BEAGLE V #FOLLOWTHERIG 20+ YEAR SERVICE

26 October 2023

Beagle V’s rig has arrived on a truck safe and secure in the packaging from RSB Rigging in Palma for her 20+ year service. RSB Rigging is one of the certified BSI Service Agents in Palma.
Whilst on the truck, the rig is checked for any movement or damage on route. For greater efficiencies, the delivery can include one or more rig and fittings and in the case of Beagle V she arrived alongside two other projects BSI is working on with RSB Rigging.

The pallet stack containing the rods, along with any coils and boxes are unloaded using forklifts. Each rig is given a designated area at the back of that factory, this ensures all parts of the rig have a home and this provides a place to find fittings and rods for measuring.

All the fittings, Kevlar stays and rods are meticulously unpacked measured, fittings removed and labelled so at any point both the fitting and the rod can be identified. This is a reference point for the Project Manager.

Once measured, the bars are returned to the pallet stack within the designated area and the fittings go into a clearly labelled box in the nominated Project Management area. For parts not being refurbished, these are put into a box and stored until the service is complete in case they are needed for reference. For the parts that are being refurbished, these are sent to washing and NDT.

NDT is a very important step in the rig service process.

NDT stands for Non-Destructive Testing; its purpose is to highlight any flaws in the part that are not visible to naked eye. The fittings are covered in red dye and then left for 10-15 minutes; this is then rinsed off. A white spray is then used over the fitting. Any stresses or strains become visible and are carefully checked by the experienced team at BSI.

BSI is pleased to report that in the instance of Beagle V and is the case with over 95% of the fittings that are returned, no flaws are found. Now whilst some can be reused as this is a 20+ year service original parts will be replaced as a matter of safety and the life expectancy of the material and the part.

For parts that fail the NDT these will need replacing with new ones (we cover that later), for those that pass their NDT they are polished and placed back on their designated trolley and ready for the reassembly stage.

Next up, we will show you how we make new fittings and hardware and how these are reassembled back onto the rod or Kevlar.

Head on over to BSI on Instagram for the full journey from the start with RSB in Palma.