Ted TALK:
Mechanical Insulation Value Chain:
I actively encourage my staff's dialogues with
individuals and companies up, down, and across the value chain for mechanical
insulation for low-temperature pipe and equipment. ISO-C1® polyisocyanurate is
of course Dyplast's brand, yet this blog is generic. You may ask me "why
exert so much effort to engage all these conversations?" My answer, which
I hope is echoed below, is we each benefit and the industry benefits!
The value chain for the End-User (typically
the Asset Owner) ends when the optimal insulation system is finally installed.
Yet where does it begin, and where can it be broken? Frankly, the value chain
has many participants and the more players there are, the higher the risk.
This first Ted Talk blog on the subject of
Value Chain focuses on Installation Contractors, who clearly play key roles and
each of whom can be considered the last cog in this value chain. They are often
the final contractors squeezed by schedules, blamed for late commissioning, and
when a system's thermal performance is "less than design" can be
sued.
When Dyplast calls or visits an Installation
Contractor we're almost always welcomed openly and with respect. Then when the
conversation is all business we hear:
"We only "put on" what we're
told"
"We're just basically a middleman"
"We do not actually buy the
insulation"
"We don't write the specs"
"But what can we do?"
My general response is:
"Like it or not you each know you have
potential liability!"
"Wouldn't it be better to know that what
you are putting on is of the highest quality?"
I relate the story when I was asked by an
"old time" player "why did Dyplast do all that testing?" My
reply was "I really like to sleep at night."
If you've been so kind to read my blog thus
far, I guess you know I can be a bit long on words. Indeed! Yet in my own
defense - - this is a complex subject. I will strive to use more sound-bites.
Don't hold your breath!
Respectfully
Ted Berglund
President
Dyplast Products
