John Reynolds: About the Author
Principal Consultant, Intertek
John Reynolds is a Principal Consultant with Intertek Asset Integrity Management, Inc. Prior to this he was a Master Engineering Consultant with Shell Oil's Westhollow Technology Center in Houston. After graduating from the University of Wisconsin with degrees in Mechanical and Metallurgical Engineering, John joined Shell in 1968 and retired from Shell in 2006. Over the 37+ years of employment with a number of the Shell companies, John held various engineering and management positions at Shell's refining and chemical processing sites, as well as central offices in the United States and Europe. Along the way, one of John's favorite activities was providing leadership for Shell's intranet communities of interest dealing with the 101 Essential Elements of Fixed Equipment Mechanical Integrity (FEMI). The focus of John's entire 50+ year career has been on establishing and improving FEMI programs in the petroleum and petrochemical industries. As part of that continuing goal, another of his favorite activities is continuing participation in the API/AFPM Process Safety Site Assessment Program (PSSAP) as one of the FEMI specialists providing feedback to operating sites that seek to improve their FEMI programs.
Since retiring from Shell, John has remained active in FEMI activities serving as an industry consultant and expert witness for numerous refining and petrochemical companies. He has been and is currently the master editor for several API Standards on Inspection and FEMI-related topics, and remains active in both the API Subcommittee on Inspection and Mechanical Integrity (SCIMI) and the ASME Post-Construction Committee (PCC). John is the past Chairman of the API Subcommittee on Inspection, the API Task Group on Inspection Codes, the API Task Group on NDE Technology, the API Task Group on API 580 RBI, and the API User Group on Risk-Based Inspection. He has also been the Downstream Business Sector Lead for the Planning Committee of the API Inspection Summit since its inception in 2007. Over the years, John has authored more than 90 articles and/or presentations on FEMI subjects, many of which have been published with Inspectioneering Journal and are summarized in his book "101 Essential Elements in a Pressure Equipment Integrity Management Program."
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Published Articles
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BlogDecember 29, 2020 By John Reynolds at IntertekA summary of some of the important topics that were discussed at the API Fall 2020 Refining and Equipment Standards Meeting that was held via virtual conferencing.
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September/October 2020 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekThis article presents a methodology for calculating and understanding how many qualified API inspectors you need to staff in order to improve fixed equipment mechanical integrity and reliability at your operating site.
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A Thousand Important Roles & Responsibilities of the Plant Fixed Equipment Inspection and Mechanical Integrity Group
July/August 2020 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekIn the author's experience, one of the largest gaps in plants is a lack of understanding of what the entire fixed equipment mechanical integrity group does. This article will shed light on the many roles and responsibilities within these groups.
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BlogJune 25, 2020 By John Reynolds at IntertekA summary of some of the important topics that were discussed at the API Spring Refining and Equipment Standards Meeting that was held via virtual conferencing.
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BlogApril 30, 2020 By John Reynolds at IntertekThere are some significant changes coming in the fifth edition of API RP 751 on Safe Operation of Hydrofluoric Acid Alkylation Units in the section on Mechanical Integrity, Damage Mechanisms and Maintenance Work Practices.
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VideoIn January of 2019, mechanical integrity professionals from around the world packed into the Grand Ballroom of the Galveston Island Convention Center to attend John Reynolds’ keynote for the API Inspection and Mechanical Integrity Summit.
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January/February 2020 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekThe purpose of this article is to describe some of the pitfalls that operating sites have encountered while trying to implement a program of IOWs in accordance with the guidance in API RP 584, plus how to overcome those pitfalls.
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BlogDecember 26, 2019 By John Reynolds at Intertek
A summary of some of the important topics that were discussed at the API Fall Refining and Equipment Standards Meeting in Atlanta.
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September/October 2019 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekEveryone wants fewer leaks and failure of their equipment and piping; but I find very few sites that effectively use one method to make substantial reductions in their piping leaks and failures.
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Reynolds Wrap Up: Highlights from the API Subcommittee on Inspection and Mechanical Integrity (SCIMI) Meetings at the Spring 2019 API Standards Meeting
BlogJune 27, 2019 By John Reynolds at IntertekA summary of some of the important topics that were discussed at the Spring Meeting, including the recently-held API Inspection and Mechanical Integrity Summit, subcommittee activities, and progress with the API Individual Certification Program.
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January/February 2019 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekThis article provides a summary of the 2019 API Inspection & MI Summit keynote address, which offers a past, present, and future outlook on fixed equipment mechanical integrity from an industry professional with 50+ years of experience.
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BlogJanuary 9, 2019 By John Reynolds at IntertekThe 2019 API Inspection and Mechanical Integrity Summit will be kicking off later this month in Galveston, TX. This four-day event will begin with 14 high level training courses offered Monday, January 28th, and then a top notch conference and...
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Reynolds Wrap Up: Highlights from the API Subcommittee on Inspection and Mechanical Integrity (SCIMI) Meetings at the Fall 2018 API Standards Meeting
BlogDecember 27, 2018 By John Reynolds at IntertekA quick summary of some of the important topics that were discussed at the Fall Meeting, including the upcoming API Inspection and Mechanical Integrity Summit, subcommittee activities, and progress with the API Individual Certification Program.
