API 510 Pressure Vessel Inspector Services

External / on-stream / internal inspection planning

Field inspection (UT, RT, PT, MT, PAUT, TOFD, WFMT)

Repair / alteration / rerating scope per ASME PCC-2

What this page covers

What we deliver
Methodology

Key points covered

API 510 inspector services help owner-operators manage in-service pressure vessels under the API 510 Pressure Vessel Inspection Code (11th Edition 2022). Scope covers external + internal inspection, on-stream inspection planning, RBI per API 581, fitness-for-service per API 579, repair / alteration / rerating per the National Board Inspection Code (NBIC) and ASME PCC-2, and code-defensible inspection-interval setting.
All standard pressure vessels: reactors, separators, knock-out drums, towers, columns, heat exchangers (shell side), spheres, bullet tanks, accumulators, surge drums, atmospheric storage tanks (API 653 scope), high-pressure hydrocrackers, hydrotreaters, FCC overhead drums. Special expertise in hot vacuum towers (creep), cyclic-service vessels, sour-service vessels per NACE MR0175.
API 510 11th Edition 2022, ASME Section VIII Division 1 + 2, ASME Section V (NDE), API 571 (damage mechanisms), API 572 (inspection practices for pressure vessels), API 580 / 581 (RBI), API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 2021 (FFS), ASME PCC-2 (repair), NBIC (repair / alteration). NACE MR0175 / ISO 15156 (sour service), API 945 (amine units), API 939-C (cracking in caustic), API 938-A (carbamate corrosion).
Standard scope-of-work to first site visit is 5-10 business days. Emergency engagements (RBI workshop for upcoming turnaround, FFS argument on found defect, audit defence) closed inside 48 hours. We field API 510 Authorized Inspectors with current API ICP credentials and ASNT Level III NDT support.
Yes. For owner-operators without a full-time API 510 Authorized Inspector, we provide an outsourced inspector-of-record model — named API 510 Authorized Inspector signs the inspection records, attends turnaround inspections, defends the program at insurer / regulator / Jurisdiction audit. Engagement documented in your written inspection program per API 510 §4.
When a vessel defect is found that exceeds simple acceptance criteria (e.g. general thinning, localised metal loss, blisters, crack-like flaws, brittle fracture concerns, creep damage, dent / gouge, weld misalignment), FFS per API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 evaluates whether the equipment is still safe for continued service. Levels 1, 2, 3. Outcome: signed FFS report defending continued service, rerate, repair, or replace.
Yes. We attend insurer audits (Aon, Marsh, AXA XL), state Jurisdictional inspector visits, NB-related audits, OSHA PSM RCA support. R-Stamp organisations supported during pressure-vessel repair work per the NBIC. Pre-audit gap closure, on-site audit attendance, NCR response, corrective-action close-out.
Creep regime work (API 579 Part 10) for hot vacuum towers, hydrotreaters, hydrocrackers — remaining-life calc via Larson-Miller, omega method, creep-fatigue interaction. Sour-service vessels per NACE MR0175 — SSC / HIC / SOHIC susceptibility, in-service inspection technique selection (WFMT for HIC, TOFD / PAUT for through-wall cracks), repair welding metallurgy (low-Si carbon steel, hardness control).