Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services (Brand) Advertorial

Access innovation offshore  

Innovation in the offshore access sector has never been greater, with leading international provider of access and specialised services for operators, Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services (Brand) – part of the BrandSafway Group – right at the cutting edge.

OGV Energy met with Brand UK Offshore Director David Strang to discover how its innovative products are simultaneously boosting safety and productivity and how the company’s skilled operatives and engineers contribute to the smooth daily operations of its illustrious offshore customers, winning them praise and long contract renewals.

Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services (aka as Brand or BEIS) is an old name in the access industry – dating back over a century to 1919 with the establishment of an access icon, Scaffolding Great Britain (SGB) – a brand that ruled the sector for decades, working on some of the most prestigious projects, such as The Eden Project.

Many years and mergers later SGB is now part of the powerhouse offering from leading global access provider, BrandSafway, based in the US.

And when you add into that mix UK and Holland-based specialist coatings manufacturer Venko – which was acquired in 2018 by Brand – the combination for offshore customers is hard to resist.

No wonder Brand is becoming a household name in the oil and gas sector – offering access and industrial specialised services in one useful package.

“Brand offers its clients a large portfolio of services, including access solutions, insulation, coatings, and general maintenance services. With all of the services we provide, we are ultimately a people business,” said UK Offshore Director David Strang.

“Our assets are primarily our people, but we also have an extensive fleet of scaffolding and access hardware across our international locations. This includes our highly innovative QuikDeck® suspended access solution – a suspended platform access system that is regularly used in the offshore business. It’s a high-capacity load platform that offers the advantage of safely working on an open, modular platform.  QuikDeck® can transform clients´ projects by saving up to 50% reduction in erection time over traditional approaches.”

More safety & more productivity is at the heart of Brand’s service provision to its customers – further evidenced by its implementation and use of the Tubelock and wedge coupler scaffolding solutions on offshore platforms, which are achieving 30 per cent better efficiency versus traditional scaffolding systems, thanks to its intuitive twist and lock mechanism and versatility.

Brand´s access solutions are intentionally innovative and market leading. They choose to develop and invest in state-of-the-art systems because they understand the environment they operate in. They design and utilise access and service systems that guarantee better productivity from their workforce and ultimately, reduce time spent on site, which reduces client costs and hazardous exposure hours.

In 2019, Brand joined PBS – an Aberdeen-based consortium comprised of Ponticelli UK, Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services and Semco Maritime, in a bid to secure major new offshore projects in the North Sea and beyond. And in 2002 PBS was awarded its first contract – locking down a major North Sea maintenance deal from oil company TotalEnergies.

“It was the largest maintenance contract ever awarded on the UK continental shelf,” said Mr Strang. “It represented a major step forward in our offshore business.”

The contract began in 2020 and requires PBS to manage general maintenance and operations, shutdowns, and modification projects for all Total Exploration and Production UK-operated assets, on a long-term basis.

And now the contract has just been extended (see news box out).

Another recent sector highlight was Brand´s involvement in a Barge Campaign project for ONEGas, a consortium including Shell. This began in 2012 and is still running to this day… 12 years later, which speaks volumes. The project initially called for the refurbishment of 36 platforms delivered in one phase, including 100 per cent reinstatement of coatings. The work was carried out with a specialist team totalling 200, giving proof of Brand´s ability to deliver large offshore fabric maintenance projects to reinstate and reset the life of the platform in terms of its summer maintenance.

BrandSafway, the global access brand group of which Brand Energy & Infrastructure is a member, employs approximately 40,000 people globally, located in 360 facilities in 30 countries. And Brand employs more than 8,000 staff in its international industrial locations in Europe, the Middle East, Australia and India.

Here in the UK, Brand Energy & Infrastructure conducts industrial services both onshore and offshore, using its skilled labour, specialist operations, superior logistics and in-house engineering department, consisting of more than 300 talented designers within the BrandSafway Group. Its offshore operations are serviced by its three main, strategically located hubs in Great Yarmouth, Aberdeen, and Immingham.

But Brand also does extensive offshore business in the Netherlands, where it has two main offshore hubs in Den Helder and Hoogeveen besides its traditional onshore business.

Brand remains committed to sustainability and staff wellbeing programmes. These include active monitoring and measurement of all its transport needs as well as personnel trips – including all flights. LED lighting has been implemented wherever possible, while its vehicle fleet consists of a large number of electric vehicles.

We continuously benchmark all of our transport and ensure that we’re making incremental changes as we go,” said Mr Strang. “We’re constantly maximising loads and storing assets on site wherever possible in order to minimise transport.”

“On the social side, the company is also actively caring for its employees,” added Mr Strang. “We offer health and safety training regularly, as well as mental health programmes. Many of our people are specially trained on that, as well as on the governance side.”

Looking ahead, Brand expects continued growth of the company and its staff.

“We’re focused on investing in people; retaining the good people we have and attracting more good people to the business - both white- and blue-collar roles - so that we can continue to grow,” Mr Strang revealed.

Concluding, Mr Strang reflected on his excitement for the work that Brand is doing: “I love making things better, and retaining the status quo is never an option for me. At Brand, we are efficient at evaluating what works best and at working with the client to make things possible. That’s why I get out of bed in the morning.”

NEWS BOX OUT

PBS announce contract extension with TotalEnergies

PBS (an Aberdeen-based consortium comprised of Ponticelli UK, Brand Energy & Infrastructure Services and Semco Maritime) has secured an extension to the General Maintenance and Operations Contract (GMOC) awarded by TotalEnergies in 2020 to cover its North Sea assets.
 
With over a year still to serve on the existing five-year contract, PBS were already making plans for continued safe and efficient delivery into mid-2025. After 2023 concluded with a positive performance outcome for PBS across the range of services covered under the contract, PBS are pleased to announce that TotalEnergies has chosen to initiate this extension of the original contract. This encouraging news extends GMOC services through to May 2026.
 
The GMOC was initiated between TotalEnergies and PBS in 2020 and after a challenging start which included navigating the COVID pandemic, PBS have established themselves as an exemplary choice for integrated services delivery under the GMOC model.
 
Commenting on this success, PBS GMOC Director Adam Mason said: “We’re delighted and proud to have the opportunity to continue to strengthen our relationship with TotalEnergies through this contract extension which adds longevity and security for our team. The decision to proceed with PBS is testament to our safe and efficient delivery of the GMOC services.   During 2023 we saw a step-change improvement in critical work-streams including reduction of SECE backlog, safe and timely shutdown delivery and an excellent overall safety record which involved 2 million man hours liquidated in the year.

“This milestone announcement is meaningful for PBS and allows us to press ahead with our five-year strategic plan across TotalEnergies’ seven sites. We are looking forward to embarking on new and exciting projects including shutdown delivery, maintenance management system optimisation and supporting milestone projects with safety, efficiency and cost optimisation all central principles to our service delivery.”

Nicolas Payer, Managing Director, TotalEnergies E&P UK said: “Safe and efficient operations remain at the centre of the GMOC partnership between TotalEnergies and PBS. Following progress in these areas, we look forward to continuing that good trend over the next two years.”
 
The largest GMOC of its kind in the UK, PBS delivers integrated operations, maintenance, engineering, construction, facilities management and access solutions through its 1,100 highly skilled staff on TotalEnergies’ offshore sites, at Shetland Gas plant and onshore at the PBS headquarters in Westhill.

Read the latest issue of the OGV Energy magazine HERE