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Cleaning on the Critical Path
Cleaning's Not on The Critical Path - Until It Is.
Cleaning processes aren't normally on the critical path during a turnaround, that is until ineffective cleaning compromises your schedule because of recleaning for NDE, delays in getting equipment to the washpad overwhelm the washpad, or water supply and wastewater capacity burdens cause interruptions. For routine maintenance and pit stops, cleaning is always on the critical path when hydroblasting durations often stretch for several days, leaving mechanical crews waiting.
Hydroblasting badly fouled bundles can take multiple shifts, with labour-intensive tube-side lancing and shell-side blasting that can take as long as days to achieve "passable" results. Because of the limitations of hydroblasting, crews are often forced to abandon cleaning efforts in order to keep to the desired mechanical schedule.
The most common solution is to add more hydroblasting capacity - more equipment, more workers, and more water. Even with excess hydroblasting capacity, bundles that are sent for inspection often are returned by the inspectors for more cleaning in order to allow proper inspection. Our clients report that between 25-50% of bundles sent for inspection are returned for more cleaning - often more than once!
The time and efficacy limitations of hydroblasting have forced turnaround and maintenance groups to accept less than perfect cleaning results, longer turnaround schedules, and compromised plant performance.
How is hydroblasting on your washpad holding you back?
Too Many Parts - Too Little Time
The Hidden Risk Lurking in Your Parts Bin
Turnarounds generate a mountain of parts - from massive exchanger heads to handfuls of nuts and bolts. With hydroblasting, every item must be manually hauled to the washpad and cleaned one-by-one. It’s slow, laborious, and often ineffective. The result? Critical components like column trays get tossed and replaced just to save time. This reality drives up costs and exposes your project to supply chain risks.
Decontamination Delays
A few hundred valves to be serviced? Not so fast. Before they can go to the shop, they need to be fully cleaned. If they're not clean enough, servicing takes longer. If they’re damaged during cleaning, it’s even worse. Manually blasting each part isn’t just inefficient - it’s unreliable. Fragile components suffer, timelines slip, and reassembly stalls.
When Cleaning Causes Damage
Cleaning should reveal repairs - not cause them. If a fragile or fouled part can't be cleaned properly by blasting - or gets damaged in the attempt, you’re suddenly scrambling for an emergency replacement. That scramble? It can derail your schedule fast.
The Supply Chain Effect
Every extra part added to your scope is another risk. Cleaning delays lead to inspection delays, which can expose damage too late to plan around. Now you're at the mercy of repair shops, inventory levels, and shipping timelines — even if you did everything right.
The Domino Effect of Hydroblasting
In a turnaround, every task is connected — and the washpad hydroblasting is a critical step. When hydroblasting struggles to keep up and parts aren't being cleaned quickly or thoroughly, everything that follows will begin to fall behind. Inspections are delayed. Repairs can’t start. Crews sit idle. And reassembly stalls.
It’s a classic domino effect: One slow cleaning job leads to missed inspections, which can lead to late repairs or even last-minute surprises. For operators, that means extended downtime, compromised reliability, and the risk of restarting with subpar equipment. For turnaround managers, it’s schedule slippage, blown budgets, emergency sourcing, and contractor chaos.
If the washpad can’t keep up, your entire turnaround teeters. One delay triggers the next — until your schedule collapses.
Cleaning's Not on The Critical Path - Until It Is.
Cleaning processes aren't normally on the critical path during a turnaround, that is until ineffective cleaning compromises your schedule because of recleaning for NDE, delays in getting equipment to the washpad overwhelm the washpad, or water supply and wastewater capacity burdens cause interruptions. For routine maintenance and pit stops, cleaning is always on the critical path when hydroblasting durations often stretch for several days, leaving mechanical crews waiting.
Hydroblasting badly fouled bundles can take multiple shifts, with labour-intensive tube-side lancing and shell-side blasting that can take as long as days to achieve "passable" results. Because of the limitations of hydroblasting, crews are often forced to abandon cleaning efforts in order to keep to the desired mechanical schedule.
The most common solution is to add more hydroblasting capacity - more equipment, more workers, and more water. Even with excess hydroblasting capacity, bundles that are sent for inspection often are returned by the inspectors for more cleaning in order to allow proper inspection. Our clients report that between 25-50% of bundles sent for inspection are returned for more cleaning - often more than once!
The time and efficacy limitations of hydroblasting have forced turnaround and maintenance groups to accept less than perfect cleaning results, longer turnaround schedules, and compromised plant performance.
How is hydroblasting on your washpad holding you back?
The Hidden Risk Lurking in Your Parts Bin
Turnarounds generate a mountain of parts - from massive exchanger heads to handfuls of nuts and bolts. With hydroblasting, every item must be manually hauled to the washpad and cleaned one-by-one. It’s slow, laborious, and often ineffective. The result? Critical components like column trays get tossed and replaced just to save time. This reality drives up costs and exposes your project to supply chain risks.
Decontamination Delays
A few hundred valves to be serviced? Not so fast. Before they can go to the shop, they need to be fully cleaned. If they're not clean enough, servicing takes longer. If they’re damaged during cleaning, it’s even worse. Manually blasting each part isn’t just inefficient - it’s unreliable. Fragile components suffer, timelines slip, and reassembly stalls.
When Cleaning Causes Damage
Cleaning should reveal repairs - not cause them. If a fragile or fouled part can't be cleaned properly by blasting - or gets damaged in the attempt, you’re suddenly scrambling for an emergency replacement. That scramble? It can derail your schedule fast.
The Supply Chain Effect
Every extra part added to your scope is another risk. Cleaning delays lead to inspection delays, which can expose damage too late to plan around. Now you're at the mercy of repair shops, inventory levels, and shipping timelines — even if you did everything right.
In a turnaround, every task is connected — and the washpad hydroblasting is a critical step. When hydroblasting struggles to keep up and parts aren't being cleaned quickly or thoroughly, everything that follows will begin to fall behind. Inspections are delayed. Repairs can’t start. Crews sit idle. And reassembly stalls.
It’s a classic domino effect: One slow cleaning job leads to missed inspections, which can lead to late repairs or even last-minute surprises. For operators, that means extended downtime, compromised reliability, and the risk of restarting with subpar equipment. For turnaround managers, it’s schedule slippage, blown budgets, emergency sourcing, and contractor chaos.
If the washpad can’t keep up, your entire turnaround teeters. One delay triggers the next — until your schedule collapses.