Repairs and modifications of pressure equipment – Finspection Oy ensures your safety

Finspection | 22.10.2024 | Articles

Reparationer och ändringsarbeten på tryckbärande anordningar är kritiska åtgärder genom vilka man försäkrar sig om en säker drift och hållbarhet hos utrustningen. När tryckbärande anordningar repareras eller ändras är det absolut nödvändigt att alla steg utförs i enlighet med gällande föreskrifter och standarder. Finspection Oy är ett av TUKES godkänt besiktningsorgan  och har som uppgift är att se till att din tryckbärande anordning uppfyller gällande lagar och standarder. Finspections personal har lång erfarenhet gällande reparationsbesiktningar av tryckbärande anordningar i kraftverk/pannor, oljeraffinaderier, kemi- och pappersindustriprojekt.

This article discusses repair and modification works on pressure equipment after it has been put into service. For repairs and modifications of pressure equipment, the article focuses on actions that affect pressure resistance, such as welding, heat treatment or other operations that change the characteristics of the equipment.

Provisions on repair and modification work after the commissioning of pressure equipment are laid down  in section 76 of the Pressure Equipment Act 1144/2016 and section 17  of the Government Decree on Pressure Equipment Safety 1549/2016. The regulatory obligations apply to owners and holders of pressure equipment and companies carrying out repairs and modification works, i.e. operators. Sometimes repairs or modifications of pressure equipment may require  the application of the Pressure Equipment Regulation 1548/2016,  i.e. the Pressure Equipment Directive PED 2014/68/EU, if the purpose of use of the pressure equipment is significantly changed.

According to section 17, the repair and modification of pressure equipment shall, where applicable, comply with the essential safety requirements of the Government Decree on Pressure Equipment (1548/2016), and the operator shall provide the owner or holder of pressure equipment with a declaration of conformity.

Legislation on the Repair and Modification of Pressure Equipment

Approved bodies, such as Finspection Oy, have been approved to perform in-service inspection tasks in accordance with the Pressure Equipment Act (1144/2016). Inspections relating to repair and modification of pressure equipment shall be carried out by approved bodies.

It is very common that the owner or holder of pressure equipment not to carry out repairs or modifications. In this case, a company, i.e. the operator, is selected, which will carry out the work with its various stages. In this case, the owner or holder should choose a responsible and competent operator, agree on the scope of the repairs and modification works and make a written agreement on the work and scope of the work.

Very often, the work is planned and the drawings are drawn up by an engineering company, although the work itself is done by a contractor. As in the manufacture of new pressure equipment, it must be agreed upon which of the several companies involved (owner or holder, engineering company, contractor) is the “operator” referred to in the legislation, who is responsible for the conformity of the repair works and issues a declaration of conformity.

According to a rough breakdown, there are four stages of repair and modification works:

The owner or holder, in cooperation with the company carrying out the repair, if any, draws up a plan on the need for and extent of the repair work. In this case, the original plans of the pressure equipment are usually found in their entirety in the documentation and a technical specification of the repair work is prepared.

As a rule, the original designs are very much used in the design. Check the classification of the pressure equipment according to the PED. Materials, dimensioning, NDT, qualification of welders and methods are verified, and technical documentation for repair work is drawn up. If necessary, the repair plan shall be approved by the approved body.

If the pressure equipment belongs to classes II to IV of the Pressure Equipment Directive, the approved body is notified of the start of the work and the practices and details of the supervision and inspections of the work are agreed. The repair shall be carried out in accordance with the approved plan and the required actions and inspections shall be carried out during the repair. As a note, repair and modification work is not CE marked.

For repair and modification works, a declaration of conformity is drawn up and all technical documentation is compiled by the company that carried out the repair. The agreed documents shall be sent to the owner or holder of the pressure equipment, who shall be responsible for inserting them in the pressure equipment documentation.

Drawing up a plan for repair and modification works. The scope and thoroughness of the plan varies from case to case. The plan may well be based on the original plan approved for the manufacture of the pressure equipment. When drawing up a repair plan, it is essential that the work planner has access to as comprehensive information as possible on the current structure of the pressure equipment. The necessary information for registered pressure equipment can be found in the pressure equipment book, and if the pressure equipment book is available, it should be presented in connection with the repair plan, at least in so far as it is intended to be changed or corrected.

