Testing and Inspection

Records of inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire protection systems should be maintained. Records should indicate the procedures performed, the person performingthe work, results of the inspection, testing, or maintenance, and the date the work was performed. 

The original design information should be maintained by the owner for the life of the fire protection systems. Records of inspection, testing, and maintenance should be maintained for at least one year after the next scheduled inspection, testing, or maintenance. 

Electronic management systems for maintaining records of inspection, testing, and maintenance are preferred. Bar coding, accompanied with the use of a personal data assistant (PDA) can significantly reduce the amount of time required for recordkeeping. 

Fire protection system impairment occurs when a fire alarm or supervisory system is shut-off, damaged, fails, or is otherwise taken out-of-service completely or in part. These out-of-service conditions are called impairments. While process monitoring, control, safety, and security-entry systems also provide protective functions, this element of the fire prevention program is only concerned with impairments to fire protection systems and equipment. An essential element of the fire prevention program is a procedure for fire protection impairment handling. 

While planned fire protection system impairments may be necessary during testing, maintenance, renovation, and new construction, it must be understood that when any fire protection impairment occurs, the facility is at increased risk of loss. Many large losses that have occurred may have remained small if the fire protection impairments were properly managed. 

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Grademarking and certification—includes certification procedures performed by a qualified inspection and testing agency, and definitions of panel marking requirements... 

Explosives Sampling, Inspection and Testing, U.S. Mihtary Standard Specification 650, ARDEC, Dover, N.J., May 1973. 

The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) United Engineering Center 345 East 47th Street New York, NY 10017 The ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code, under the cognisance of the ASME PoHcy Board, Codes, and Standards, considers the interdependence of design procedures, material selection, fabrication procedures, inspection, and test methods that affect the safety of boilers, pressure vessels, and nuclear-plant components, whose failures could endanger the operators or the pubHc (see Nuclearreactors). It does not cover other aspects of these topics that affect operation, maintenance, or nonha2ardous deterioration. 

ISO 9000. The ISO 9000 series of standards was first issued in 1987 and then updated in 1994. The ISO 9000 standard describes the selection criteria for the four standards, ISO 9001—9004. ISO 9001 is composed of 20 items covering manufactured products from design and development in R D to commercial production and after-sale service or technical support. ISO 9002 has 19 of the items in 9001 describing the requirements of a quahty system for the manufacture of an item, such as chemicals, to a specification only the requirement relating to product development is omitted. Chemical companies seldom certify to ISO 9003, which describes the quahty system for a laboratory involved in final inspection and test. Finally, ISO 9004 presents guidelines for total quahty management. 

Citi, Chemicals Inspection and Testing Institute, eds.. Biodegradation and Bioaccumulation Data of Existing Chemicals Based on the CSCE Chemical... 

These standards specify design, construction, and testing details such as material selection, shop inspection and tests, drawings and other uses required, clearances, construction procedures, and so on. 

The code prescribes minimum requirements for the materials, design, fabrication, assembly, support, erection, examination, inspection, and testing of piping systems subject to pressure or vacuum. The scope of the piping covered by B31.3 is illustrated in Fig. 10-124. It applies to all fluids including fluidized sohds and to all seivdces except as noted in the figure. 

Does the facility have a program for regular inspection and testing of process safety valves and other process safety devices including interlocks ... 

Applicable to those who make their products on the basis of some proven designs, or work as ancillaries for standard products. ISO 9003 - Model for Quality Assurance in Final Inspection and Test. 

Applicable to those who are engaged in third-party inspection and testing. 

ANSI/IEEE-3.36/1991 Standard Installation, Inspection and testing requirements for power instrumentation and control equipment at nuclear facilites ... 

Appraisal costs - Costs which include inspection and the checking of goods and materials on arrival. Whilst an element of inspection and testing is necessary and justified, it should be kept to a minimum as it does not add any value to the project. 

To make regulatory control effective, the regulatory agency must have the right to enter premises for inspection and testing, to require the owner to monitor and report noncompUance, and, where necessary, to do the testing. 

A major issue with NGV cylinders has been the lack of a world-wide standard for their manufacture, inspection and testing. Some national standards, such as the New Zealand standard NZS 5454 and the US ANSI/AGA/NGV2 standards have been adopted by other countries. Currently, ISO are working to produce an internationally accepted standard for NGV cylinders. 

Consider need for high/low temperature alarms for refrigerated storage these should be inspected and tested regularly. Consider need for mitigatory measures (fire, blast, fragment-resistant barricades/screens), electrical and electrostatic safeguards, personal protection, disposal etc. 

Inspections, e.g. pressure systems, trips, relief devices, guards, lighting (see inspection and testing)... 

Insulating flanges to be inspected and tested at intervals not exceeding one month to ensure the insulation is clean and in good condition. Resistance should be measured between the metal pipe on shore side of flange and the end of the hose or metal arm when freely suspended. The measured value should be at least 1000 ohms. 

Each thermal expansion PR valve should be provided with an inlet CSO valve (and an outlet CSO valve in the case of closed discharge) to permit isolation for inspection and testing, if permitted by local codes. 

Pressure Safety Design Practices Inspection and Testing... 

The mean time to failure of various instrumentation and equipment parts would be known from the manufacturer s data or the employer s experience with the parts, which then influence inspection and testing frequency and associated procedures. Also, applicable codes and standards—such as the National Board Inspection Code, or those from the American Society for Testing and Materials, American Petroleum Institute, National Fire Protection Association, American National Standards Institute, American Society of Mechanical Engineers, and other groups—provide information to help establish an effective testing and inspection frequency, as well as appropriate methodologies. 

Inspections and tests are performed on the process equipment following recognized and accepted engineering practices. The inspection and test frequency is consistent with manufacturers recommendations, good engineering practices, and prior operating experience. 

The inspections and tests are documented to include the date, the name of the responsible person, identification of the equipment, a description of the inspection or test and the rcsult.s... 

Establish/enhance consistent programs lu periodically inspect and test the engineered defenses that are designed to protect against hazardous upsets in the alkylation unit... 

Quality control is also the term used as the name of a department. In most cases Quality Control Departments perform inspection and test activities and the name derives from the authority that such departments have been given. They sort good products from bad products and authorize the release of the good products. It is also common to find that Quality Control Departments perform supplier control activities, which are called Supplier Quality Assurance or Vendor Control. In this respect they are authorized to release products from suppliers into the organization either from the supplier s premises or on receipt in the organization. 

In recent times the inspection and test activities have been transferred into the production departments of organizations, sometimes retaining the labels and sometimes reverting to the inspection and test labels. 

In judging the adequacy of provisions you will need to apply the relevant standards, legislation, codes of practice, and other agreed measures for the type of operation, application, and business. These activities are quality assurance activities and may be subdivided into design assurance, procurement assurance, manufacturing assurance, etc. Auditing, planning, analysis, inspection, and test are some of the techniques that may be used. 

A note in clause 4.12 points out that location of product in the normal production flow does not constitute suitable indication of inspection and test status unless inherently obvious. 

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