CoatingsPro Magazine

MAR 2017

CoatingsPro offers an in-depth look at coatings based on case studies, successful business operation, new products, industry news, and the safe and profitable use of coatings and equipment.

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18 MARCH 2017 COATINGSPROMAG.COM Notes From the Blog Editor's Note: Looking for " in the field " information about the latest coating appli- cation techniques? We invite you to join the discussion. e following are excerpts from the NACE Corrosion Network's (NCN) and NACE Coatings Network's email-based discussion groups for corrosion profession- als, with more than 1,000 participants. e following excerpts have been selected for their potential interest to CoatingsPro readers. ey have been edited for clarity and length. Authors are kept anonymous for publication. Please be advised that the items are not peer-reviewed, and opinions and sug ges- tions are entirely those of the inquirers and respondents. CoatingsPro and NACE do not guarantee the accuracy of the technical solutions discussed. You' ll enjoy a variety of opinions in this practical information exchange forum. For information on how to subscribe to these free list servers, click on the "Community" link on the NACE Website: www.nace.org. How Long Do Instrument Certifications Last? Q: We calibrate our instruments daily using calibration blocks and shims. ere is a plant here in Texas that says we have to send all of our instruments, including calibration blocks and shims, back to the manufac- turer for re-calibration once a year. is is before they will let us back into the plant. Is there anything in writing that says we have to do this? A: Under NIST (National Institute of Standards and Technology), there are no expiration dates on certifications. Most manufacturers recommend that instruments and standards be recertified annually, but this is not a requirement of NIST. NIST leaves the interval of certification up to the company's quality control program. e owner has every right to tell the contractor that instruments, calibra- tion blocks, and shims need to be recertified annually. It is up to the contractor to comply with what the owner demands if you want to keep working for the owner. W hat I tell companies is if they w ish to change the ter ms of how often they want instr uments certified, w r ite how they want to do it in their qua lit y control program. Make this part of the contract, say ing, "Ca libration blocks and shims w ill be recertified ever y t wo years." W hen the ow ner signs the contract, he agrees to your ter ms. T his does not mean the ow ner may not still demand you do it ever y year, but at least you have something to discuss. It is fairly common in the industr y for ow ners/inspectors to want to see annua l certifications. Persona lly, I would rather see them ver ified in the field, but annua l certifications are the nor m. A lso note, generally, calibration blocks and shims need to be replaced — as most companies will not recer- tify them. Fabrication for Corrosion Q: Peers, I have a steel skid that is going into a coastal environ- ment. e skid has been fabricated in such a way that it is impossible to properly blast or coat it. ere are multiple tight areas, butt joints, and stitch welds. e owner has a require- ment in the specification for a 30-year design life. I am a third-party inspector on the coating project. I have informed Instrument Certifications, Fabrication Corrosion, Paint Thickness Concerns

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