It is good that we are finding fewer and fewer facilities without pressure testing and leak testing records on their process piping. But now comes the difficult question:
Is pressure and leak testing required after maintenance or alterations on piping systems?
So, most companies will have their newly installed piping pressure tested and leak tested by the contractor who performed the installation. But two months into operating said piping, some maintenance work is necessary and this work will require us to OPEN the piping system, make repairs, and then return the piping to service. How many of you will include some type of integrity testing on this circuit of piping that has been opened/altered/repaired BEFORE we return it to service?
Using my favorite Piping Maintenance RAGAGEP, API 570, we can see that…
(emphasis by me)