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Case Study: PTT Global Chemical Petrochemical Plant Safety Access — Thailand

Project: Cracking Unit Safety Access System
Client: PTT Global Chemical Public Company Limited
Location: Map Ta Phut Industrial Estate, Rayong, Thailand
Year: 2022
Products: 43 FL-HDG-STD Hot-Dip Galvanized Fixed Ladders + 12 Equipment Access Platforms

Project Background

PTT Global Chemical, Thailand’s largest integrated petrochemical and refining company, was upgrading the safety access systems at its olefins cracking unit in Map Ta Phut. The existing access ladders — installed during the plant’s original construction in the 1990s — were approaching end of service life, with visible coating degradation and weld corrosion at multiple points.

The project required a complete replacement of 43 fixed ladders across the cracking unit complex: distillation columns, heat exchanger platforms, compressor decks, and pipe rack valve stations. All ladders had to comply with EN ISO 14122-4 (the governing standard for petrochemical plants designed by European EPC contractors) and withstand the corrosive atmospheric conditions of Thailand’s Eastern Seaboard industrial zone.

The Challenge

Challenge	Detail
Corrosive environment	The Map Ta Phut industrial zone’s atmosphere contains sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxides, and salt aerosols from its coastal location (2km from the Gulf of Thailand). These create a moderately corrosive environment that accelerates coating degradation on carbon steel structures.
Diverse access heights	The 43 ladders ranged from 3m (heat exchanger platform access) to 9m (distillation column valve stations), requiring multiple standard and extended-height models within the same order.
EN ISO 14122-4 compliance	All ladders had to meet European machinery safety standards, with full documentation for PTT’s internal safety audit and Thailand’s Department of Industrial Works (DIW) inspection.
Phased delivery	The cracking unit could not be shut down entirely. Ladders had to be replaced in phased sequences aligned to individual unit turnaround schedules over a 6-month period.

The Solution

Dengtai supplied 43 FL-HDG-STD and FL-HDG-EXT fixed steel ladders and 12 platform sets, manufactured to the following specification:

Specification	Detail
Model	FL-HDG-STD (2-6m) and FL-HDG-EXT (6-10m)
Material	Q235B structural steel
Surface Treatment	Hot-dip galvanized >=85um (specified above the standard 80um for the industrial atmosphere)
Width	600mm
Rung Spacing	300mm
Compliance Standard	EN ISO 14122-4
Additional Accessories	12 equipment access platforms (landings at ladder tops); anti-slip nosing on all platform edges

Engineering Review Process

Senior Engineer Jouth Zhao reviewed PTT’s ladder schedule against the on-site mounting conditions documented in the project’s 3D model. Two adjustments were made during the engineering review:

Extended bracket arms — Selected ladder locations on insulated columns required 150mm extended bracket stand-offs to clear the insulation and cladding layer.
Bracket material upgrade — Standard HDG brackets were upgraded to SS304 brackets for ladders in the quench water tower area, where intermittent water spray created localized higher corrosion rates.

Both adjustments were proposed in the engineering review, approved by PTT’s project engineer, and incorporated into the production without affecting the delivery timeline.

Quality Assurance

All 43 ladders and 12 platforms underwent Dengtai’s standard 5-step QC process:

Raw material inspection — Mill test certificates verified for all Q235B steel batches
Welding inspection — ISO 5817 Level C visual and dimensional inspection of all welds
Coating thickness — Digital gauge measurements; all ladders recorded >=85um (above the specified >=80um)
Pre-assembly fitment — Bracket alignment and dimensional conformance verified
Packaging — VCI wrap + vacuum seal + wooden crates, labeled with PTT’s asset tag numbers for easy site distribution

PTT also commissioned Bureau Veritas to perform a third-party pre-shipment inspection on the first production batch (12 ladders). The inspection passed with zero non-conformances recorded.

Results

Metric	Result
Delivery timeline	All 43 ladders delivered across three shipments, each aligned to a turnaround window. Final delivery 2 weeks ahead of schedule.
Compliance	EN ISO 14122-4 Declaration of Conformity issued. Full documentation package (MTCs, weld reports, coating reports, dimensional reports) provided per batch.
Budget	Project delivered within PTT’s approved budget. Dengtai’s factory-direct pricing was approximately 35% below the competing quote from a local Thai steel fabricator.
Warranty	5-year manufacturing warranty + 2-year HDG corrosion warranty activated.
Client feedback	“The pre-shipment documentation package was thorough and made our internal QA review process straightforward.” — PTT Project Engineer

Lessons for Buyers

Standardization reduces cost and complexity. PTT saved approximately 15% versus custom-spec ladders by adopting Dengtai’s standard FL-HDG models with only two minor adjustments (extended brackets and SS304 brackets for wet areas), rather than requesting custom dimensions at every location.
Pre-shipment inspection is worth the investment. The Bureau Veritas inspection ($600 for the batch) gave PTT confidence to approve the second and third batches for shipment without further third-party inspection.
Phased delivery aligned to shutdown schedules avoids storage costs. Coordinating production batches with turnaround windows meant PTT did not need to warehouse 43 ladders for months before installation.
Documentation quality differentiates suppliers. PTT specifically cited the compliance documentation package as a key factor in their supplier evaluation, noting that some competing bidders could not provide ISO 5817 weld inspection reports.

Products Used in This Project

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FAQ

Q: What type of documentation did PTT Global Chemical require?

Full material traceability (EN 10204 Type 3.1 certificates), ISO 5817 weld inspection records, HDG coating thickness reports per ISO 2808, dimensional conformance reports, and Certificate of Origin. All documentation was reviewed and approved before shipment release.

Q: How were 43 ladder units coordinated for simultaneous delivery?

Production was scheduled in batches with overlapping manufacturing stages. Units were numbered and color-coded by installation location. Packaging included labeled crates with installation location references. All 43 units shipped in 3 x 40-foot containers with coordinated arrival.

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****：PTT Global Chemical。2022，PTTMap Ta Phut43FL-HDG-STD/EXT12。EN ISO 14122-4。Bureau Veritas。5QC(////)。：150mm + SS304。3，2。35%。：、、、。

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