A specialty chemical manufacturer operating PSM-covered batch and continuous units had grown through acquisition, leaving each plant with its own inspection spreadsheets, shared-drive PDF folders, and local contractor credential lists.
Preparing for an OSHA Process Safety Management (29 CFR 1910.119(j)) audit or an insurer loss-prevention review meant pulling vessel files, thickness sheets, inspector certifications, and open deficiency logs by hand across multiple systems.
Current state before intelliSPEC
- Damage mechanisms trapped in prose: Corrosion loops and damage mechanisms (wet HCl, stress corrosion cracking, corrosion under insulation) were written in narrative reports rather than structured fields that could drive inspection intervals.
- Unverified inspector credentials at dispatch: Contract NDE technicians were scheduled by phone and email, with ASNT and API certifications checked after the report was submitted.
- Orphaned deficiency tracking: Inspection recommendations lived in a separate action tracker from the equipment thickness history, making it difficult to prove timely resolution of anomalous readings.
Configured path
The company standardized on intelliVISION, intelliINSPECT, intelliNDT, intelliINTEGRITY, intelliCREW, and intelliCOMPLY.
- Damage-mechanism-driven RBI: Corrosion circuits and damage mechanisms per API 571 were attached as first-class records on each vessel and line, feeding API 580 and API 581 semi-quantitative probability and consequence scoring in
. - Qualification gating at assignment:
checked API 510, API 570, and ASNT SNT-TC-1A certifications before a technician could be assigned to an inspection package. - Provisional FFS and closed-loop approvals: Any UT reading approaching
opened an API 579-1 Part 4 Level 1 screening record, held as provisional until the site integrity engineer verified and signed the disposition in.
Measured outcome
- Single-query PSM audits: Auditors requesting five-year inspection history, inspector qualifications, and RAGAGEP calculation basis for any covered vessel received a complete, hash-chained record in one query.
- Consistent corporate risk matrix: All sites now rank fixed-equipment risk on the same 5x5 API 580/581 matrix, updated automatically when field readings land.
- Zero unqualified sign-offs: Expiring credentials are flagged ahead of schedule and blocked at assignment.