There is a self-evident requirement for the owners and operators of process plant handling hazardous materials to maintain the primary containment envelope and ensure that the risks from leaks and other incidents are minimised. A major element in maintaining the integrity of the primary containment is timely and effective inspection.
EEMUA Publication 232 (“Specifying, procuring and managing third party inspection services”) is a new users’ guide provided for operators to build their own working practices for specifying, managing and procuring third party inspection services.
Developed as a result of the perceived differences between the use of second party and third party inspection bodies, EEMUA 232 is intended to provide guidance to the companies using the latter organisations and to assist in the development of the contractual and managerial relationships between the inspection bodies and the process plant owners and operators. It is also intended to provide guidance to those organisations with their own inspection body as the relationship between the two is similarly important.
EEMUA 232 is primarily based around UK legislation which allows for operators to utilise their own user inspectorates as well as external organisations in their integrity management. However, operators with plant in countries other than the UK will also find the publication informative.
It has been written to complement the Chemical and Downstream Oil Industry Forum (CDOIF) guidance “The use of external contractors in the management of ageing plant”, which EEMUA helped to develop.
The release of EEMUA 232 enhances EEMUA’s portfolio of publications on the inspection and integrity management of industrial plant, which includes EEMUA 193 ("Managing competence assurance for personnel undertaking in-service inspection of pressure equipment"), EEMUA 206 ("Risk Based Inspection - a guide to effective use of the RBI process"), EEMUA 231 ("The mechanical integrity of plant containing hazardous substances - a guide to periodic examination and testing") and EEMUA Industry Information Sheet 1 ("Technical selection of NDE techniques when evaluating the mechanical integrity of industrial plant").
