GUIDELINES. Systems. Pressure

Transcription

1 GUIDELINES Pressure Systems Guidelines Pressure Systems Safety Regulations SI 2000 No 128 In-service Examination Requirements in Written Schemes of Examination Document Reference: PSG 07 Issue 01 Dated 1 st May 2009 The Safety Assessment Federation Ltd

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS GUIDELINES Requirement for an Out of Service examination Requirement for an In-Service examination to complete an Out of Service examination Requirement for an Intermediate In-Service examination SCOPE OF THE IN-SERVICE AND INTERMEDIATE IN-SERVICE EXAMINATION FREQUENCY OF INTERMEDIATE IN-SERVICE EXAMINATIONS EXISTING WRITTEN SCHEME OF EXAMINATION REPORTING OF EXAMINATIONS...5 PSG 07 Issue Dated 1 st May 2009 Page 2 of 5

3 1. INTRODUCTION AND DEFINITIONS SAFed member companies are changing the terminology used for Written Schemes of Examination (WSE) and examination reports for pressure systems to reflect the terms used within the Pressure Systems Safety Regulations. These will comprise Out of Service and In-Service examinations and are defined below. In-Service examinations are included in Written Schemes of Examination produced by SAFed member companies and other organisations with various requirements for the frequency and scope of inspection. A number of these In-Service examinations have been included in WSE s for contractual purposes or to continue custom and practice rather than for a technical reason in ensuring the integrity of the plant. In some cases inspection is carried out as part of an annually renewable insurance and/or inspection contract so in those years that an Out of Service examination is not carried out an In-Service examination is undertaken. For convenience this contractual examination has often been included in the WSE but this inclusion makes it a statutory requirement under PSSR. Different frequencies of In-Service inspections are specified in WSE s, e.g. 12, 13, 26 months or none at all. Some WSE s give the competent person the discretion to carry out the examination whilst not under pressure whilst others require it under working conditions. These guidelines have been produced to provide a more consistent approach to the requirements for In-Service examinations in WSE s. In-Service examinations should only be included in WSE s where they complete an examination in accordance with a WSE, or where intermediate In-Service examinations are specifically required by the competent person. WSE s for pressure systems require an examination by the Competent Person. The WSE will typically indicate: Out of Service examination: An examination with the system/vessel out of service and stripped down so that the structural integrity can be confirmed. In-Service examination: An examination under normal working conditions to verify the function of controls and protective devices. It is essential that the competent person carrying out the examination is aware of the requirements of the WSE, particularly when using another company s WSE, so that it can be ensured that the requirements have been completed. DEFINITIONS Out of Service Examination: An examination with the relevant parts of the system stripped down to a level necessary to determine the condition and fitness for continued use. In-Service Examination: An examination of the relevant parts of the system under pressure (usually under normal operating conditions) to determine the condition and fitness for continued use and to confirm that the protective devices, especially any safety valves, have been tested and set correctly. Intermediate In-Service Examination: An intermediate examination, between Out of Service/In Service examinations, carried out under normal working conditions to verify the function of controls/protective devices and/or the examination of the external surface where there is a possible deterioration mechanism. Note: With some pressure systems a non-invasive examination is carried out to determine the structural integrity of the pressure equipment. Where the system is operational this will be termed an In-Service examination. Examples include refrigeration systems and expansion/pressurising vessels in heating systems. PSG 07 Issue Dated 1 st May 2009 Page 3 of 5