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July/August 2018 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekStudying for and passing a test does not necessarily equate to competence as a process or contract inspector for hire. This article explores what it takes to become a capable inspector in this ever-changing industry.
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Reynolds Wrap Up: Highlights from the API Subcommittee on Inspection and Mechanical Integrity (SCIMI) Meetings at the Spring 2018 API Standards Meeting
BlogJune 25, 2018 By John Reynolds at IntertekAPI's biannual meeting pertaining to downstream equipment standards was held in Seattle, Washington this past April. We've summarized some of the discussions and meetings of that you may find interesting, including the 2019 API Inspection and MI...
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March/April 2018 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekThis article is designed to help the reader better communicate their FEMI Mission, Vision, Core Values and Responsibilities to all stakeholders at their site.
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Reynolds Wrap Up: API Publishes Helpful Guide on Fixed Equipment Mechanical Integrity (FEMI) Standards
BlogFebruary 27, 2018 By John Reynolds at IntertekIn 2017, a joint-initiative from API and AFPM released a helpful brochure that summarizes all the key API standards that deal with fixed equipment mechanical integrity. It describes the latest edition of 42 API standards addressing FEMI issues,...
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Reynolds Wrap Up: Highlights from the API Subcommittee on Inspection and Mechanical Integrity (SCIMI) Meetings at the Fall 2017 API Standards Meeting
BlogDecember 19, 2017 By John Reynolds at IntertekIndustry SME John Reynolds provides his bi-annual updates from the API Standards Meeting and discusses developments related to the 2019 API Inspection Summit, SCIMI codes, standards, and recommended practices, and the API Individual Certification...
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September/October 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekAlthough commonly lumped together as a singular acronym, there are important distinctions between Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC). This article defines and distinguishes the role of QA and, in particular, how source inspection...
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July/August 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekAre your key performance indicators actually driving improvement? Could they be more effective? In this actionable and concise article, John Reynolds is back again to discuss some KPIs you could be using to monitor your progress down the path to...
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May/June 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek35 years ago, an inspection supervisor, some inspectors, and a project engineer could cover an entire refinery. So why are so many more mechanical integrity resources needed today?
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Reynold's Wrap Up: Highlights from the API Subcommittee on Inspection and Mechanical Integrity (SCIMI) Meetings at the Spring 2017 API Standards Meeting
BlogJune 19, 2017 By John Reynolds at Intertek
Updates and developments related to the 2019 API Inspection Summit, SCIMI code, standard, and recommended practices, and the API Individual Certification Program (ICP).
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January/February 2017 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekIn this article, the roles and responsibilities of the corrosion and materials SME will be outlined as I see them, fully recognizing that there is probably no one person out there with all the knowledge and skills suggested herein.
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BlogFebruary 27, 2017 By John Reynolds at IntertekThe 2017 API Inspection Summit in Galveston was another big success, as evidences by the critique sheets of attendees. Another attendance record was set with 1406 registered attendees, all of whom had choose among nearly 200 different presentations...
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Reynolds Wrap Up: Highlights from the API Subcommittee on Inspection and Mechanical Integrity (SCIMI) Meeting at the Fall API Standards Meeting
BlogDecember 29, 2016 By John Reynolds at Intertek
The Fall API Standards Meeting was incredibly productive and addressed, among other issues, the API Inspection Summit, balloting for the 11th edition of API 510, and improvements to the inspection section of each damage mechanism in API RP 571.
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September/October 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekDid you ever wonder where you fit into the entire hierarchy of a fixed equipment asset integrity management (FE-AIM) program? Or who is responsible and accountable for what aspects of FE-AIM at your site? All the way from top management down to...
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BlogOctober 27, 2016 By John Reynolds at Intertek
I hope by now, everyone is aware that the next API Inspection Summit will be held again at the Galveston Convention Center from January 31– February 2, 2017.
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BlogAugust 25, 2016 By John Reynolds at Intertek
Sometimes with our busyness with the “Daily Grind”, we can forget about our most important mission – prevention of a big event caused by an unanticipated fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) failure. Those big events are the ones that...
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May/June 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekThis brief article contains updates and highlights related to the Subcommittee on Inspection (SCI) at the 2016 API Spring Refining Equipment and Standards Meeting.
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March/April 2016 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek, and Mark Bell at Ethos Mechanical Integrity SolutionsWe have seen many different inspection recommendation management systems. Most of them struggle to effectively manage all inspection recommendations. However, a few of them are excellent. What makes an effective system?
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Online Article
Updated editions of both API 570 and API RP 580 were recently released by the American Petroleum Institute.
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Reynold's Wrap Up: Highlights from the Subcommittee on Inspection Meeting at the Fall 2015 API Refining Standards Meeting
BlogJanuary 4, 2016 By John Reynolds at Intertek
This article provides a summary of the Subcommittee on Inspection (SCI) discussions that occurred at the Fall 2015 API Refining Standards Meeting, including the Inspection Summit Planning Committee and the API ICP Task Group.
