Services
Coating inspection and quality control services
Inspection and survey work across the whole anticorrosion chain, from drafting the specification to final certification of the applied system. For each service: what it covers and what gets documented.
Technical consultancy & document review
Consultancy before the job starts: documents, specification, ITP.
Technical consultancy at DO.G.MA. Service starts at the desk, before any work begins. The project documents and the applicable specification are reviewed, the ITP is checked — the Inspection and Test Plan that sets out which checks are to be carried out and at which stage — and the pre-inspection meeting is held with the parties. That is where the inspection activity is scheduled against the production stages. This phase can be carried out remotely, before any attendance on site.
- Review of the project documents and of the applicable specification
- Check of the ITP and of the hold and witness points
- Review of the working procedures before work starts
- Pre-inspection meeting with client, contractor and applicator
- Scheduling of the inspection activity against the production stages
- Can be carried out remotely, ahead of any attendance on site
- Minutes of the pre-inspection meeting
- Comments on the project documents and on the specification
- Inspection programme agreed with the parties
- Shipowner
- the technical department of a shipping company
- Shipyard
- new building or refitting
- Contractor
- whoever runs the project and appoints the parties
- Manufacturer
- the paint manufacturer or supplier of the coating system
This is the stage where it is settled what will be checked, when, and against which acceptance criteria: everything else in the assignment follows from it. Request a preliminary discussion →
Inspection & quality control
Verification of workmanship against the specification.
QA/QC activity during preparation, application and completion of protective coating systems. Verification of workmanship, of operating procedures and of compliance with the applicable technical specifications and standards.
- Check of the steel preparation grade and of the substrate condition
- Verification of environmental conditions during application
- Control of the application and of the coating film thickness
- Verification of compliance with the technical specification and applicable standards
- Detection and handling of non-conformities
- Final check and verification for release
- Inspection reports for the stages checked
- Records of the instrument readings
- Documentation of the non-conformities found
- Technical documentation supporting final release
- An opening section with the scope of the assignment and the list of planned activities
- The codes and standards applied to that particular inspection
- The instruments used for the readings
- One or more pages for each working day, recording what was done and what was found
- Photographic records of the work and of any anomalies
- A closing comment on the attendance, with the statement of compliance
- Site access and the necessary permits
- A site in safe condition, in line with health and safety regulations
- Project documents and the applicable specification
The inspector's PPE, site access training and insurance cover are provided by DO.G.MA. Service.
Work carried out on new buildings, refits and plant: Fincantieri, San Giorgio del Porto, Baker Hughes, Cimolai, Socotherm. See the QA/QC inspection projects →
Surveys & failure analysis
Identifying the causes of deterioration.
Technical assessment of defects, deterioration, corrosion and anomalies in coating systems applied to steel structures, plant, ships and yachts. Analysis of the possible causes, collection of technical evidence and issue of specialist reports.
- Assessment of the condition of the coating and of the extent of the deterioration
- Identification of the defects: delamination, flaking, corrosion breaking through
- Instrument readings and collection of evidence on site
- Reconstruction of the possible technical causes
- Assessment of whether the work was executed in line with the specified coating system
- Survey report setting out the findings
- Photographic records of the defects found
- Records of the measurements and readings taken
- Technical conclusions to support the client's decisions
Examples of work: failure analysis of the system applied in ballast tanks, grey water tanks and heeling tanks on a cruise ship new building at Fincantieri Ancona; assessment of defects on TSA metallising within the Baltic Pipe project; analysis of blistering on a tank in Norway, identifying the cause and producing a report the client could use against its own supplier. See the failure analysis cases in the register →
Third party inspection
Independent assessment with both parties in attendance.
Third-party inspection and survey work for joint inspections, disputes, allocation of liability and assessment of whether the work was correctly executed. Data, measurements and technical documentation to support decisions based on verifiable evidence.
- Independent verification on behalf of the client, the contractor or the insurer
- Attendance at joint technical inspections between the parties
- Assessment of correct execution against the contract and the specification
- Establishing responsibility for the disputed work
- Supplier and vendor qualification
- Minutes of the checks carried out
- Readings and measurements supporting the conclusions
- Documentation usable in a dispute
- Independent technical opinion
Examples of work: third-party inspection for Renco on the Baltic Pipe project; owner-side inspections on dry-dockings and refits for GNV, Moby and Corsica. Technical disputes have been handled directly with the applicators, with findings that went sometimes in favour of the client and sometimes in favour of the applicator: the assessment is independent of whoever awards the assignment. See the third-party inspection projects →
Dry dock & tank coating
Supervision of hull and underwater surfaces.
Survey and technical supervision during dry-docking, refitting and the application of tank coating systems. Control of the work on the hull, underwater area, ballast tanks, potable water tanks, cargo tanks and other surfaces exposed to aggressive environments.