4 2. GUIDELINES 2.1 Requirement for an Out of Service examination This should be clearly set out in the WSE with details of what type of examination needs to be carried out together with any special safety precautions necessary. 2.2 Requirement for an In-Service examination to complete an Out of Service examination An In-Service examination will be required following an Out of Service examination in order to comply with the Written Scheme of Examination and should be completed as soon as practicable after an Out of Service examination. Note: An In-Service examination may be completed at the same time as the Out of Service examination where the competent person determines that there is no perceived benefit in seeing the system under working conditions and the protective devices have been certified separately or there are no protective devices fitted. 2.3 Requirement for an Intermediate In-Service examination An Intermediate In-Service examination between Out of Service/In Service examinations should be considered under the following circumstances: Where a steam boiler is given an extended period between Out of Service/In Service examinations i.e. 26 months Where an Out of Service examination is postponed Where protective devices require to be tested more frequently than the boiler/vessel on which they are fitted. In this case the date of next examination in accordance with Regulation 9(5) (c) specified in the examination report would be the date of the examination for the protective devices and under these circumstances it may be preferable to identify and report on the protective devices as a separate item Where there is aggressive wastage or other forms of external physical damage likely to occur that could be monitored at an In-Service examination. This examination will be used to establish whether deterioration has occurred and may include the use of other techniques such as NDT when specified in the WSE. The situations detailed in 3.1 to 3.4 are not an exhaustive list and there may be other situations where Intermediate In-Service examinations should be considered for inclusion in the WSE. Whenever Intermediate In-Service Examinations are included in the WSE they must be carried out within the timescales specified. 3. SCOPE OF THE IN-SERVICE AND INTERMEDIATE IN-SERVICE EXAMINATION 3.1 Carry out the examination under normal working pressure. 3.2 Check the external condition of the pressure system for leakage, physical damage, wastage, damage to insulation etc. This may include suitable NDT techniques when deemed necessary by the competent person. 3.3 Witness the functional tests of pressure, temperature, level or other controls and gauges where appropriate. 3.4 Witness the setting and function of safety valves where appropriate. 3.5 Confirm that safety valves have been replaced with suitably certified replacements when required by the WSE. 3.6 Witness the function of door safety devices and interlocks where appropriate/practical 3.7 Check the working conditions for possible adverse effects. e.g. vibration, excess pressure or temperature cycling, excessive temperature, water hammer, etc. where appropriate/practical. 3.8 Check that the plant operator testing controls and protective devices performs the testing in a satisfactory manner and check the currency of any testing logs. PSG 07 Issue Dated 1 st May 2009 Page 4 of 5

5 3.9 Confirm that normal maintenance such as cleaning, draining of air receivers etc. is being carried out. 4. FREQUENCY OF INTERMEDIATE IN-SERVICE EXAMINATIONS When an Intermediate In-Service examination is required as determined from para 3 it will be necessary to determine the frequency based on the plant operating conditions. For most pressure systems operating for extended periods this examination would normally be carried out around the mid point between Out of Service/In-Service examinations as deemed necessary by the competent person. 5. EXISTING WRITTEN SCHEME OF EXAMINATION The Written Scheme of Examination should only contain examinations as required by PSSR. This includes Intermediate In-Service examinations when considered necessary under section 3 of this guidance. To reflect this existing WSE s may need to be modified or re-issued following the next scheduled examination. Modification can generally be achieved by hand annotating the WSE, signing/dating the amendment page and documenting accordingly. This change should be brought to the attention of the company and a copy of the amended WSE left with them. The following points should be noted: 5.1 Any contractual annual examinations should still be carried out but these will no longer be part of the WSE and should be reported on non-statutory forms. 5.2 The agreement of the owner of the WSE should be obtained before the amendment is made. It should be pointed out that this will not change the work carried out but will ensure that only examinations required by PSSR are recorded on the WSE. 5.3 A written scheme review and amendment can be conducted at any time. However any amendments cannot remove examinations due without that examination being carried out and cannot extend the date by which the next examination is due to take place as specified in the last written report. 5.4 Before the WSE is amended the terms used in the scheme for Out of Service, In-Service and Intermediate In-Service examinations need to be noted so that the amendment is consistent with the rest of the scheme. 6. REPORTING OF EXAMINATIONS Only those examinations specified in the WSE should be reported on Pressure Systems Safety Regulations report forms. Other examinations, including those removed from the WSE, should be reported on non-statutory forms. When Pressure Systems Safety Regulations report forms are used it is important that the date of the next examination specified in the report as required in Regulation 9(5) (c) refers to the next examination required by the WSE. When In-Service and Intermediate In-Service examinations are reported on Pressure Systems Safety Regulations report forms it is important that the protective devices in the pressure system are identified in the report. Terms such as associated protective devices are not considered to be good reporting practice and details of the protective devices and the testing carried out should be included in the report. PSG 07 Issue Dated 1 st May 2009 Page 5 of 5