Plant operations rely heavily on the continuous working of the equipment in the plant. Therefore, when unplanned shutdowns occur due to faulty equipment, the cost of the delays can be very high, especially in the oil and chemical plants, where even a few minutes of downtime can lead to huge losses. In addition, operating with faulty equipment in such plants can lead to fatal accidents, which can affect the staff working in the plants, and even the surrounding areas. To ensure these scenarios are avoided, and that plant operations are carried out at optimum capacity, plant operators should undergo a plant inspector certification course to provide them with the necessary knowledge to inspect and detect faulty equipment beforehand. One of the best courses that can provide the required plant inspection knowledge is the ASME Plant Inspector Level 1 Course.
ASME Plant Inspector Level 1 Training Course
The Plant Inspector Level 1 is a foundation course that is offered by Edif Group, one of the leading companies in the UK that offers technical inspection and engineering consultancy services to industries in various sectors, including energy and manufacturing. The ASME training course is offered under the Plant Inspector Certificate Program, and is designed for individuals with a desire to start a career in plant inspection. It can also be offered to current plant inspectors, to refresh their knowledge and qualify them for advancing to higher levels of the plant inspector training.
While the training program is offered in the UK, it covers a wide range of plant inspection practices that are accepted internationally. This gives the course candidates the necessary qualification to find employment in the international market.
Course Content
The ASME Plant Inspector Level 1 Training course touches on the basic areas of plant inspection. It comes in two modules, which covers the following main aspects of plant inspection:
1. Background engineering knowledge required for plant inspection – for example, knowledge of pressure equipment
2. The role of plant inspection
3. Statutory requirements and industrial standards for plant inspection
4. Various modes of equipment failure
5. Damage mechanisms that affect plant equipment (creep, fatigue, etc.)
6. How to detect damage mechanisms
7. How to evaluate degradation of equipment in a plant
8. Various equipment used in plant inspection
9. Plant Inspection frequencies
10. How to create a plant inspection report with the correct technical terminology
11. The objective of plant inspection reports
In addition to these theoretical areas, the course also includes practical sessions where the skills that have been acquired are tested.
At the end of the course, an exam is given to the candidates to assess their knowledge. The exam comes in three parts:
1. Multiple questions
2. Narrative questions
3. An assessed plant inspection (practical)
Other Course Levels
After completing the ASME training for the Plant Inspector Level 1 the course candidates can move on to the other levels of the PCIP program. There are two more levels involved: Plant Inspector Level 2 and Plant Inspector Level 3.
Plant Inspector Level 2
The Plant Inspector Level 2 course is offered to plant inspectors with a desire to become senior plant inspectors. All candidates taking the course must have passed the level 1. It is more advanced, and is designed to equip the candidates with more skills and knowledge to handle more plant inspection responsibilities. It is also a requirement for plant inspectors who want to progress to higher levels of plant inspection, for example, a technical authority position.
The level 2 course covers the following areas:
1. Techniques for creating a Working Scheme Examination when inspecting plant equipment
2. Design Code Reassessment
3. Common damage mechanisms
4. Inspection of high temperature plant equipment
5. Principles of non-intrusive inspection
6. Justification for non-intrusive inspections
7. Repairing of pressure equipment
At the end of the course, an exam is given to the candidates, which comes in two parts: a multiple choice question paper and a narrative question paper. Candidates are also given assignments and classroom exercises throughout the course, which are graded and added to the final assessment.
Plant Inspector Level 3
ASME Level 3 Plant Inspector Course is given to candidates who want to progress to technical authority positions in the field of plant inspection. Candidates who complete this course are certified to handle various plant inspection responsibilities that include extending the life of plant equipment, assessing the fitness of plant equipment, repairing of equipment, rating of damaged pressure equipment, and plant inspection certification.
The course covers the following main areas:
1. Principles involved in the design of pressure equipment
2. Assessing the tolerance of plant equipment to damage
3. How to re-rate degraded pressure equipment
4. Creation of reports after failures or accidents in a plant
At the end of the course, the candidates sit a multi-choice exam and a narrative exam, where they must score at least 70% to pass. Those who pass are awarded a Level 3 Plant Inspector certification, which is offered by ASME.
Benefits of the Training Program
The ASME Plant Inspector Training program provides plant operators with the necessary skills to conduct regular plant inspection. This brings about several benefits that include:
1. Increased safety in a plant: Plant inspection helps to ensure that faulty equipment in a plant are identified well in advance and repaired or replaced. This helps to prevent catastrophic failures of plants, which can result in fatal injuries.
2. Prevention of expensive repairs: Regular inspection of plant equipment helps to identify wear and tear at their earliest onset, thus allowing for preemptive repairs. This helps to prevent further damage of the plant equipment, which could have resulted in more expensive repairs. In addition, regular repairs help to reduce the occurrence of unplanned shutdowns.
3. Providing a basis for future inspections: Plant inspectors record their inspections and create detailed reports from the collected data. These records provide valuable data that can be used as a reference when conducting inspections in the future.
Jobs that you Qualify for After Training
After completing the ASME training for Plant Inspection, you can apply for various jobs, in UK or in another country. Some of the jobs that are available for certified plant inspectors include:
1. Plant inspector
2. Quality Control Inspector
3. Inspection Engineer
4. Chief Plant Inspector
5. Senior Plant Inspector
6. Non-destructive Plant Inspector
7. Insurance inspector
8. Plant Manager
9. Pipeline inspector
10. Quality Assurance Test Inspector
