Industry: New, 30,000 Square Meter International Airline Catering Facility
Location: Bangkok, Thailand
Circumstances: Arc welding adjacent EPU insulation caused a major fire resulting in extensive damage to approximately 20% of the multi-storey building and deposited highly corrosive contamination throughout the facility. This fire occurred just prior to the opening of the facility.
- Damage assessment was carried out immediately and recommendations made to the six different companies/suppliers involved.
- IRS mobilized an international team of engineers and technicians plus a local labour force numbering several hundred.
- Loss mitigation was carried out on stainless steel walk-in chillers, freezers and catering equipment to minimize further damage by the corrosive fallout from the fire. Later they were chemically decontaminated and corrosion removed. The associated fan coil units (evaporators) were completely disassembled, decontaminated, insulation replaced, re-assembled and tested.
- Complete robotic stacking machines were decontaminated, computers removed and repaired as necessary. The associated stepping motors were treated like-wise.
- Several electric fork-lifts were disassembled, decontaminated, re-painted, re-assembled and tested.
- Many large air-handling units (AHU’s) were cleaned in situ and all corrosion removed and exposed metal surfaces treated (passivated) in order to preserve their condition.
- Electrical distribution cabinets and cubicles were disassembled, processed as above and tested.
- Food handling equipment plus large industrial washers and dryers were similarly processed.
- Internal goods lifts (elevators) were decontaminated and re-painted.
- In excess of USD 20 million was saved by recovering the equipment rather than replacing it.
- More than 5 months of disruption to the facility was saved by recovering rather than waiting for new equipment.
- The loss mitigation carried out on the stainless steel equipment helped to reduce the decontamination costs and minimized the time required to carry out the work.