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November/December 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekOnce upon a time in the land of Ooze, there were two processing plants that boiled oil to make fuels and various other valuable petrochemical products. On one side of the river, rests a site called Perfecto Process Plant, while just across the river...
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July/August 2015 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekRarely is there a new and unknown cause of a major Fixed Equipment Mechanical Integrity (FEMI) failure in the petrochemical and refining industry. This article briefly summarizes five major fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) failures from...
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BlogJune 8, 2015 By John Reynolds at Intertek
There should be a policy in place and enforced by management at each operating site of not allowing equipment and repair recommendations to become overdue for inspection and handling. Such a practice goes a long way toward increasing the credibility...
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BlogMarch 30, 2015 By John Reynolds at Intertek
The 2015 API Spring Refining and Equipment Standards Meeting will be held at the Seattle Sheraton during the week of April 13-16, with plenty of interesting meetings for Inspectioneers. You do not need...
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BlogMarch 9, 2015 By John Reynolds at IntertekManagement of change (MOC) for fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) issues is one of the most important of the 101 essential elements in pressure...
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BlogFebruary 2, 2015 By John Reynolds at Intertek
The development of advanced NDE techniques/tools is one of the reasons the inspection trade has taken significant steps forward in the last couple decades; and the advancements appear to be accelerating. One of the many ways to keep up with...
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November/December 2014 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekBased on my 45+ years of experience working with fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) issues in the refining and petrochemical processing industry, this article summarizes what I believe are the top 10 reasons why pressure vessels and piping...
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BlogDecember 1, 2014 By John Reynolds at IntertekOne of the reasons we continue to have too many fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) events in the refining and process industries is the lack of understanding and appreciation by site management for the hazards posed by the 101 FEMI issues.
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BlogNovember 17, 2014 By John Reynolds at IntertekOne of the most significant advancements to come along in the fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) business in the past two decades is the application of risk-based inspection (RBI) for inspection prioritization, planning, and scheduling. The...
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September/October 2014 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekBased on my 45+ years of experience working with fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) issues in the refining and petrochemical processing industry, this article summarizes what I believe are the top 10 reasons why pressure vessels and piping...
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BlogAugust 11, 2014 By John Reynolds at IntertekThis blog post is the second part of a two part series that assesses the top ten reasons for FEMI failures that cause process safety incidents. The ten reasons I’ve outlined are a result of doing 60+ FEMI audits within refineries and chemical...
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BlogJuly 28, 2014 By John Reynolds at IntertekFixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) failures are not caused by damage mechanisms; rather, they're caused due to failure to create, implement, & maintain adequate management systems to avoid failures. Nearly all failures that have occurred...
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May/June 2014 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekThere are typically three tiers to pass through for most fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) programs before they reach excellence in FEMI. In my 45 years in the FEMI business, I have observed FEMI programs in all three tiers (phases).
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BlogJune 2, 2014 By John Reynolds at IntertekThree new API standards have been published, and one has been revised and updated to a new edition. The standards are described in this post.
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BlogNovember 25, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
Without an effective organizational strategy for pressure equipment integrity (PEI), many of the 101 essential elements of PEI can "drop between the chairs" because their may be no management systems (MS) in place to make sure that each element of...
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BlogOctober 28, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
Today’s blog post is a continuation on the 10 essential Management Systems needed for an effective PEI program that can achieve excellence. My previous posts covered the first six of these, including LCM, Risk Assessment and Inspection, and...
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BlogOctober 21, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
As I stated in my previous post, there are 10 essential Management Systems (MSs) needed for an effective PEI program that can achieve excellence. These 10 PEI MSs contain all the necessary information that describe what needs to be accomplished, and...
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BlogOctober 14, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
There are 10 essential Management Systems (MSs) needed for an effective PEI program that can achieve excellence. These 10 PEI MSs contain all the necessary information that describe what needs to be accomplished, and how to accomplish it, in order...
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BlogOctober 7, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
Knowing what needs to be accomplished in order to achieve excellence in pressure equipment integrity (PEI) is one thing, but knowing how to organize it all for success is quite another.
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BlogSeptember 30, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
This post concludes the Top 7 reasons why some operating sites "just don’t get it." Reference the previous post for here and here. And for examples of all of the management systems for a sustainable PEI program of excellence, read my article, "The...
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BlogSeptember 23, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
These posts came about because, from time to time, I’m asked why some operating sites don’t seem to pay adequate attention to the need to protect and preserve pressure equipment integrity (PEI). Too often a few sites don’t seem to “get...
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BlogSeptember 16, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
From time to time, I’m asked why some operating sites don’t seem to pay adequate attention to the need to protect and preserve pressure equipment integrity (PEI). Too often a few sites don’t seem to "get it" until they have a major process...
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BlogJuly 22, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
Without doubt management needs to ensure that the appropriate resources (human and budgetary) need to be provided for corrosion control and prevention. The C/M engineer/specialist or other responsible party needs to assure that management is advised...
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BlogJuly 15, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
This week’s post takes up right where last week’s post left off in our discussion on Corrosion Management and Control (CM&C) Management Systems. Here are the last two Corrosion Management and Control Management Systems.