- Dry-docking survey and supervision of the work in dock
- Checks on the underwater hull, the topside and the underwater area
- Ballast tanks, potable water tanks, cargo tanks and other confined surfaces
- Verification of antifouling and silicone foul-release systems
- Technical supervision during refitting
- Survey reports for the stages in dock
- Records of the readings taken on the hull and on internal surfaces
- Documentation of the work carried out
- Documentation for redelivery of the vessel
Examples of work: dry-dockings of MV GNV Adriatico (Palermo), MV Alicudi (Messina), MV Cap Finistère (Naples), Corsica Marina Seconda with a silicone system; refit of Saipem FSD2 at San Giorgio del Porto. See the dry-dockings and refits covered →
Testing, acceptance & certification
Instrument readings and acceptance criteria.
Testing and technical measurement to the applicable standards and specifications. Control of surface preparation, dry film thickness readings, pull-off testing, adhesion checks and final inspection.
- Check of the surface preparation grade
- Measurement of the applied coating film thickness
- Pull-off testing and verification of the adhesion of the system
- Verification of the environmental conditions during application
- Final checks and comparison against the acceptance criteria
- Records of the values measured
- Test reports for the checks carried out
- Certification of compliance of the applied system
- Documentation for final release
- Thickness gauge
- wet film and dry film thickness
- Surface profile gauge
- surface profile of the prepared substrate
- Thermo-hygrometer
- temperature, relative humidity and dew point
- Adhesion tester
- adhesion testing by pull-off
- Gloss meter
- gloss level of the finish coat
- Soluble salt test
- residual salt contamination on the substrate
- Illuminated magnifier
- visual examination of surface defects
Where the specification calls for it, further tests are carried out with whatever instruments that check requires.
- Daily calibration check before use on site
- Two-yearly calibration at a third-party certification body
- Calibration certificate issued by the body and available on request
The work is carried out with own professional instruments, in the shipyard, in the workshop and on plant. See the projects involving testing on site →
Specifications & qualification
Specifications, procedures and operator qualification.
Drafting and review of coating specifications, operating procedures, QA/QC documentation and acceptance criteria. Qualification of procedures, operators, applicators and vendors for specific protective systems.
- Drafting and review of the coating specifications
- Definition of the working procedures and of the acceptance criteria
- Qualification of coating procedures (PQT / PPT)
- Qualification of facilities, operators and applicators
- Qualification of vendors and of new products
- Document control of the project documentation
- Technical specifications and working procedures
- Qualification records for procedures, facilities and operators
- Acceptance criteria agreed with the parties
- Project QA/QC documentation
- NORSOK
- M-501 rev. 5
- TOTAL
- GS EP COR 220 rev. 9
- TOTAL
- GS EP COR 354 rev. 3
- Functional spec.
- 20000.VAR.PAI.FUN rev. 3
The codes applied are those called up by the project specification. Where there is no specification, the reference points are the ISO and ASTM standards together with SSPC: these are the ones in common use in corrosion protection.
Examples of work: qualification of coating procedures, facilities and operators on the Tempa Rossa project for RINA Service; qualification of TSA metallising on superduplex piping for Saipem; qualification of new products for PPG Industry at Innoduler (Slovenia). See the procedure and operator qualifications →
Frequently asked questions
The questions that come up before an inspection is awarded.
The recurring questions about cost, timing, documentation and how an attendance works.
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D.01
How much does an inspection on protective treatments cost?
There is no price list: every assignment is quoted after seeing the specification, the extent of the work and the logistics of the site.
The basis is this. For work within roughly 50 km of base, standard rates apply, with an addition for any particular tests. Beyond 50 km, travel expenses are added: transport and, where needed, board and lodging. A one-off inspection carries a higher unit cost than a continuing assignment, because it absorbs the travel and the urgency.
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D.02
How soon is the report issued after the site attendance?
The report is normally prepared and delivered within 48 hours of the attendance.
On longer assignments the documentation does not wait until the end: a weekly report is issued, and on short or critical work a daily report.
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D.03
Is an external inspector needed if the applicator already has in-house quality control?
Usually yes, and often it is not a matter of choice: many project specifications expressly require a third-party inspector to verify that the work is executed to the client's specification.
The applicator's own quality control answers to whoever carries out the work. Third-party inspection answers to whoever pays for it: two different functions, and they coexist.
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D.04
Can an urgent attendance be requested once work is already under way?
Yes. On a job already running, for a problem that has come up or an unplanned check, allow at least 24 hours’ notice: the inspector may be on another site and the attendance has to be arranged.
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D.05
Can an inspection be carried out after the work is finished, to verify what was applied?
Yes. Once the system is closed, the film thickness and the appearance of the surface remain verifiable, together with a visual examination for imperfections.
Where non-destructive checks are not enough to answer the question, the inspection can go further with more invasive checks, to establish whether the substrate did in fact receive the treatment the specification called for.
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D.06
Do you attend for a single check, or only for continuing assignments?
Yes, a one-off check is possible.
Bear in mind that a single inspection carries a higher unit cost, because it has to absorb the travel, any urgency and the preparation time that a continuing assignment spreads out.
Request
How to request an inspection.
The type of work, the sector and the stage reached are enough to establish which inspection activity applies and when to attend. Attendances take place in the shipyard, in the workshop and on plant, in Italy and abroad.