Do you know how a Good Engineering Practice (GEP) becomes a RAGAGEP? RAGAGEP clearly applies to all kinds of equipment, but this article will address RAGAGEP for FEMI used in the hydrocarbon and chemical process industries.

Based on the current 5th Edition of API RP 751, this article is to help clarify where RBI can be used to extend inspection intervals for piping and equipment in an HF Alkylation Unit, and where it is prohibited.

An informative discussion with David Osage, President and Principal Engineer at The Equity Engineering Group, regarding the recent update to API 579/FFS-1, Fitness-for-Service, and why it's important to our industry.

There are many excellent changes and updates in the new edition of API 579, including significant technical changes and improvements. In this FFS Forum article, I’ll go through many of what I believe to be the most important changes.

This article discussed the growing list of API FEMI standards, how some of them came to be, and why they keep getting improved upon with new lessons learned.

LOTIS utilizes laser profilometry to conduct internal steam reformer tube inspections. The data captured by LOTIS is exceptionally powerful when combined with our LifeQuest™ remaining life assessment capabilities, providing an integrated...

The authors have written a two-part series covering valves and their role in the overall MI process. In this first article, they discuss the various valve types, their common uses, and the governing standards and recommended practices that apply.

A 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.

There 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.

A summary of some of the important topics that were discussed at the API Fall Refining and Equipment Standards Meeting in Atlanta.

API RP 578 identifies 7 areas of consideration & general concern in material verification, mainly focusing on systems most susceptible to corrosion. Knowing which assets are at high-risk for degradation & what elements should be tested is critical...

InVista is a lightweight, hand-held ultrasonic in-line inspection tool (intelligent pig) capable of detecting pipeline wall loss and corrosion in unpiggable or difficult-to-inspect pipelines. The pipeline geometry inspection data captured by the...

If an inspector knows both the content and material of construction of piping, it would be useful when performing inspection. However, this is only possible when there’s a system in place at the site for identifying piping.

This article provides a case study showing the real costs and effects of having a dated engineering standards program, as well as the financial benefits through increased reliability of having a thriving engineering standards program.

Effective asset management has become no less than a strategic requirement for asset intensive organizations. By integrating available standards such as ISO 9001 and PAS 55, companies can develop a sound asset management strategy.

This 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.

A 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.

AET is a powerful, non-intrusive inspection technique to verify the structural integrity of pressure vessels, spheres, high-temperature reactors and piping, coke drums, above-ground storage tanks, cryogenic storage tanks, and more.

API 579-1 is a complex document covering several different types of equipment that may contain flaws or damage. Due to its complexity, this article condenses it into six things you need to know.

As mentorship programs continue to fade across the oil & gas, chemical, petrochemical, and other process industries, this article discusses a few of the main causes as well as the importance for stopping this trend.

With no industry consensus documents in existence that provide guidance for determining FFS of FRP, this article provides a case study that illustrates how an existing European design standard on GRP tanks can be used to calculate expected changes...

API'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...

This article demonstrates the process of converting API RP 576, Inspection of Pressure-Relieving Devices, into a work process that is suitable for conversion into a job procedure. It also explores some lessons learned that will make the document...

Auto-refrigeration can impose low temperatures onto process vessels and piping causing them to be at risk of brittle fracture, the sudden break-before leak phenomena that can result in catastrophic rupture of the equipment.

In 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,...

Thanks to the development of documents such as API RP 571 and API RP 586, as well as the emergence of qualification demonstration testing, we can align NDT techniques and inspection strategies better than ever. This article examines this progression...

Industry 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...

Updates and developments related to the 2019 API Inspection Summit, SCIMI code, standard, and recommended practices, and the API Individual Certification Program (ICP).

Inspectioneering Founder & Chief Editor, Greg Alvarado, recently had the privilege to sit down with Clay White, Director of Mechanical Integrity for Phillips 66 (Downstream), to discuss the world of fixed equipment reliability in the refining and...

FFS assessment techniques are applicable to a wide range of damage types: LTA's, cracks, creep damage, dents, and more. These are very powerful analytical tools that often allow operators to not only keep the plant running, but to keep it running...

This paper provides the background for the technology behind the Third Edition thinning model as well as step-by-step worked examples demonstrating the methodology for thinning in this new edition of API RP 581.

This brief article contains updates and highlights related to the Subcommittee on Inspection (SCI) at the 2016 API Spring Refining Equipment and Standards Meeting.

Inspectioneering recently had an opportunity to sit down with Walt Sanford, President and COO of Pinnacle Advanced Reliability Technologies, and discuss what Reliability means to his clients and others in our industry. We hope you find the exchange...

Updated editions of both API 570 and API RP 580 were recently released by the American Petroleum Institute.

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.

