RELIABILITY PROGRAM

Owner: Inspection Department

Responsibility: Area Inspector

Purpose:  This program is designed to improve the reliable operation of high-temperature fixed equipment and piping through the use of Infrared (IR) Thermography. The program establishes survey routes, survey intervals, and serves as a planning tool for equipment repairs during scheduled outages.

Description:

Scheduling / Data Collection:

Survey intervals are prioritized into three levels to streamline the program and provide flexibility to meet operational needs. These schedules are maintained in the Reliability drive. The Area Inspector is responsible for scheduling surveys and ensuring their timely completion.

• Level 1 – Full equipment IR survey at established intervals in accordance with fired equipment schedules specified in Procedure MNT-INSP-029. External inspections are performed by an in-plant resource.
• Level 2 – Spot survey of key equipment areas to establish baseline trends and/or monitor elevated temperature zones (e.g., burner patterns, tube skin temperatures, external hot spots).
• Level 3 – Survey performed upon request. No scheduling required.

Data Analysis:

A qualified third-party infrared inspection service provider will perform inspections per the intervals established in Procedure MNT-INSP-029.

• Inspection reports are provided to the Area Inspector for review.
• The Area Inspector forwards the report to the Maintenance Engineer, Reliability Metallurgist, Area Asset Manager, Area Operations Supervisor, and relevant operations personnel.
• Areas identified as potential concerns are flagged and a monitoring strategy is implemented.
• Equipment requiring repair is addressed through the work order management system (e.g., SAP notifications) and tracked by the Area Inspector.

Records:

• Electronic copies of infrared survey reports are stored in the Reliability drive.
• Hard copies are filed in the corresponding equipment hard files.