Classification of pressure equipment according to the Pressure Equipment Decree 1548/2016. If pressure equipment belongs to classes I to IV on the basis of content, size and maximum permissible operating values (PS, TS), the essential safety requirements of Annex I to the Pressure Equipment Directive must also be complied with in its repair and modification. The assessment procedures, i.e. modules, applied to the conformity assessment of repair and modification work are mentioned in section 17 of the Pressure Equipment Safety Decree. They are based on modules in Annex III of the Pressure Equipment Directive.

The selection of the applicable module shall be carried out as follows:

• For pressure equipment subject to registration, module G and
• for other pressure equipment, module A2.

With approval from the approved body other modules may also be used.

In module G “Conformity based on unit inspection”, the operator submits an application and technical documentation, i.e. a repair plan, to an approved body of its choice, such as Finspection Oy. The new Pressure Equipment Directive 2014/68/EU does not in itself require any formal application, i.e. in principle, an oral inspection request is sufficient. As a rule, Finspection and other approved bodies wish that the company carrying out the repair and modification works would prepare a written application, which would also serve as an order.

The technical documentation may include the construction plan and WPSs approved for the manufacture of the pressure equipment in question or the operator’s qualified WPSs. On the basis of the documentation, the inspection body assesses whether the repair or modification meets the essential safety requirements for the design and manufacture of Annex I to the PED in terms of design and construction.

Essential safety requirements in repair work include that:

• The materials used in the repair work are suitable for the operating conditions of the pressure equipment in question and the materials are traceable.
• All materials used for repairs, including pre-purchased parts such as flanges and screws and welding consumables, must have a material certificate issued by the material manufacturer, and for the main parts, a type 3.1 certificate according to standard EN 10204:2004
• The dimensioning is sufficient for the operating conditions of the pressure equipment.
• Welding has been instructed and welding methods have been qualified.
• Welders are qualified.
• NDT testers are qualified.
• Heat treatment is appropriate.

The inspection organisation issues a statement or decision for the repairplan approved by it, on the basis of which the operator carries out repair or modification works in accordance with the repairplan. The approved body inspects the repair work and the documents compiled from it and issues a certificate of conformity for the repair and modification work. The operator issues a declaration of conformity and hands over the documentation concerning the work to the owner.

If the actual repair or modification work deviates significantly from the original repair plan, the operator shall provide a written repair report on the change.

The application of Module A2 ‘Internal production control and supervised pressure equipment inspections (repair inspections) at random intervals’ requires a written agreement between the operator and the recognised organisation on the supervision required by the module. Finspection is approved for conformity assessments according to module A2, so companies can enter into a contract with Finspection if they wish to apply module A2. Finspection supervises the manufacturer’s repair activities in accordance with the contract and inspects the repair or modification works afterwards and participates randomly in the final evaluation of the repair work.

The operator draws up the technical documentation (repair plan) and notifies the inspection organisation of the repair. The operator carries out or commissions repair or modification work in accordance with the plan. The operator shall provide the declaration of conformity and work documentation to the owner of the pressure equipment.

In module A ‘Internal production control’, the operator shall draw up the technical documentation concerning the design and implementation of repair or modification of the pressure equipment. Module A does not require the involvement of an inspection body in inspections or assessments.

The work is carried out according to the plan, taking into account the essential safety requirements. The operator draws up and hands over the declaration of conformity and work documentation to the owner of the pressure equipment.

According to section 47 of the Decree on Safety Requirements for the Industrial Handling and Storage of Dangerous Chemicals (856/2012), at least Class I requirements (module A) apply to pipelines for hazardous chemicals. This also applies to the so-called. Good Engineering Practice (SEP) and hazardous chemical piping of less than 0.5 bar, as well as their repair and modification

As a rule, module A2 and A are suitable for pipelines and pressurized attachments. Registered pressure equipment cannot be repaired in accordance with module A2 or A.

