Eighty-five members and guests attended the seminar which was a continuation of previous IMCA rope workshops, which focused on defining the issues related to high value subsea construction ropes. There was representation from rope manufacturers, rope users, third party assurance suppliers and academic development institutes.
This year’s seminar focused on high performance slings and grommets used for subsea construction, with its title indicating the steady move over the past five years from wire to high performance fibre based rigging. Topics covered included the current codes and standards, operational experience, supplier updates and test house/academic studies.
After a welcome and introduction from David Cannell of TechnipFMC, the seminar chairman, there followed a number of presentations and workshops designed to present the latest status and understanding of the technology, to create discussions and to capture industry status and requirements.
The first workshop saw delegates discussing actual experiences and hot topic issues such as ‘Satisfying clients’ requests – specifically with heavy lifting gear’ and ‘Certification for intended purpose?’
The second embraced ‘Requirements – now and future’ when code/guidance improvements, testing and future R&D needs were discussed.
The presentations and workshop discussions will be used to influence, shape and develop existing and future IMCA guidance. The report and presentations are at www.imca-int.com/events/lifting-rigging-seminar-2017-amsterdam/
