A Discussion on the Piping Thickness Management Process: Determining Corrosion Monitoring Locations
In-Service AST Inspection and Cleaning Robotics
New Technology Allows Access to Coils with Common Headers in the Process Industry
Radiation Safety in Industrial Radiography
A Discussion on the Piping Thickness Management Process
Corrosion Control Documents: One High Priority Approach to Minimizing Failures of Fixed Equipment
Evaluating Fitness for Service of Damaged Equipment
Global Refining Industry Utilizes Ultrasonic Inspection Technology
Announcing a Joint Industry Project on HTHA
Exchanger Girth Flange Evaluation
My Turbine Has Run For Years... Why Did it Fail Now?
Risk Based Inspection - Setting Risk Targets
Call for Nominations: 15th Annual Mary Kay O'Connor International Symposium
CSB Deploys Team to El Dorado, Arkansas to Investigate Fatal Hot Work Explosion
Electroless Nickel Surface Coatings
Integrity Management and the Oil and Gas Shale Plays
Internal Robotic Inspection Tool for Unpiggable Pipe Inspections
Is Your Flexibility Causing You Stress?
Recently Formed Nondestructive Evaluation Modeling and Simulation Center Already Yielding Results
Reliability and Integrity Analysis of an Air-Cooled Heat Exchanger: A Case Study
Swiss Cheese, Bow Ties and Normalization of Deviance
United States Chemical Safety Board Requests Comments on its Draft Strategic Plan for 2012 to 2016
2012 Inspectioneering Journal Article Index
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September/October 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy A.C. Gysbers at The Equity Engineering Group, Inc.Piping failures still represent a frustrating and ongoing problem for processing plants (example in Figure 1). Failures are commonly reported and contribute to large losses. As well per the author’s experience, piping still represents the highest percentage of the number of fixed equipment failures in petroleum refining.
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November/December 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy A.C. Gysbers at The Equity Engineering Group, Inc.Piping failures still represent a frustrating and ongoing problem for processing plants. Failures are still commonly reported and contribute to large losses. In the author’s experience, piping represents the highest percentage of fixed equipment failures in petroleum refining.
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September/October 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Abdullah Al-Harbi at Kuwait Oil CompanySince its inception, one of the core businesses of the MS&R (maintenance, safety and reliability) Team for Kuwait Oil Company's NK (North Kuwait) Facilities has included carrying out Preventive Maintenance (PM) activities as directed by the established shutdown schedule. We understand that the PM business is diverse and is vital to maintain the safety and integrity of the Production Facilities.
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Partner ContentAIM systems should ensure that the your facility’s MI software is accurately performing the calculations needed to calculate minimum thickness, long/short term corrosion rates and remaining life used to predict future inspection intervals. They should evaluate your MI software’s basic design and corrosion monitoring variables.
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July/August 2012 Inspectioneering JournalWe have recently learned of one organized joint industry project (JIP) that was announced at the Spring 2012 API Refining meeting. As information has become available we have decided to present it to our readership.
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May/June 2012 Inspectioneering Journal
The Mary Kay O'Connor Process Safety Center is currently seeking nominations for the annual Merit Award and Harry West Memorial Service Award, to be presented at the 2012 Annual Symposium.
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January/February 2012 Inspectioneering Journal
The design and fabrication of nuclear pressure vessels and piping components are governed by the rules of Section III of the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code. This Code, which aims to to ensure high levels of structural integrity for safe nuclear plant operation, requires radiographic examination of Class 1 and 2 pressure boundary butt welds to detect structural flaws introduced during welding.
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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 owner-user in creating CCD’s for their process units.
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May/June 2012 Inspectioneering Journal
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today deployed a four- person investigation team to El Dorado, Arkansas to determine the cause of an explosion and fire that severely burned and killed three workers.
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May/June 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Allan McIntyre at Cenovus Energy, Elias Soto at Cenovus Energy, Len Adler at Cenovus Energy, and Bruce Levan at Levan Engineering Ltd.
Electroless nickel (ENC) is a family of coatings based on nickel-phosphorous metallic compounds. ENC was developed in 1943 by Abner Brenner, an electrochemist at the U.S. Bureau of Standards. While working on the electroplating of nickel onto nickel-tungsten surfaces, Brenner added hypophosphite chemical to the plating solution as a way to control surface oxidation.
