I have written about it countless times: putting a flange together is, in many ways, more difficult than welding the pipes together. But many businesses don’t want to pay the rates for Certified Welders and Inspectors and believe their own people can do the piping work simply by using flanges rather than welds. “It’s common sense for any maintenance worker” is what we usually hear.
The picture below is BOTH a torque issue AND an alignment issue. It was claimed that this piping had been leak-tested – ALWAYS TRUST but VERIFY. As soon as the liquid came to this flange/gasket, it was diverted upwards about 6′ OUTSIDE THE FLANGE (LOPC event). Imagine putting your thumb over the end of a garden hose.
LEARN from others’ mistakes!
