Gauteng-based engineering consultancy Carab Tekniva’s in-house information technology development, testing and implementation team enables the company to tailor industry- and plant-specific software and hardware solutions for a range of applications, says engineering manager Erik van der Linde.

“The Carab Tekniva plant care software and support system is divided into three main modules, namely boiler pressure parts, thick wall components and high-pressure piping. We recently developed the welding module, which tracks the welding repairs as they take place. These modules ensure that all critical systems in a boiler plant are comprehensively covered,” says Van der Linde.

Although it was initially used for boilers exclusively, he explains that the software can be used on different systems around the boiler. “It is compatible with any system depending on its setup. The software is used, firstly, to capture the inspection and repair philosophies, and then the associated inspection and repair history. We manage the information related to the maintenance history of a boiler and, in essence, it serves as a single database to store this information.”

The software also records all inspection results for the boiler systems, processing that information into history trending to enable accurate predictions with regard to what needs to be replaced and when. Van der Linde says as all the information required for decision-making is at hand, better decisions can be made and, thereby, the plant and its outages can be managed better.

Carab Tekniva boiler system engineer Naude Blignaut points out that the welding module perfectly complements the three main Carab Tekniva plant care software modules. When implemented, users can rest assured that when a system is started up, all the required welding work has been performed and the quality thereof has been verified.

“The welding module is a management and real-time project progress tracking tool that can be fully customised to a client’s requirements to include all the steps needed to complete a work package. Role-players are assigned to specific steps, which only allows them access to the work they need to do and requires them to sign off on completed work, thus adding another level of accountability,” he explains.