Winter painting of storage tanks carries with it a high degree of challenges not normally encountered in painting activities in other seasons of the year. Equipments, manpower, and the protective coatings products used — all are vulnerable to the cold weather. Environmental conditions in winter are harsher on painting projects, but this does not mean storage tanks cannot be repaired or maintained in winter.
To conduct a successful cold-weather protective coatings project in winter, it primarily requires a good understanding of the challenges involved, as well as some significant changes in the way protective coatings contractors work. Following the guidelines below, storage tank painting applications are easier to implement:
1. Setup a detailed protective coatings implementation plan. This outlines the objectives of the project, and anticipates any problems or challenges that lie ahead, for better preparation and implementation.
2. Take to heart the cold-weather protective coatings product specifications. Knowing the properties of the products will make it easier to work with it and extract high performance gains.
3. Identify and prepare in advance the machineries and systems to be used by the project, from dehumidifiers, to heating and containment systems.
4. Address resource requirements such as manpower, fuel, equipment, work schedule, and other resources that maybe needed.
5. Setup a contingency plan to account for unexpected conditions that may arise, like inclement weather, equipment repairs, longer curing time, delays, and untoward accidents and emergency cases, among others.