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BlogJuly 8, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
This week’s post takes up right where last week’s post left off in our discussion on Corrosion Management and Control (CM&C) Management Systems.
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July/August 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
IÂ have written numerous technical articles addressing how to improve your fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) program. This time I will deviate from the FEMI technologies and methodologies to address a topic that may be equally...
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BlogJuly 1, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
I will emphasize the systems, work processes and procedures for identifying and controlling the rate and types of deterioration in pressure equipment. These are not in any particular order, as they are meant to operate interdependently.
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BlogJune 24, 2013 By John Reynolds at Intertek
I have written several articles for Inspectioneering Journal to help create successful programs to achieve excellence in pressure equipment integrity and reliability (PEI&R).
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May/June 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
One of the reasons we continue to have too many fixed equipment mechanical integrity (FEMI) events in the refining and process industries is the lack of understanding and appreciation by site management for the hazards posed by the 101 FEMI issues.
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January/February 2013 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
A new API Individual Certification Program (ICP) will be offered soon to certify inspectors who perform quality assurance (QA) surveillance and inspection activities on new materials and equipment for the energy and chemical (E&C) industry. It is...
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September/October 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekPerhaps the most important work process to achieve success in fixed equipment PEI&R is to create Corrosion Control Documents (CCD’s) for each process unit. In this article, I expand upon that work process in order to guide the interested...
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July/August 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekThis is the last out of the ten articles in this series. Clearly, Continuous Improvement (CI) has a major role in achieving excellence in PEI&R. All the advances we’ve made over the years in achieving excellence in PEI&R stems from our continuous...
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The Role of Record-keeping and Data Management in Achieving Excellence in Pressure Equipment Integrity and ReliabilityJanuary/February 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Clearly, record-keeping and data management have a major role in achieving excellence in pressure equipment integrity and reliability (PEI&R). Everything else we do to achieve excellence in PEI&R stems from keeping high quality and complete PEI&R...
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The Site Procedures and Work Processes for Achieving Excellence in Pressure Equipment Integrity and ReliabilityNovember/December 2011 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In the first article entitled How to Put It All Together - Guide to Organizing a Successful PEI Program in the current series of articles that I am writing, I provided an overview of the necessary Management Systems (MS) for a successful program to...
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September/October 2011 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Three new recommended practices (RP) are under way within the API Inspection Subcommittee (SCI) which will add to the list of SCI standards available to owner-users to improve their mechanical integrity (MI) and inspection programs.
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The Role of Industry Codes and Standards in Achieving Excellence in Pressure Equipment Integrity and ReliabilityJuly/August 2011 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In the first article in this series entitled How to Put It All Together - Guide to Organizing a Successful PEI Program, I provided an overview of the necessary Management Systems for a successful program to achieve excellence in pressure equipment...
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The Role of Life Cycle Management in Achieving Excellence in Pressure Equipment Integrity and ReliabilityJanuary/February 2011 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In the first article in this series entitled How to Put It All Together - Guide to Organizing a Successful PEI Program, (1) I provided an overview of the necessary Management Systems (MS) for a successful program to achieve excellence in pressure...
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November/December 2010 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekHigh Temperature Hydrogen Attack (HTHA) is a long known and still occurring degradation issue for fixed equipment construction materials in the hydrocarbon process industry where hydroprocess plants (hydrogen plus hydrocarbons) are in service....
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The Role of Risk Assessment and Inspection Planning in Achieving Excellence in Pressure Equipment Integrity and ReliabilitySeptember/October 2010 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In the first article in this series entitled How to Put It All Together - Guide to Organizing a Successful PEI Program, (1) I provided an overview of the necessary Management Systems (MS) for a successful program to achieve excellence in pressure...
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The Role of Corrosion Control in Achieving Excellence in Pressure Equipment Integrity and ReliabilityMay/June 2010 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Clearly, corrosion prevention and control has a major role in achieving excellence in Pressure Equipment Integrity and Reliability (PEI&R). But there is a lot more to PEI&R than just corrosion control. This article will show how corrosion control...
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March/April 2010 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
This article in the series will focus on two more of the necessary MSs for achieving excellence in PEI: Integrity Operating Windows (IOWs) and Management of Change (MOC).
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January/February 2010 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Like all of the other 10 MSs in our filing cabinet, this MS on Management Leadership and Support of PEI (shown in Figure 2 below) is vital to success and linked inextricably to all the other PEI MSs.
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September/October 2009 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Knowing what needs to be accomplished in order to achieve excellence in pressure equipment integrity (PEI) is one thing, but knowing how to organize it all for success is quite another.
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March/April 2009 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
The ASME Post Construction Committee (PCC) has embarked upon a noble activity to produce a guide to using codes, standards, recommended practices, specifications and guidelines that can be used by manufacturers, owners, users, regulators, engineers...
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November/December 2008 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
After pressure equipment (aka fixed or static equipment) is designed, fabricated, and constructed to new construction codes and standards (C/S), it is placed in-service, at which time the API In-service Inspection (ISI) C/S and ASME...
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July/August 2008 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek, and W. David Wang at Shell Global Solutions
This paper covers most of the common (and some not so common) types of NDE methods for heat exchanger (HX) tubular in-service inspections. In addition to noting some of the various advantages and limitations with these methods, the paper covers heat...