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Partner ContentIntegrating a new digital technology that combines data-driven insights and data storage with innovative mobility can provide a new level of connected intelligence. Digitalization can improve workflow, increase worker productivity and allow better recording of field data. Mobile technology allows for real-time data monitoring and strategic decision making via specialized tablet-driven software.
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January/February 2012 Inspectioneering Journal
Concerns about the reliability of ultrasonic in-service inspections conducted at nuclear power plants led the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC) to draft a proposed qualification document in October 1984. Representatives from industry, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), and NRC agreed that major improvements in the quality of in-service inspection were needed and that qualification of nondestructive evaluation (NDE) systems might be the answer.
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March/April 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Cliff Knight, P.E. at KnightHawk Engineering, Inc.
What I am primarily concerned with, in this article, is erosion corrosion control. Now, what is erosion corrosion? Well, no matter how you might look at it, erosion corrosion involves the degradation of the material by some mechanical action, in conjunction with a chemical interaction between the material and the media it is in contact with.
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September/October 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Peter Carter, PhD, PE at Stress Engineering, Inc., Joe Frey, PE at Stress Engineering, Inc., and Mike Guillot, PhD, PE at Stress Engineering, Inc.An all too familiar scenario in power plants is one in which an inspection finding occurs late in an outage and consequently, the return to service date may need to be postponed to allow time for corrective action. Historically, cracks or thinned spots were typically repaired without question.
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July/August 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Robert C. Davis at The Equity Engineering Group, Inc.
At most operating facilities, a significant amount of time, effort, and money is expended on problem flanged joints that repeatedly leak. Joints that are repeatedly tightened online, that require installation of leak clamps, or that have resulted in unplanned outages to fix leaks are costly and unsafe.
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September/October 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Richard D. Roberts at Quest Integrity GroupThe refining industry has applied ultrasonic-based intelligent pigging to inspect serpentine coils in fired heaters since the 1990s. Today, thousands of serpentine coils in fired heaters are inspected annually at process facilities around the globe.
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November/December 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Gary Penney at ADMAA unique technique for inspecting and cleaning the floors of an Above Ground Storage Tank (AST) emerged in the late 90’s based on In-Service Robotic Technology. The technology has come a long way since then, with new inspection and tank cleaning capabilities, greater operational efficiency, and a much broader user base.
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September/October 2012 Inspectioneering JournalOn August 6, 2012, a piping failure occurred in the #4 Crude Unit at the Chevron U.S.A. Inc. refinery in Richmond, CA. Chevron U.S.A. would like to share some potentially significant preliminary information regarding the incident.
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May/June 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Alvarado at Inspectioneering Journal
Development of shale requires the utilization of numerous types of fixed equipment. Due to the high cost and risk associated with hydrocarbon production and processing, E&Ps must continue to manage cost-effective and safe fixed equipment programs. Are the fixed equipment integrity management challenges related to shale development different from the current challenges faced in the upstream oil and gas business?
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May/June 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Clay Goudy at GE Industrial SolutionsA self-propelled in-line inspection tool tested at Electric Power Research Institute and utilized in Europe can traverse a complex piping configuration and discriminate areas of metal loss. This tool is becoming available to inspect traditionally unpiggable piping such as: buried piping at nuclear plants, oil and gas terminals, refineries, industrial sites, cased pipeline crossings and distribution pipelines.
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May/June 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Rick Marsden at Cenovus Energy, and Jack Fraser at Cenovus EnergyFlexible hose assemblies (FHAs) and flex joints are often used in designs to accommodate motion, misalignment, vibration, thermal expansion/contraction, and to simplify installations. Unfortunately, the inherent risks associated with these components are not well understood and therefore, are not always managed appropriately.
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January/February 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Devon Brendecke, P.E. at Quest Integrity Group
Thanks to constantly improving technology developments, inspection of atmospheric storage tanks has yielded better data which, when used as input, improves the accuracy of advanced assessment techniques. Coupling the improved inspection data with an advanced engineering assessment often means that tank operators are able to postpone repairs until the next shutdown, eliminate the need for repairs or be exempt from hydrostatic testing.
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July/August 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Cliff Knight, P.E. at KnightHawk Engineering, Inc.
