Trelleborg To Help Update PIANC Guidelines for Fender Systems

Fender supplier Trelleborg will be contributing information to PIANC’s new Working Group put together to update the 2002 Guidelines for the Design of Fender Systems. The guide will focus on industry-wide best practices for fender design.

The group will update guidance on the design, manufacture and testing of fender systems, including both the rubber element of the system and associated components. The group will also review guidelines for durability, maintenance and repair of fender systems and the implications of automated mooring systems on fender design. Trelleborg’s research into rubber compound composition, velocity and temperature factors, manufacturing methods and testing will be reviewed as part of the update process.

The updated guidelines will reiterate that PIANC does not enforce standards across the industry despite some suppliers misusing the term “PIANC certified” or “PIANC Approved” neither of which exist.

“Since the establishment of PIANC’s 2002 Guidelines for the Design of Fender Systems there has been a number of evolutions in vessel design and industry applications, as well as advances in the design of fender systems themselves. As a result, Trelleborg has spent the last eight years relentlessly lobbying for updates to the guidelines with substantial investment in research highlighting the importance of understanding how ingredients for fenders are selected, how they are manufactured and how they are tested,” said Richard Hepworth, president, Trelleborg’s marine systems operation.

For more information on the update of PIANC’s 2002 guidelines, visit: http://www.pianc.org/