As I have discussed many times with many clients, the practice of “bench testing” relief valves (RV) is a common practice in many industries; but in some industries, the practice has been considered to be a waste of time and money. At least that was the case until now! It appears that one major trade group is taking a position that “bench testing” RV’s is not only a good safety practice, it is also GOOD BUSINESS. So maybe the days of hearing… “Bryan we are not a refinery… chemical plant… power plant… fertilizer plant… etc.” is behind us and we can move forward in improving process safety in the ammonia refrigeration industry. And yes I want to tip my hat and say THANKS to the International Institute of Ammonia Refrigeration (IIAR) for publishing “RVCalc, Using Weibull Analysis to predict valve replacement” this month (September 2014) in their “Condenser” magazine. We should not take this publishing lightly as it is a MAJOR step in the right direction and shows that IIAR is moving in the right direction. I can only imagine how this practice will be received by IIAR members, but without a doubt, it is a much-needed change in this industry. To provide some contrast to how many are currently managing their RVs, consider this…