Steam turbines exist in most every major industrial facility. Many of these turbines have been running for years and have been very stable. Typically, after a period of time, the equipment is shut down for maintenance during a planned outage. It is more common than not that the turbine will experience problems after the shutdown and perhaps even failure or high vibration will occur.
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November/December 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Richard D. Roberts at Quest Integrity GroupVarious fired heater designs in refineries and chemical plants contain common headers (e.g. Arbor coil configurations, CCRs, etc.) as part of their overall serpentine coil design. Accessing the interior of individual coils through the common header is challenging; however, advanced engineering firms and mechanical decoking companies have developed unique common header snorkel delivery systems.
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November/December 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Sanjoy Das at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, D. Mukherjee at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre, and S. Anantharaman at Bhabha Atomic Research Centre
Radiography technique is one of the most widely utilized non-destructive methods, used in industry to evaluate the structural integrity or find out the hidden details of an assembled structure. Since this method uses ionizing radiation, it is important to ensure not only the quality of product, but also the safety of the technician and the general public, as well as the protection of the environment.
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March/April 2012 Inspectioneering Journal
The new capabilities being developed through the Nondestructive Evaluation (NDE) Modeling and Simulation Center are expect- ed to reduce the time, cost and complexity of approaches used to develop and demonstrate NDE techniques to meet regulatory requirements and industry commitments.
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July/August 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Kent Coleman at Electric Power Research Institute
Boiler and heat recovery steam generator (HRSG) tube failures have been the primary availability problem for operators of conventional fossil-fueled and combined-cycle power plants for as long as reliable statistics have been kept for each generating source.
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March/April 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Fernando Vicente at ABB
Air-cooled heat exchangers (AC-HEs) are used extensively throughout the oil and gas industry, from upstream production to refineries and petrochemical plants, under high pressure and high temperature conditions, as well as corrosive fluids and environments. Some defects and discontinuities can be introduced during the heat exchanger manufacturing process and are not necessarily found as part of QA/QC inspections.
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July/August 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Alvarado at Inspectioneering Journal
The question of how to set risk targets is a logical one and should be addressed prior to or in the very early stages of RBI implementation. This article will guide readers through the basic elements required to address this question within an organization, as all companies do not have the same risk philosophy and can adapt these elements to fit their own.
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November/December 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Ryan Corn at Marathon Petroleum Company LP, and Matthew K. Caserta, PE at BASF
As refiners continue operating aging infrastructure, safe operation and equipment availability continue to be key components of a sustainable operation. When considering optimizing inspection projects, more and more refiners are making Risk-Based Inspection (RBI) an integral part of their plan processes. When applied properly, RBI can focus inspection efforts using risk as a basis for prioritizing and managing an in-service inspection program.
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January/February 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Greg Alvarado at Inspectioneering Journal
The various factors of the challenge, e.g. creating effective and then efficient inspection strategies, are at the crux of the decision process. Within each of these factors are questions that must be answered. The answers should be well thought through and provided as part of your risk-based inspection analysis process.
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March/April 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Barry Snider at Small Hammer IncorporatedRisk Based Integrity Management (RBIM) is the latest process for developing strategies to properly operate and maintain a manufacturing or production facility in the Oil, Gas, and Petrochemical Industry (OG&P). RBIM is a significant change from previous processes that drive the industry into specific directions for managing risk.
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May/June 2012 Inspectioneering JournalBy Jason Butz at SAIT Polytechnic
Over the past 100 years, Nondestructive testing has made tremendous advances. New NDT methods have been introduced, while old "tried and true" methods continue to be improved. Although some NDT methods have drastically changed or "evolved" over time, the principle behind each method has remained the same; "To ensure the safety and integrity of manufactured items or goods."
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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 improvement programs to apply new and better techniques and methods by learning from what has already occurred.
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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 records, as well as doing all the necessary data analysis.
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March/April 2012 Inspectioneering Journal
The U.S. Chemical Safety Board (CSB) today announced it is requesting public comments on its draft 2012-2016 CSB Strategic Plan. The draft plan is an update of the 2007 - 2012 CSB Strategic Plan, and includes the CSB's strategic goals, strategic objectives, and associated measures for managing and evaluating agency operations.