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March/April 2008 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekOSHA’s National Emphasis Program (NEP) (1) is now well underway, with 17 of 81 targeted refineries having been reviewed so far (2). OSHA launched the NEP in 2007 after the deadly incident at BP Texas City. As of March this year, OSHA claims to...
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September/October 2007 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In May of this year, a workshop was presented at the annual NPRA Reliability and Maintenance Conference at the George R. Brown CC in Houston. This article is a reader’s digest summary of what was presented at that workshop by the four...
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May/June 2007 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
From time to time, I'm asked why some operating sites don't seem to pay adequate attention to the need to protect and preserve pressure equipment integrity (PEI). Too often a few sites don't seem to "get it" until they have a major process safety...
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March/April 2007 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In the welded condition many stainless steels are susceptible to rapid intergranular corrosion or stress corrosion cracking. This is because the heat from welding sensitizes the base metal heat affected zone (HAZ) and the weld.
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March/April 2007 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
A myriad of issues need to be considered before welding to or repairing weld overlayed or clad equipment. (By clad we mean roll-bonded or explosion bonded, i.e. basically 100% metallurgically bonded, and not a loose or seam-welded liner, e.g., not...
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March/April 2007 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
When we talk about welding QA/QC we typically focus on the technical requirements and what QA/QC is needed to assure that the technical requirements are met. Examples include the preheat, interpass, and PWHT temperatures and how to assure that the...
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January/February 2007 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekIn previous parts of this series, I have covered many corrosion and degradation issues, some environmental cracking diseases, metallurgical degradation mechanisms, issues associated with welding and some external corrosion problems. In part 14,...
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May/June 2006 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
As noted in the discussion on delayed cracking, when the steel contains hydrogen as a result of service exposure (or corrosion, or high temperature - high pressure hydrogen processing) then a hydrogen bake out may be needed to avoid cracking...
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January/February 2006 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekAfter a pressure equipment or piping failure, it’s not uncommon to find out during the failure analysis part of the investigation that the failure initiated at a welding flaw of some sort.
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January/February 2006 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Among other things, a welding QA/QC program needs to ensure that only qualified welders, utilizing qualified procedures are allowed to weld on any pressurized equipment, including storage tanks and piping.
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November/December 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
The API Subcommittee on Inspection, Task Group (T/G) on Inspector Certification is starting to roll out a new program for Inspector Certification Endorsements (ICEP). This program will cover each of several new API Recommended Practices and cover...
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September/October 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Another form of metallurgical degradation at higher temperatures is called sigma phase embrittlement. As the name implies, a metallurgical phase change occurs in some stainless steels when they are heated above about 1000F (540C).
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September/October 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Strain-aging problems are another form of metallurgical degradation and thankfully are not very common and becoming less so; but since strain-aging does still occasionally occur, it still makes the list of one of the “99 diseases of pressure...
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September/October 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Temper embrittlement is another form of metallurgical degradation resulting from exposure of susceptible low alloy steels to higher temperature ranges, usually in service, but can occur to some extent even during heat treatment. And, once again, if...
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September/October 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Metals will slowly deform under stress and higher temperatures by the mechanism known as creep. The amount of creep deformation that will be experienced is highly dependent upon the level of stress, level of temperature and material properties....
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September/October 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Spheroidization is a rather technical term that describes a metallurgical aging phenomena that results in loss of mechanical and creep strength. It occurs when carbon and low alloy steels are exposed to temperatures in the range of 850F - 1400F...
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September/October 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Titanium (Ti) hydriding is another somewhat unusual metallurgical degradation phenomena that can result in brittle fracture. Unlike many other steel embrittlement phenomena, this one most often occurs in thin wall Ti tubes that have been selected...
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May/June 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
MIC is caused by biological growth, i.e. organic slime (typically bacteria, algae, and fungi) in water under low flow or stagnant conditions. The industry experiences it in cooling water systems, piping, vessels and storage tank bottoms where the...
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May/June 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Most all flue gases produced by the combustion of fuels contain contaminants that can condense into acid droplets. The amount of contaminants will determine the concentration of the acid droplets.
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May/June 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Cooling water (CW) corrosion may be the oldest form of corrosion in the petrochemical industry, yet the industry still struggles with it for two primary reasons.
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May/June 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Carbon dioxide (CO2) corrosion is most typically found in boiler condensate return systems that are not adequately treated with corrosion inhibitors (typically amines). Dissolved CO2 in condensate forms carbonic acid (H2CO3) which corrodes steels...
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May/June 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Boiler feed water (BFW) corrosion is mostly the result of dissolved oxygen in the feed water, but is also related to the quality of the BFW and the quality of the treatment system.
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March/April 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
One of the more important uses of the 99 Diseases of Hydrocarbon Process Equipment is to determine how to safely operate process pressure equipment. Such a work process thereby minimizes the impact of any potential degradation mechanisms (the 99...
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January/February 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
HTHA falls into multiple categories of corrosion mechanisms, including environmentally assisted cracking, hydrogen assisted cracking, and high temperature degradation. Sometimes HTHA is confused with low temperature hydrogen cracking mechanisms...