How long does it take for you to receive reports after an inspection has been completed? A week? A month? Does the data come from multiple sources with no way of knowing if it has been manipulated? Traditional inspection contractors do not have...

Maximizing return on investment of physical assets, while at the same time operating safely and in an environmentally responsible manner is now more critical than ever for organizations within the heavy process industries.

A meeting of the API Pipeline In-Line Inspection Standards Group was held in Houston, Texas on October 17, 2002. The following is an excerpt from the Draft Scope of the Standard in the working dated, May 13, 2002.

If we could measure, understand, mitigate, and most importantly, control corrosion, we can do a better job of keeping the product in the pipes. To accomplish this task, we needed to know what is causing the corrosion and how to control it.

If everyone in an industrial setting actively looked for things that were not right or seemed different, or looked at small mistakes as opportunities to prevent larger ones, what would the future look like?

Some hiring practices for new employees have been too lax for too long in the pipeline industry. Pipeline inspectors who have ever worked beside someone who was hired via the familiar “friends and family program,” recognize the need for more...

Equity Engineering Practices® (EEPs) are a collection of design and maintenance focused corporate standards that include >850 engineering standards, and >300 piping classes. Enhance your mechanical integrity programs, improve equipment...

Based 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...

Two separate forces have driven growth in the usage of API storage tank standards in Brazil. The first force is an increased regulatory presence in the refining, chemical, and petrochemical industries, which creates a need to thoroughly document any...

One of the more popular topics discussed and debated vigorously in the asset management community is the potential impact of the ISO 55000 series of standards, which was just released in January of 2014 and is the first set of international...

Inspections, repairs, modifications, or Fitness-For-Service (FFS) assessments on an old, unfired ASME Section VIII (Div. 1) pressure vessel - Which ASME Section VIII (Div. 1) Code Edition should you use?

Three new API standards have been published, and one has been revised and updated to a new edition. The standards are described in this post.

In today's chemical and refining industries, sustained long term reliability of facilities is critical to profitability and competitiveness. In fact, history shows that differences in operating expenses between best-in-class refineries, and poor...

Inspectioneering is pleased to announce that our friend, colleague, author and industry leader, Clay White, has recently taken over as chair of API’s Subcommittee on Inspection (SCI).

Inspections, repairs, modifications, or Fitness-For-Service (FFS) assessments on an old, unfired ASME Section VIII (Div. 1) pressure vessel - Which ASME Section VIII (Div. 1) Code Edition should you use?

Many of you are already aware of some of the changes that have occurred within API this year. For those of you who are not, here’s a quick summary.

Being a member of the API ICP, for several years, I know that we are continuously working improve our products. This year was exceptionally productive for us.

Starting in March 2014, the American Petroleum Institute Inspector Certification Program (API ICP) will change its examination delivery method from pen-and-paper based testing (PBT) to computer-based testing (CBT). This change is a welcome push...

Are you truly prepared for your next Turnaround? Effective work processes are required to successfully plan, manage, review and supervise plant turnarounds. Inspection planning and work scope selection are critical aspects of any turnaround...

Discussions to allow the certification of three existing API recommended practices (RPs) without prior certification to API 510, 570, or 653 were held at recent API Spring and Fall Refining and Equipment Standards Meetings.

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...

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.

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...

At PinnacleAIS, we often get requests for a Senior API Inspector. But what does that mean exactly? What qualifications are required? Is there a test or a certification that provides the end user with assurance they are getting a higher caliber...

Becht’s industry-leading Corrosion and Metallurgical experts are here to help with significant owner-operator experience covering the refining, petrochemical and chemical industries. This expertise is leveraged to help our clients become more...

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...

Each year about 14,000 oil spills are reported, according to the EPA. It is estimated that there are 618,000 facilities that are regulated under EPA SPCC in the United States.

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...

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...

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...

TEAM’s integrated touch point corrosion program manages all aspects of the integrity process from screening for damage to permanent repair assuring integrity – every time. TEAM’s unique turn-key approach to touch point corrosion integrity...

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.

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...

On April 6, 2010, a tragic accident occurred at the Tesoro Refinery in Anacortes, WA, in the Naphtha Hydrotreater process unit (NHT). During routine operations involving an on-line switching of unit heat exchanger feed trains, seven employees were...

This is a Publicly Available Specification (PAS) published by the British Standards Institution (BSI). PAS 55 gives guidance and a 28-point requirements checklist of proposed good practices in physical asset management; typically this is relevant to...

This recommended practice (RP) identifies leading and lagging process safety indicators useful for driving performance improvement and includes mechanical integrity related items. As a framework for measuring activity, status, or performance, this...

TEAM believes that quality inspections are the key to reliability. Our inspection crews are made up of specialty trained, experienced technicians who adhere to the highest quality standards. Our API 653 inspectors deliver thorough, reliable...

