Designing, manufacturing, installing and commissioning an ASME Pressure Vessel, API Tank or Shell & Tube Heat Exchanger can be an all-encompassing, time-consuming and expensive process. Due to those efforts and the fact that primary pressure equipment are considered durable goods, it’s not hard to make the leap that your equipment will be around for decades.
Unfortunately, in some cases, a severe process, harsh environment, operating errors or physical damage can result in the need for repairs and – often – sooner than you’d like.
There are different codes/standards to lean on when it’s time for repairs or modifications. Whether an American Petroleum Institute (API) Standard (API 653, for instance) or the National Boiler Inspection Code (NBIC) for ASME Pressure Vessels (which is adopted into law in most states), there are detailed guidelines to generate repair plans to ensure the equipment is repaired in accordance with all aspects of the original design and manufacturing processes.
It’s important to remember that, even when following those repair codes/standards to the letter, sometimes there are issues with the materials that limit or even rule out a repair. Those issues can include different types of corrosion, erosion, cracking, etc. The best-laid repair plans, even if executed according to the correct code/standard along with the best trained craftspeople in the business, can quickly go south due to factors that are out of the control of the repair technicians.
In these times, it’s vital to have a partnership with a vertically integrated repair vendor who understands these complicating factors and has the Engineering expertise and craft experience to navigate those issues and provide options. On occasion, repairs just don’t work out and the only option is to replace the equipment in full. When you are aligned with a full-service, turnkey partner like Ward, you have the best in the business working tirelessly to either repair or replace your pressure equipment and to help get your facility back to running profitably.