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January/February 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Corrosion fatigue is closely related to mechanical and vibration fatigue cracking, except that it is initiated and accelerated by a corrosion mechanism, especially one that gives rise to pitting, from which cracks often initiate. But that...
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January/February 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Amine cracking is a form of stress corrosion cracking, which is related to alkaline and carbonate stress corrosion cracking. Amine cracking is often intertwined with wet H2S and carbonate cracking, as amines, carbonates and wet sulfides often exist...
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January/February 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Polythionic Acid Stress Corrosion Cracking (PASCC) is an affliction of many refineries processing sulfur containing feedstocks, and since that is the norm these days, most refiners reduce their susceptibility to PASCC by selecting resistant alloys...
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January/February 2005 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Hydrogen stress cracking occurs when corrosion from acids like wet hydrogen sulfide or hydrofluoric acid (HF) cause atomic hydrogen to penetrate hardened or higher strength steels and cause stress cracking.
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November/December 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Unfortunately there is a recurring theme of pressure equipment integrity incidents in the hydrocarbon process industry which has been identified by the API and that is leaks and fires caused by the inadvertent substitution of materials of...
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September/October 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Unlike NAC where we’re still on a learning curve, the knowledge of corrosion by sulfuric acid has not changed much in the last quarter century, and there are many good references for it included in API RP 571.
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September/October 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Corrosion from phosphoric acid is another “old knowledge” corrosion issue that effects only a few processes in the chemical and hydrocarbon process industry.
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September/October 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Corrosion from HCl is a significant problem in many refining and chemical process units, and often the materials solution to HCl corrosion is rather expensive, since the lower cost, more available alloys are usually not resistant to most...
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September/October 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Corrosion in the refining industry from HFA is not as widespread a problem as it is with HCl because it is only associated with HF Alkylation Units, which are usually fairly carefully controlled in order to avoid potential for a toxic HFA cloud...
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September/October 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Problems with naphthenic acid corrosion (NAC) are nearly as old as the refining industry. The first paper on the topic that I knew about was written by one of my early industry supervisors over 40 years ago.
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July/August 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Though oxidation and sulfidation are quite prevalent high temperature corrosion mechanisms in many of our process units, we now come to a few that are not very common, but still deserve some attention to make sure they don’t lead to...
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July/August 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Metal dusting is simply a severe form or extension of carburization in which the extensive carbides that form as a result of carburization lead to grains of metal falling out of the tube or piping and being swept away by the process...
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July/August 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
High temperature sulfidation is probably the most common high temperature corrosion nemesis in the refining industry, since there are very few “sweet” refineries still in operation. Sulfidation corrosion typically is of concern in sour oil...
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July/August 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Decarburization is the antithesis of carburization and rarely results in equipment failure. However, surface decarburization is often a sign that something more serious is going on, ie high temperature hydrogen attack (HTHA), which is well covered...
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July/August 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
High temperature oxidation is not a real common type of failure in our industry, but it can and does happen when temperatures exceed design maximums. All metals oxidize, even at room temperature, and in many cases that slow oxidation process...
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May/June 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
CUI may be the most well known and widespread corrosion phenomena in our industry. It’s also one of the most difficult to prevent because by and large no matter what precautions we take, water eventually gets into the insulation and begins...
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May/June 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
For purposes of this article, external (atmospheric) corrosion is what afflicts process equipment and structural members that are not insulated and exposed to moisture associated with atmospheric conditions, ie rain, condensation from humidity,...
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May/June 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Chloride cracking of austenitic stainless steels (300 series SS) is an off-shoot of CUI, and there’s nothing really magical about it. If you have insulated solid stainless steel equipment operating in the CUI temperature range you are likely to...
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May/June 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Soil corrosion (underground corrosion) is another one of those extensively researched and documented types of corrosion, since so many pipes and pipelines are buried and nearly all storage tanks rest on the soil. An entire industry/ technology is...
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March/April 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
ASME has an active Post Construction Committee (PCC) for generating standards for in-service inspection. As such, the ASME is no longer just a "new construction" standardization organization. The Subcommittee on Repair and Testing now has 23...
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January/February 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Inadequate PWHT is one of our pressure equipment nemeses. We normally specify PWHT for a variety of pressure equipment integrity reasons including when we need to lower residual stresses, increase resistance to cracking or soften weld hardness. All...
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January/February 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Speaking of stress raisers, they are another insidious type of flaw that can and do lead to equipment failures. Stress raisers (aka stress intensification sites) can be mechanical or metallurgical notches. Undercutting, physical weld flaws,...
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January/February 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Cracks along the toe of a weld are not uncommon during fabrication, and can occur for a wide variety of reasons involving the metallurgy and process control of the the same issues covered above on repair welds can apply to repair welds on...
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January/February 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Repair welds can be another undetected and insidious "fabrication defect" that eventually results in equipment failure. Any experienced metallurgist that has completed numerous failure analyses over the years will tell you that periodically they see...
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January/February 2004 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Casting defects are an age old problem for our industry that seems to be getting worse as foundries in the older industrialized world shutdown for economic reasons.