For years the WRC has provided the documented technical basis for many decisions made regarding design, repair, remaining life estimation, and fitness for service of pressure equipment in our industries. Many codes and industry recommended practices...

A recent well publicized Ohio fatality highlights the simple truth that the oil and gas industry can be a dangerous business. This has been recognized by the Occupational Safety and Health Administration, better known as OSHA, which is charged with...

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...

The previous article (Part 1) covered Probability of Failure (POF), including modeling of thinning and stress corrosion cracking and demonstrated how API RBI provides credits for past inspections, considering their effectiveness in detecting those...

Progress has been made in this area over the last 5 to 10 years. Here is a listing of helpful references for managing pipeline integrity that represents a lot of that progress and experience. It is by no means exhaustive. To the best of our...

Statistical techniques are meant to complement the work of SMEs and can provide deeper insights into the inspection data collected as part of a reliability program. Pinnacle has combined traditional methods, expertise, and Machine Learning to...

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...

The latest revision of this code (AB-506) is dated January 28, 2008. For many readers in the province of Alberta Canada these rules will impact you directly. Others may see effects or feel indirect effects as you jurisdictions may look to ABSA for...

OSHA’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...

Over the years many in the oil and gas and chemical industry inspectors, engineers and managers have asked, "What happens at API meetings?" With the important regulatory and business initiatives in place and developing it is a good time to answer...

Facilities are often content in compiling event data, entering thickness measurements, assigning a system description, tracking work requests and recommendations in their databases. These are certainly valuable data points but using your database...

Pinnacle's data-driven reliability framework ensures the right data is fueling the right intelligence, helping you make confident, strategic decisions.

Over the past 18 years of serious RBI involvement, it has become clear to me that there are certain hurdles, that when "cleared", have paved the way to jurisdictional acceptance of RBI (and fitness for service, for that matter). This article will...

The ASME/API Inservice Inspection Joint Committee is continuing with its charter to develop and maintain a standard addressing inspection, repair, alteration and rerating for pressure vessels and piping systems after they have been placed into...

The American Petroleum Institute (API) is issuing this publication's announcement to inform companies involved in the distribution, transportation, storage, and blending of denatured fuel ethanol of a potential for metal cracking and product leakage...

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...

Since the publication of NACE MR0175/ISO 15156, "Petroleum and natural gas industries- Materials for use in H2S-containing environments in oil and gas production," in December 2003, the ISO Maintenance Panel set up to maintain this widely used...

Download Pinnacle's Economics of Reliability Report - Refining to see how reliability is affecting profitability.

NACE International has approved two highly anticipated standards dedicated to the control of internal pipeline corrosion.

On July 26, 2006, the State of California revised its Petroleum Safety Orders. The Petroleum Safety Orders are part of the California Code of Regulations Title 8 and address the health and safety requirements for places of employment in the State of...

One has seen the television commercials already introducing "2007 model year" vehicles; "totally re- engineered", "bold new styling", and "more standard equipment" to name a few. The release of the 9th edition of API Std. 510, Pressure Vessel...

On 11 December 2005, fuel at the Buncefield storage ter- minal near London exploded. The incident and immediate aftermath were described in the March-April 2006 edition of IJ. The investigation into the disaster began at the end of January. Three...

The term "certification" has been used and abused over the decades since the 1960's when American Society for Nondestructive Testing (ASNT) published its first Recommended Practice, SNT-TC-1A, 2001, our comments are meant to clear up an de-mystify...

Traditional pressure vessel inspections often require taking assets out of service. However, MISTRAS’ Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) programs provide data as good or better than internal inspections, while assets remain in service. NII is...

Revisions to the California Code of Regulations Title 8 Petroleum Safety Orders are nearly complete and the new regulations should be published late summer 2006. The regulations will affect both drilling and production facilities and refining,...

Is calibration of NDT or any other equipment necessary? The answer is certainly Yes! But a question still arises. Why? Because in the case of NDT it is required by national and international standards. Many NDT standards require that a system of...

Aging phenolic resin reactors built in the 1960's were constructed of SA304 stainless steel, many of which were originally fabricated to ASME Section VIII standards were never registered as such nor with the National Board. Some of these reactors...

Current BSI and ASME codes for the construction of pressure vessels, boilers and piping specify that post-weld heat treatment is required if the thickness of the components being welded exceeds a specified value. This value depends on the type of...

API is preparing to release the next edition of API 579 Fitness-For-Service (FFS) the first quarter of 2006. The many major enhancements that have been made to the next edition of API 579 will permit Owner-Users to evaluate new types of damage...

Pro-Surve recently invested in the latest portable Higher Order Modes Clusters (HOMC) Guided Wave Testing tool, a new concept for the inspection of inaccessible regions using short-range guided waves. Inspection is carried out from the accessible...

