zone back into operation sooner.
A short checklist for the client
- Define the areas and the time windows when they can be cleared.
- Appoint a responsible person on each shift from the plant’s side.
- Show what must not be contaminated, and tell us what requirements on odour and solvents apply in the workshop.
- Show where to connect power and where to place materials and equipment.
- Agree on how the areas will be accepted.
How DQS works
We have our own crews and equipment: Graco, Wagner and Wiwa spray units, abrasive blasting units, compressors and lifts. Our occupational health and safety system is certified to ISO 45001, and quality management to ISO 9001. We work throughout Uzbekistan.
If your plant needs fire protection or corrosion protection without stopping production, send us a description of the site — we will propose a zone-by-zone schedule and a coating system. Phone: +998 90 978 10 00.