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November/December 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Hydrogen Embrittlement (HE) is an insidious form of degradation that can strike during equipment fabrication, cleaning, repairs or while in-service. It stems from the infusion of atomic hydrogen into some higher strength steels that then leads to...
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November/December 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Liquid Metal Cracking (LMC) (aka "liquid metal embrittlement") is another insidious form of cracking that strikes when you least expect it. It most commonly afflicts austenitic stainless steels, but can afflict other copper, nickel and aluminum...
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November/December 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Carbonate cracking (CC) of carbon steel has seen an increase recently in frequency and severity in some refinery cat crackers, especially in fractionator and gas processing overheads. Some gas scrubbing units are also susceptible. CC is a form of...
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November/December 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
There are a variety of forms of wet H2S cracking. In this short article I will focus on two of the most common forms: hydrogen induced cracking and stress-oriented hydrogen induced cracking (HIC/ SOHIC). HIC is often fairly innocuous (but not...
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November/December 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Chloride stress corrosion cracking (SCC) is about as well known as any SCC mechanism can be, so I won't dwell much on it here, but want to mention it for the sake of completeness and hopefully mention something that is not as commonly known about...
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November/December 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Ammonia stress corrosion cracking (SCC) has been around a long time. Most everyone has experienced it from time to time. It's not uncommon in brass tubes in cooling water service that is contaminated with ammonia due to biological growths or other...
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September/October 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekThe API Inspection Subcommittee has issued the second edition of their inspection benchmarking survey. We are encouraging as many sites, worldwide, to participate as possible, so that we have the most amount of data available for analysis and...
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July/August 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Cavitation is the sudden formation and immediate collapse of vapor or air bubbles in a liquid stream when system pressure falls below the vapor pressure of the liquid. The sudden collapse of these tiny bubbles generates enormous, though tiny forces...
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July/August 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Few of us have not experienced or heard about vibration fatigue (cracking) failures, especially around pumps and compressors. Typically small branch connections, equalizer lines, vents and drains are susceptible, especially if they are screwed...
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July/August 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Graphitization is not something that operators can do much about, and thankfully it is not very common. We as engineers and inspectors have to know about this one and prevent it or detect it. It occurs when the microstructure of some carbon and...
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July/August 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
This is the name given to a form of embrittlement that occurs in 400 series of stainless steels, duplex SS's and less commonly in some 300 series stainless steels containing a metallurgical phase called ferrite. The embrittlement occurs from 600...
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July/August 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Thermal shock is another one of those pressure equipment afflictions where communication with operating groups is a vital factor in prevention. Thermal shock failures usually involve sudden quenching of high temperature equipment and furnace tubes...
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May/June 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekA new recommended practice from the API is in the final stages of preparation before publications. It is API RP 577 on Welding Inspection and Metallurgy.
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May/June 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekNext year, the API Inspector Recertification Program (ICP) will be recertifying inspectors who have held their API certifications for more than 6 years. Things have changed this time though, and inspectors will be required to pass a short exam...
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January/February 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
I already mentioned this common affliction in the introduction. Caustic cracking was long called caustic embrittlement, but since no embrittlement actually occurs that name is fading away.
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January/February 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Welcome to a new series of articles about the ninety-nine leading types of degradation, flaws and failure that can and do happen to pressure equipment in the hydrocarbon process industry.
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July/August 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
This failure mechanism is unfortunately all too common in our industry. It's also known as stress rupture, and it is usually entirely preventable by proper maintenance and operating procedures. It occurs when equipment, piping or furnace tubes...
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January/February 2003 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Now you say, he's got to be putting me on. What is green rot? I didn't invent it. I first read about it in one of the early texts on corrosion engineering by Ughlig or Fontana, the venerable corrosion professors at MIT & Ohio State. But when I...
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November/December 2002 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
An effort is currently underway to create a new code for in-service inspection and maintenance of pressure equipment in the hydrocarbon process industry. The API Committee on Refinery Equipment (CRE) and the ASME Board on Pressure Technology Codes...
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September/October 2002 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In May 2002, after 6 years of preparation, the API published the first edition of API 580 Risk-based Inspection. The document is now an ANSI/API Standard, which was balloted and approved using the ANSI consensus process for creating American...
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January/February 2001 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Part 5 of this article continues to outline the 101 essential elements that need to be in place, and functioning well, to effectively and efficiently, preserve and protect the reliability and integrity of pressure equipment (vessels, exchangers,...
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November/December 2000 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Part 4 of this article continues to outline the 101 essential elements that need to be in place, and functioning well, to effectively and efficiently, preserve and protect the reliability and integrity of pressure equipment (vessels, exchangers,...
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September/October 2000 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
This article continues to outline the 101 essential elements that need to be in place, and functioning well, to effectively and efficiently, preserve and protect the reliability and integrity of pressure equipment (vessels, exchangers, furnaces,...
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101 Essential Elements in a Pressure Equipment Integrity Management Program for the Hydrocarbon Process Industry - Part 2
July/August 2000 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekThis paper outlines the 101 essential elements that need to be in place, and functioning well, to effectively and efficiently, preserve and protect the reliability and integrity of pressure equipment (vessels, exchangers, furnaces, boilers, piping...
