Plant inspection means in-service inspection of fix equipment in the industrial
plants.
The phrases "Industrial plant inspection activities" refers to the inspection or
integrity department in oil, gas, chemical or other industrial plants, which is
responsible for carrying out the inspection in an operating unit.
Periodic external inspections, the inspections are done according to the
following timelines:
The inspection department in the industrial plants generally takes care of the static equipment; rotating, electrical and instrumental equipment are not in the scope of the inspection department, and normally, maintenance department takes care of those.
Some local authorities mandate that pressurized equipment be inspected in specific intervals by third party inspection agencies. This is normally called third party inspection of a plant.
The static equipment can be categorized as follows when referring to industrial plant inspections:
The in-service inspection code for your pressure vessel inspection is API Standard 510. The other API and ASME Codes can be used as supplementary information.
The following standards, codes and recommended practices are used for pressure vessel inspection:
The in-service inspection code for your piping system inspection is API Standard 570. The other API and ASME Code can be used as supplementary information.
The following standards, codes and recommended practices are used for pressure vessel inspection:
The in-service inspection code for storage tank inspection is API Standard 653. The other API and ASME Codes can be used as supplementary information.
Following standards, codes and recommended practices are used for storage tank inspection:
The In-Service Inspection code for your steam boiler is ASME Section VII. The API also has recommended practice for boiler inspection.
The following standards, codes and recommended practices are used for steam boiler inspection:
The In-Service Inspection code for your process heater is API Recommended Practice 573.
The following standards, codes and recommended practices are used for process heater inspection:
The in-service inspection code for your Pressure-relieving Devices is API Recommended Practice 576. This code needs to be used in conjunction with API STD 510.
The API 510 determines the requirement for inspection interval and API RP 576 specifies the inspection practice.
The in-service code for other industrial valves such as Globe Valve, Gate Vale, Check Valve and Plug Valve is addressed in the piping in-service inspection code as stated in above. In other words, in API STD 570 and API RP 574.
If a major repair is carried out, then valve testing might be needed, which can be done based on API Standard 598.
Based on the API 580 definition, the risk-based inspection is a risk assessment and management process that is focused on the loss of containment of pressurized equipment in processing facilities, due to material deterioration.
These risks are managed primarily through equipment inspection.
The technique is almost new and applied in processing plants and is used as a supplementary recommended practice for inspection intervals, method of inspections and scope of inspections.
For example, you may determine your pressure vessel internal inspection- based API 510 requirement or carry out the risk-based inspection and determine the interval, method of inspection and scope of inspection. The API 510 allows you to choose this alternative method. API RP 580 is providing the definition and general requirement for risk-based inspection and API RP 581 introduces you to a specific quantitative methodology for risk- based inspection implementation in your plant.