If a pressure retaining structure is welded, heat treated or otherwise modified in its properties, the conformity of the repair work shall be verified by means of one of the above-mentioned applicable inspection procedures, i.e. modules. Repair of registered pressure equipment is permitted under module G.

Submitting a repair and modification application to Finspection is easy  through the Finspection App. With the same application, it is convenient to submit the required technical documents for inspection for a statement in digital format.

Finspection App – Application for Conformity Assessment of Repairs and Modifications of Pressure Equipment in Accordance with Module G

Module G requires the undertaking responsible for the work, i.e. the operator, to submit an application to the inspection body of its choice, accompanied by technical documentation. The documents must include, among other things:

• an overview of the device and its operation
• drawings
• information about applied design standards
• design calculations
• welding procedure tests and WPSs
• Welders’ qualification certificates
• NDT tester qualification certificates

The inspection body, in turn, examines the technical documentation in terms of design and manufacturing methods, assesses the materials used and checks the material certificates. The inspection body approves the procedures for making permanent joints or verifies that they have already been appropriately qualified. In addition, the qualification of welders and NDT inspectors is inspected and supervision of the final inspection and pressure test is carried out. If necessary, safety devices are also inspected. Finally, the inspection body issues a certificate of conformity if all inspections have been acceptable and the repair and modification work has been carried out as required by the requirements.

When the repair and modification of pressure equipment includes welding, requirements have been set for the operator concerning the qualification of welders and welding methods. The requirements for repair work are the same as for the manufacture of new pressure equipment. According to point 3.1.2 of Annex I to the Pressure Equipment Directive:”Permanent joints of parts affecting pressure resistance of pressure equipment and parts directly attached to them must be made by suitably qualified persons and carried out in accordance with qualified procedures.”

When planning and preparing repair work, it is very important to ensure that appropriate welding procedures (WPSs) are drawn up in accordance with EN ISO 15609-1. The qualifications of welders and welding procedures shall be approved by a notified body or certification body if the repair or modification work involving welding work involves pressure equipment classified in classes II, III or IV in the Pressure Equipment Decree (1548/2016).

Please also note that, in accordance with Tukes’ instructions, the qualifications of welders and welding methods must be completed before the repair and modification work begins.

In individual cases, the inspection organisation may also approve the WPS for repair or modification of pressure equipment in accordance with any other procedure it deems sufficient. The procedure is limited to individual and case-specific. This can be applied, for example, to emergency repair welding of a pressure body or repair welding of a pressure body of pressure equipment where there is no precise information about the material of the pressure equipment. Even then, the technical content of the WPS must comply with SFS-EN ISO 16509-1, and the operator and inspection organisation must verify the acceptability, safety and comprehensiveness of the WPS used in individual cases before starting repair and modification work. However, it is much clearer and safer to use WPSs approved by SFS-EN ISO 15614 welding procedure tests.

Non-destructive testing (NDT) related to welding in pressure equipment repair and modification work complies with the same requirements as in the manufacture of pressure equipment.

According to point 3.1.3 of Annex I to the Pressure Equipment Directive (2014/68/EU): “Non-destructive tests on permanent joints of pressure equipment shall be carried out by suitably qualified persons.”

Persons performing non-destructive testing of welded joints shall have the approval of a certification body if the repair or modification work involving welding work involves pressure equipment classified in classes III or IV of the Pressure Equipment Directive (2014/68/EU).

In addition to personal qualifications, it would be advisable to take into account the following factors in the implementation of non-destructive testing (NDT), among others: The proper implementation of NDT requires that NDT equipment is usable, maintained and calibrated. NDT protocols meet the requirements related to pressure equipment and inspections. NDT, the scope of NDT and the interpretation of NDT results take into account the requirements related to pressure equipment and pressure equipment standards.

Read also TUKES:in ohje painelaitteiden korjaus- ja muutostöistä

We are happy to serve in inspections and welding qualifications all over Finland. We have a large number of the best experts in the field for your specific needs – whether it is a compressed air tank, boiler, heat exchanger, process equipment or any pressure equipment. Finspection is a Finnish inspection body whose mission is to improve pressure equipment safety and the competitiveness of Finnish industry.

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