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101 Essential Elements in a Pressure Equipment Integrity Management Program for the Hydrocarbon Process Industry
May/June 2000 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at IntertekThis is the first of a series of articles that outlines the 101 essential elements that need to be in place, and functioning well, to preserve and protect the reliability and integrity of pressure equipment (vessels, exchangers, furnaces, boilers,...
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March/April 2000 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Two API projects are co-sponsoring an effort to develop a risk based inspection (RBI) method for atmospheric storage tanks (AST). One of the projects is the long standing RBI project that is developing RBI methods for all types of pressure...
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Utilizing On-Stream Inspection Techniques in the Petroleum/Petrochemical Industry in Lieu of Internal and Turnaround InspectionsSeptember/October 1999 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
This is part three of a three part article for the IJ describing some of the advanced on-stream inspection (OSI) methods available for use in inspection of pressure equipment in the petroleum and petrochemical industry. These methods can be used,...
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Utilizing On-stream Inspection Techniques in the Petroleum/Petrochemical Industry in Lieu of Internal and Turnaround InspectionsJuly/August 1999 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek, and Mark Bell at Ethos Mechanical Integrity Solutions
This is part two of a three part article describing some of the advanced on-stream inspection (OSI) methods available for use in inspection of pressure equipment in the petroleum and petrochemical industry. These methods can be used, under the right...
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Utilizing On-stream Inspection Techniques in the Petroleum/Petrochemical Industry in Lieu of Internal and Turnaround InspectionsMay/June 1999 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek, and Mark Bell at Ethos Mechanical Integrity Solutions
This three-part article describes some of the advanced on-stream inspection (OSI) methods available for use in inspection of pressure equipment in the petroleum and petrochemical industry. These methods can be used, under the right circumstances, to...
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March/April 1999 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Some Middle Eastern and European operators are now using AE successfully to screen tanks for internal inspection by listening for active tank bottom corrosion, and then grading the tank as high, medium or low need for internal inspection.
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November/December 1998 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In Part 1 of this article, in the last edition of the IJ, I introduced the work process that we use to assess the effectiveness of our pressure equipment integrity (PEI) management. It involves a self-assessment workbook filled out by site...
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September/October 1998 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In this first part of a two-part article, I will outline a process that our company uses to review and measure the effectiveness of our pressure equipment integrity management process. Then in Part 2, next issue, I will "fill in the blanks" on some...
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September/October 1997 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
This is the fourth in a series of articles on piping inspection that I'm writing for the Journal. One of the previous ones dealt with improving thickness data taking accuracy with digital ultrasonic methods. This article is a "sister article" that...
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May/June 1997 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In the Jan/Feb issue of the IJ, I mentioned how important the Management of Change (MOC) process is when it comes to maintaining safe, leak-free piping systems; stating that we in the inspection business cannot do it alone; that is, we taint the...
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March/April 1997 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
This is the second in a series of articles on piping inspection. In the last article, I enumerated four inspection issues that I believe contribute to inadequate piping mechanical integrity in the hydrocarbon process industry.
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January/February 1997 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
It's probably more important to those of us who don't have a brain tumor. Unfortunately, it's precisely because piping inspection is not neurosurgery that it's often done poorly, which can lead to significant impacts on process unit reliability, or...
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November/December 1996 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Three levels of risk based inspection have been developed by the API sponsor group. Level 1: Qualitative RBI which utilizes a step-by-step workbook to rank entire process units or process systems into a 5 x 5 risk matrix...
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September/October 1996 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In the January 1995 issue, I introduced the concept of Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) being developed by an API (American Petroleum Institute) project. This article is an update and status report on that project, which now has 20 sponsor companies,...
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March/April 1996 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Are your jurisdictional boiler and/or pressure vessel rules and regulations too stringent, too costly, too bureaucratic, without adding real safety value commensurate with the time and resources necessary for compliance? Are you having to hire...
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January/February 1996 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
There are a lot of vital roles in the success of any refinery or petrochemical process plant. But none are more important to success than that filled by the pressure equipment inspector (PEI). Years back, we recognized that world class pressure...
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November/December 1995 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In our inspection organizations, we have identified a number of critical success factors (CSF's) which are vitally important if we are to achieve the level of pressure equipment reliability and integrity to which we aspire. One of our CSF's is the...
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September/October 1995 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
In August of 1993, the hydrocarbon process industry once again experienced a catastrophic loss when a major coker unit fire occurred in Louisiana. The cause of that incident was not unlike many others that have occurred over the years throughout...
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July/August 1995 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Late in 1994, the API surveyed their committee on refining equipment members in order to provide benchmarking information on the extent of Pressure Equipment Inspection (PEI) activities and programs underway at member companies.
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May/June 1995 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
As chairman of the API Inspection Subcommittee, one of the questions I often receive involves the difference between the API Pressure Vessel Inspection Code (API-510) and the National Board Inspection Code (NBIC).
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March/April 1995 Inspectioneering JournalBy John Reynolds at Intertek
Many promising advances are being made in inspection technologies, today. Some are going to provide opportunities for companies to maintain and increase equipment mechanical integrity, quite possibly at lower costs.
