Quality Assurance (QA) and Durability of the Protective Coatings System.
by: Abel De la Cruz Perez*
Unfortunately there are no paints whose behavior over time are free of failures, however, it is possible to add years to the "life" of the Paint System through an adequate Quality Assurance Management System during painting (QA), avoiding premature failures of the coating in operation.
Frequently failures do not appear during or immediately after application, they even have a good protective appearance. But some time after application, the deficiencies of the work cause failures in the coatings in the form of rust, peeling, blisters, pitting, when the facilities are already in full operation. The result, thousands of square meters of paint have to be replaced at considerable costs, paralyzed plants, delays in the delivery of the project, among other inconveniences, such as the execution of technical or economic guarantees to contractors, builders, applicators or paint manufacturers.
Failures can result from many factors, including: failure to follow specifications, absence or deficiency of Quality Control (QC) in painting by Contractors or Paint Applicators, inappropriate surface preparation, adverse environmental conditions, errors in mixing, dilution, preparation, application of paints, inadequate selection and recommendation of the protective coating and even problems of quality and formulation of the coating protector.
The Paint Quality Assurance (QA) Management System will provide adequate assurance that the quality required in the project will be achieved and is commonly executed by the general contractor for coating application and audited by the owner of the infrastructure to be protected. Being understood by Quality of the System of Coatings of protection to the fulfillment of the needs and expectations of durability or time of useful life in service required in the Technical Specifications of Painting of the Project.
The Quality Audit is a quality assurance (QA) tool, which operationally consists of a review, analysis, use of the results of the Technical Inspections, to determine if the activities related to quality in each and every one of the stages of the Anticorrosive Treatment of Surfaces, Specification, Homologation, Before, during and after the Surface Preparation, Preparation and Application of Paints, Curing, Quality Control (QC) of the Process, etc. comply with the Technical Specifications of the Work.
Quality Control is constituted by activities planned and designed to provide a quality product, working on the identification and correction of defects or deviations from control factors, while Quality Assurance is the set of planned and systematized actions oriented to the productive process of coating application, which provides confidence in the products (protected area) or services that are provided, since we work on the prevention of defects or failures, preventing them from occurring through process control.
In addition, the results of the evaluations, inspection tests, tests or quality control measurements are processed in order to introduce actions for improvements or correction of the processes, these suggestions are reflected and implemented in the Reports of the Quality Auditor with the name of Recommendations for the Standardization of the Quality of the Painting Process.
The "Quality Assurance of painting (QA)" is integral since it intervenes from the preparation of the specifications to the release of the painted surfaces.
Below I will describe the management activities and minimum operational actions that are commonly implemented and executed in the quality assurance management system of a Painting Project.
Elaboration, review, evaluation and / or approval of the General Specifications of Paints, Application Procedure, Quality Control Plan of the Painting Process, Quality or Durability Guarantees, Technical Sheets of the Products, Applicable Technical Standards, etc.
Inspection and Qualification of the Facilities or infrastructure, equipment, instrumentation, facilities and Operating Conditions of the Contractor of Surface Preparation and Application of Paint, which ensure compliance with the specifications and the contract of the work,
Verify the process of Qualification and Homologation of surface preparers and application of coatings for the Project.
Verification through Technical Inspections the Standardization of the Parameters of the Surface Preparation Operation in compliance with the Specifications of the Work.
Performs The Technical Inspections in the Surface Protection Process executed by the Paint Application Contractor in Workshop or on Site:
- Pre-Preparation and Surface Preparation,
- Preparation and Application of Paints
- Evaluation of the final painting system (Destructive and non-destructive tests, Release of painted elements, etc.)
Audits the work of "Quality Control" carried out by the Contractor to the Painting Process.
Audits the Quality in the Works of Resanes and Repair of the System of Paints in the Mounted structures.
Periodically Inspects and Evaluates the performance of the Paint System: Scheduled every 6 months or 1 year after the Delivery of the Work, depending on the contractual conditions, environmental corrosive aggressiveness, specifications of the work, useful life of the system, until covering the Warranty time.
Finally, we recommend that when an Anticorrosive Protection Project of surfaces with coatings is carried out for a new construction or industrial maintenance work and if in said project a useful life expectancy (Durability) for the painting system is proposed as an objective, it will be essential to implement the Quality Assurance Management System of surface treatment, since this service will not only be the guarantee to extend the life of the coating but will also protect the integrity of its assets over time, generating profitability of the investment of the shareholders.
* Eng. Abel De la Cruz Pérez. You can contact the engineer via email: [email protected] or visit their website: www.americanconsultperu.com
