Industrial Shutdown Cleaning: How to Keep Critical Workfronts Moving
Industrial Shutdown Cleaning: How to Keep Critical Workfronts Moving Written by Mike Vickers Picture the handoff at 2:00 a.m. The inspector is ready. Scaffolding is signed off. The mechanical crew has tools staged. The asset is open and on the schedule, but the workfront is still not available. Material remains in a low point. […]
Internal Floating Roof Tank Cleaning: Planning Access, Cribbing, Cleaning and Inspection
Internal Floating Roof Tank Cleaning: Planning Access, Cribbing, Cleaning and Inspection Written by Mike Vickers Internal floating roof tank cleaning is not simply a conventional tank clean with an obstruction in the way. The roof changes the structural workfront, divides the vapour space, restricts equipment movement and creates inspection surfaces that must remain accessible. […]
Tank Cleaning Technology: Why Equipment Alone Is Not Enough
Tank Cleaning Technology: Why Equipment Alone Is Not Enough Written by Mike Vickers Tank cleaning technology can change the outcome of a project, but only when it is applied correctly in the field. That distinction matters. A robotic cannon, command centre, hot oiler, cone-bottom separation system, or vacuum unit does not deliver a clean tank […]
Confined Space Cleaning Interfaces: Designing Entry – Minimized Cleaning Scopes
Confined Space Cleaning Interfaces: Designing Entry- Minimized Cleaning Scopes Written by Mike Vickers Most tank, vessel and pit cleanouts don’t go sideways because the jetting or vacuum work is “hard.” They go sideways at the interfaces—permits, isolations, atmospheric control, rescue readiness, waste routing, and the handoffs between operations, cleaning, mechanical, and inspection. When those interfaces […]
Hydrovac Daylighting for Brownfield Tie-Ins
Hydrovac Daylighting for Brownfield Tie-Ins: Daylighting That Prevents Strikes, Delays, and Paperwork Spirals Written by: Mike Vickers Brownfield tie-ins are where “small digs” turn into big risk. You’re cutting into an operating facility with unknowns below grade, tight SIMOPS windows, and stakeholders who need certainty before anyone puts a bucket in the ground. That’s exactly […]
Hot Oiler Circulation Planning: Prevent Stalls and Rework
Hot Oiler Circulation Planning: Prevent Stalls and Rework Written by: Mike Vickers Hot oiler circulation is one of those scopes that looks simple on paper: bring a unit, warm the fluid, keep it moving. In the field, it’s rarely that clean. Stalls happen. Lines plug. Temperature swings create new problems. And the job that was […]
Chemical Cleaning Verification: How to Prove Cleanliness Before Startup
Chemical Cleaning Verification: How to Prove Cleanliness Before Startup Written by: Mike Vickers Chemical cleaning is only “done” when you can prove the system is clean enough to go back into service. Until then, you’re carrying risk: fouling on first heat-up, plugged strainers, unstable corrosion rates, off-spec product, and a commissioning schedule that slips because […]
Temporary Vapour Control Scrubber on Maintenance: Scrubbers + Carbon Units That Keep Work Moving
Temporary Vapour Control Scrubber on Maintenance: Scrubbers + Carbon Units That Keep Work Moving Written by: Mike Vickers You can have a solid maintenance plan and still lose the window the moment vapours show up—right when you crack a flange, lift a hatch, or start de-inventorying. That’s exactly where a temporary vapour control scrubber setup […]
High-Pressure Cleaning: Engineered for Reliability
High-Pressure Cleaning: From “Hose and Hope” to Engineered Reliability Written by: Mike Vickers Walk any gas plant or refinery during a turnaround and you’ll see the same scene playing out: exchangers on the ground, fin-fans opened up, bundles hanging off cranes, vac trucks cycling loads, and somewhere in the middle of it all, high-pressure pumps […]
Acid Work in Motion: Why Integration Matters More Than Ever
Acid Work in Motion: Why Integration Matters Across the Western Canadian oilfield, acid work is on the rise — from scale removals and well stimulations to injection well cleanups. It’s the kind of work that’s unforgiving to downtime, coordination errors, or missing equipment. Every valve, line, and hose needs to perform. Every crew needs to […]