Several new API inspection recommended practices exist in which inspectors need to be knowledgeable and qualified. This article details some of those standards.

API Recommended Practice 571, Damage Mechanisms Affecting Fixed Equipment in the Refining Industry

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...

The 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...

API is currently developing a new Certification Program - Tank Entry Supervisor Certification (TES).

The OmniScan™ X3 64 phased array and TFM flaw detector is equipped with enhanced phased capabilities and even faster TFM. The rugged and portable instrument features powerful 64-element probes with a 128-aperture TFM.

This document gives an overview about the structure and the contents of the Pressure Equipment Directive.

A 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.

Next 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...

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...

The purpose of the new SPCC rule is two-fold; i.e. to prevent oil spills from occurring and to respond to them if they do occur. We believe that few will argue that prevention is far better and less costly than response in general. The focus of this...

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...

ABSA is the regulatory body governing practices related to pressure vessel and piping integrity for the Canadian province of Alberta.

The office of Minerals Management Services (MMS) is proposing to add a reference into their regulations governing oil and gas and sulphur operations in the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS). This revision will ensure that lessees use the best...

In a previous edition of IJ, we alerted readers to a proposal to the Texas PE Board that would require NDT inspector certification according to CP-189 (instead of SNT-TC-1A), which would effectively eliminate limited-scope certifications.

I was certified within days of my entry into the business. Inside three months, I had performed as lead technician on several refinery inspection projects, as well as skid mounted oil and gas compressor units. I had also performed ultrasonic weld...

The recently released API RP-579 Fitness-for-Service Recommended Practice highlights the need for a measurable degree of reliability in NDE results. In fact, the industry has been asking for a process to assure a minimum level of inspection quality...

In the petrochemical industry, we have noticed that many separate organizations are attempting to improve the quality of engineering and inspection. For example, many readers are familiar with the efforts of ASME (Post-Construction Code...

An API task group is working on the total revision of this API reference document 571.

The release of API RP579 will bring about some changes to other existing API standards. The plan is to offer an integrated suite of API standards, where information is presented once and the other documents refer and are linked to that information.

The API Subcommittee on Inspection (SCI) has determined to initiate a program covering the qualification of ultrasonic (UT) technicians conducting inspections.

Inspection to determine mechanical integrity is important to verify that equipment is suitable for intended use, i.e. to prevent or minimize the consequences of catastrophic releases of toxic, reactive, flammable, or explosive chemicals as required...

The API Subcommittees on Inspection and Pressure Vessels & Tanks are ever vigilant in keeping up with current trends and state-of-the-art technology for in-service inspection of pressure vessels, process piping, and aboveground storage tanks. One...

Regulatory requirements such as OSHA 1910, industry codes and practices coupled with an international drive for more cost-effective preventative maintenance are leading the industry toward data information management systems to assist in organizing...

The ASME PCC continues to meet four times per year during ASME Code Week. The last meeting was on December 9, 1996. Over 50 members and visitors were in attendance. At that meeting, both subcommittees (Flaw Evaluation S/C and Inspection Planning...

Shortly after World War II, the FRP industry expanded rapidly into many areas. Chemical tanks were first fabricated in the 1950s. A comprehensive standard was needed and in 1969 a consensus standard was issued by the National Bureau of Standards:...

"Inspection and testing procedures shall follow recognized and generally accepted good engineering practice," can mean many things to many people. Fortunately, organizations like API, NACE, ASME, etc. have taken the initiative in establishing many...

Since OSHA began issuing citations under the Process Safety Management (PSM) standard (29 CFR 1910.119) the relative frequency of citations related to some subsections of the regulation has increased dramatically, while the frequency of others has...

Task Group T-1G-24 on Fiberglass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Pipe and Accessories in Oilfield Service is working on a test method for evaluating the compatibility of FRP tubulars in oilfield environments. They hope to submit a draft for ballot...

The ISO 9000 series of standards is one of the fastest growing quality initiatives in the world. Nearly 100,000 certificates of compliance with ISO 9000 standards have been issued in some 80 countries, including over 8,000 certificates in the U.S....

Since the publication of API Standard 653, Tank Inspection, Repair, Alteration and Reconstruction in early 1991 it has gained wide acceptance within the petroleum and chemical industries. In addition, six states (Alaska, Arkansas, Florida,...

In June of 1995, the American Society of Mechanical Engineers Council on Codes and Standards approved the formation of a new main committee, the Post Construction Committee (PCC). The action culminated the activities of a Task Group on Post...

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).

The United States Department of Labor (USDOL) Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) standard 29 CFR 1910.119, "Process Safety Management of Highly Hazardous Chemicals," has been in effect since may of 1992. To enforce this...