What is in Your Inspection Continuous History Report? – Part 3: Improvement Recommendations

Introduction

To support mechanical integrity (MI), petroleum refining and chemical plants spend significant resources in evaluating the condition of pressure equipment within their facilities, particularly when performing an onstream or internal inspection. One of the most significant and valuable products generated by spending these resources is the inspection continuous (progressive) history report (ICHR) primarily prepared by the plant inspector. This report should completely and consistently capture and analyze the data gathered during the inspections throughout the operating history of the equipment. This ICHR is crucial in establishing current and future condition assessments for the equipment in question and crucial in supporting the other mainstays of current plant MI practices such as corrosion control documents (CCDs), integrity operating windows (IOWs), and risk-based inspection (RBI). These provide real-time data assessment points regarding the impact of plant operation exposure to the degradation mechanism(s) that may be occurring within the equipment. Despite some rudimentary guidance provided in industry standards, such API 510 and API RP 572, the author’s experience with current consulting support of CCD, IOW, and RBI development is that the range of quality of what is reported in the ICHR begs for improved client and industry guidelines on what constitutes superior quality for the effort spent [1, 2].

This article is the third installment of a three-part series. Part 1 focused on setting the framework of what an ICHR structure should include, while Part 2 focused on specific pitfalls and recommendations for what should be crucial details to include in the foundational equipment data, historical background information, inspection data, and inspection information sections of the framework [3, 4]. This final article focuses on transformational improvement recommendations to include in ICHR documentation, including the knowledge and wisdom thought process using the inspection data/information to assess the damage mechanism implications and to recommend future inspections (onstream, internal), repairs, or replacement of the equipment to maintain the mechanical integrity. In addition, the article will discuss expanding the ICHR process not only to address equipment-specific recommendations, but also to document recommendations that may impact other associated equipment/piping, the damage mechanism assessment as documented in the CCD, the implications of operations exposure via IOWs, and how the RBI assessment may be impacted.