Abstract
The coating process has long been considered to have less importance than other engineering activities that go into the manufacture and maintenance of a ship. This is often reflected by the relatively slow development in coating and surface preparation technology in comparison to other shipyard engineering processes, and the lack of hard data about the installation and subsequent maintenance of the system.
The entry into force of the IMO MSC.216(82), more commonly referred to as the Performance Standard for Protective Coatings (PSPC) is challenging the status quo. Firstly by making the application and performance of the water ballast tank coating system subject to Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) regulations. This implies that poor performance of the coating system in the ballast tanks could result in a condition of class. Secondly by placing the coating process in shipyards under greater scrutiny.
The key to the measurement of performance of any system is the ability to collect and analyze data to identify trends/patterns and causes of failures in the field and to have this data in a form that can be readily used to improve future decision making.
This paper sets out to examine the challenges of data collection as set out by the PSPC and suggests a possible solution to assist with these demands.
