In my upbringing in the chemical industry I had the opportunity to work with some outstanding engineers; too many to mention by name. These men and women took time out of their busy schedules to teach me process safety. One of these engineers was very strict about his process piping and every engineer in the units that were PSM (and then RMP later on) were expected to be intimately familiar with their process piping. So much, that the engineering manager would walk out to the unit, walk up to a run of pipe, touch it and the unit engineer would have to provide all the facts about that run of pipe. Could you answer these questions WITH DOCUMENTED PSI/MI data to support your answers?
- What RAGAGEP was the pipe installed to?
- What is the material of construction of the pipe?
- What is the pipe schedule?
- Is the pipe flanged, welded, or threaded?
- If the pipe is welded, provide the welding certifications for the welders? If the pipe is flanged or screwed, provide the torque specs for the connections?
- What is the design limit for the piping?
- Did the pipe get pressure tested after its construction and BEFORE the initial start-up?
- Did the pressure test(s) meet the chosen construction RAGAGEP?
- What Class does the pipe belong to? (API 570)
- What “pipe circuit” does the run belong to?
- When was the last MI inspection on the pipe?
- Were there any corrective actions stemming from the inspection and if yes, what is the status of each item?
- When is the next inspection schedule/due?
If the pipe was insulated, we had these additional questions:
- What is the engineering spec for the insulation?
- Does the MI procedure for inspection this run of pipe include CUI inspection protocols?
- Does the annual visual inspection procedure include an inspection of the insulation?
This could be a good test for your PSM/RMP process owners. The entire exercise will take about 1-2 hours if everything is in order.