Pipefitters

Pipefitters, laborers, carpenters, warehouse workers, teamsters, and operating engineers... 

A typical cause of piping strain occurs when two flanges do not meet and pipefitters force them together. Pipe hangers that are poorly placed or tensioned can also cause significant piping stress problems. 

A pipefitter s helper was transporting tools to the boss. The helper walked through a cloud of steam before handing the tool to his boss. Upon each transfer, the boss received a rather large shock. 

Using conductive shoes and changing the location of the toolbox solved this problem. This example may have been a disaster if the pipefitter was repairing a flammable gas leak, for example, during an emergency situation. 

A 2-ft-diameter float was fabricated using stainless steel and welded seam construction. Pipefitters were given the job of checking the welds for leaks. They were instructed to use 5 psi of air pressure and a soap solution to identify the leaks. 

Two days before the incident, the maintenance foreman, the shift foreman, operations engineer, and two pipefitters discussed the job. The scope of the job included repairs to handrails and walkways. Concerned supervision decided that burning and welding would be permitted on the structural steel that was located on top the tank. However, the supervisor declared no burning and welding on the actual surface of the tank top would be allowed. 

The first day progressed with no problems, and it rained the next day, which prevented further work on the outdoor tank. On the third day, the job resumed with the same two pipefitters and a welder joined the crew. Flammable gas testing of the area was... 

No one told the welder that burning and welding were previously prohibited on the surface of the tanks top. Apparently the pipefitters did not immediately recall the conversations that took place two days before. While the job was in progress, it seemed expedient to weld a horizontal support to the top of the vessel for a section of walkway. The welder attempted to attach the post to the thin tank top when his weld blew through it. 

It was late on a Friday afternoon when a maintenance crew consisting of a welder and a pipefitter was assigned to stop a bad steam leak on the bonnet gasket of a 3-inch (7.5 cm) steam valve. A supervisor instructed the mechanics to fabricate a clamp that could be tightened around the valve bonnet to silence the leak of 260 psig (1800 kPa gage) steam and condensate. [15]... 

Some cadmium-plated bolts and nuts were purchased and installed as a test in the plant. More bolts were purchased and eventually some of the cadmium-plated bolts were installed on the outlet piping flanges of a cracking furnace. The high temperature outlet flanges on the furnace started to weep a bit. An experienced, intelligent pipefitter attempted to snug up a few bolts and the nuts crumbled. (The cause of the failure was later determined to be due to corrosion phenomena called liquid metal embrittlement. )... 

Pipefitters Can Create Troubles When Reinstalling Relief Valves... 

Pipefitters have occasionally installed reverse buckling rupture discs upside down. Depending on the rupture disc manufacturer specifications, this usually means that the bursting pressure of the disc will be 50 percent higher than the manufacturer guaranteed as the relieving pressure. Such incidents must have happened at numerous plants and have been whispered about, but seldom documented. 

City Bricklayers Carpenters Electricians laborers iron workers Painters Plasterers pipefitters workers... 

Preliminary data from a second workplace survey, the National Occupational Exposure Survey (NOES), conducted by NIOSH from 1980 to 1983, indicated that 1,957 workers, including 272 women, were potentially exposed to 1,1-dichloroethane in the workplace in 1980 (NIOSH 1984). The exposed workers were employed in the chemical and allied products and business service industries, as chemical technicians plumbers, pipefitters, and steamfitters supervisors in production occupations electricians machinists chemical engineers and welders and cutters. The estimates were based on direct observation by the surveyor of the actual use of the compound (100%). 

Shift Maintenance - Responsible to provide minor repairs or modifications to keep the startup going. Instrument/electrical, millwright, and pipefitter capabilities must be available around the clock. If the existing plant doesn t have the staffing to provide this, contractor support may be used effectively. 

Table 19.32 indicates the labor rates and fringe benefits that should be used to prepare direct-hire estimates at several U.S. locations. These rates are based on current union rates for pipefitters and represent a conservative average of the various crafts involved in construction. 

Table 19.32 Typical Union Labor Rates, Pipefitters, January 1999...

S/U Team, Start-up Team Project Team, Project Construction Team Operations Team, Operations Team PF, Pipefitter Support IS,... 

District Attorney s Office County Commissioner Plumbers and Pipefitters Union Retired judge Adjacent property owner Sierra Club... 

Additional examples of workforce involvement occur when a pipefitter learns that a new chemical is about to be used in the process. He may question whether the current gaskets are safe in the new service. Or an outside contractor may feel that he or she has not been given sufficient instructions as to what to do and where to go in an emergency, and makes that concern known to the host company. 

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