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HSE Turns to Hydratight for Expert Advice
15 December 2009
The Health and Safety Executive is the UK's chief source of advice and inspection for potentially dangerous or hazardous industrial operations, But where does the HSE go for advice?
In the case of training in the specialist field of joint integrity, the answer is Hydratight, the world leader in the field.
Staff at the Hydratight Academy, which attracts trainees and trainers from all over the world, are experts in their field and have assisted national and international bodies in the preparation of the latest bolting standards and guidelines.
Hydratight currently offers certified training in all aspects of the safe use of hydraulic torque and tension equipment as well as an industry best-practice course in the use of hand tools for smaller-diameter pipes.
Around 15 HSE staff will attend the academy for a one-day course in the use of hand tools for smaller diameter pipes to bring them up to speed on best-practice in many aspects of bolting operations including the main failure mechanisms specific to smaller-diameter joints, which HSE staff are most likely to uncover in their day-to-day investigations.
Inspection, assembly, alignment, tightening procedures, validation and work-tagging are among the subjects to be discussed - all of which will follow a training plan developed by Hydratight to meet the needs of HSE inspectors.
The visitors will also discuss a 2007 Energy Institute document, "Guidelines for the Management of the Integrity of Bolted Joints for Pressurised Systems". The HSE and Hydratight were both members of the working group.
Hydratight's Training Academy is rapidly becoming a major training centre for energy and chemical industry trainees, thanks to its scale set-ups of pressure vessels, flanges, clamps and other typical aspects of installation and maintenance work. The academy works like a live site: visitors even require permit-to-work access before they are allowed to use the specialist equipment.
The academy was set up to allow Hydratight's experts to train and assess the company's incoming technicians, but demand has meant an increasing number of general and specialist certified courses are now open to the industry at large.
Hydrocarbon release statistics continue to improve, with 2008/09 being the best year yet.
"We like to think Hydratight is playing a part in developing safe working practices, and helping to prevent unnecessary incidents, and costly re-work by offering industry best practice in joint integrity training
"Working closely with HSE inspectors to share experiences can only aid understanding of the key failure mechanisms associated with reportable leakages," said Gary Milne, Hydratight's technical training manager.
