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SystemAsset Integrity & Inspection

Inspection Data Management

Inspection data management that puts each measuring point's whole thickness history on one line, and loads only what an inspector has signed.

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Follow one elbow from a workbook row to a new date ↓
The problem

Inspection data management after a database move: one elbow, two histories

Thickness history lives in four places: an old database retired years ago, the current system, contractor workbooks in their own layouts, and boxes of scanned field sheets nobody keyed. When points were renumbered in the move, most histories followed and some did not. A turnaround contractor working from an old drawing revision then loads its readings as brand new points.

Each half of a split history shows a gentle rate. Millimeters land in an inches column and digits get swapped, and the system takes them as read. The next inspection date inherits all of it, and nobody can check millions of readings by hand.

Built forInspection data leadsPiping inspectorsIntegrity engineersData migration analystsInternal auditors

The Problem Today

Decades of thickness readings sit in old databases, workbooks and scans, and renumbered points hide fast corrosion.

12,952
hours to read 3.1 million readings by hand, 15 seconds each our estimate

Read by hand today

  • Scans
  • Workbooks
  • Old reports
  • Drawings
  • Renumbered pointsOne history split in two shows a gentle rate
  • Readings nobody questionedMillimeters keyed as inches, digits swapped

The Solution

  1. Each source readDatabase, workbooks and scans, each value tied to its row or page
  2. Bad readings stand outGrowth, unit mix-ups and swapped digits sit off the line with a reason
  3. Renumbered, not newSplit histories found and joined; replaced parts kept apart
  4. Rates and dates redoneEach changed date goes to the integrity engineer with its sum

Built-in controls

  • An inspector opens the drawings before each join
  • Agents do not delete a reading or relax a plan
  • Only signed records load to your system

What You Get

Integrity teams plan from a history they can trust, and each changed date reaches the engineer with its sum.

  • Dates that follow the metalCircuits fall due sooner once the proposals are signed
  • Counts that add upEach reading counted from its source to the load
  • Retests, not guessesA doubtful reading that sets a rate gets a retest
One elbow, read from four sources

The crude overhead elbow that looked gentle until its history was joined

Unit 11, crude distillation, circuit CIR-11-0310: the overhead line past the wash water injection. A 2025 turnaround workbook row became a new point, CML-21, because the contractor used the drawing from before the renumbering.

demoThe refinery, its inspectors and its thickness readings are sample data, made up for this walk.

  1. 01Over ten days

    Four sources, 3,108,416 readings, and a ledger that sums

    Data migration analyst

    The read goes source by source: the old database export, the current inspection data system, 186 contractor workbooks, and 12,406 scanned reports and field sheets. Originals stay read only and each value keeps its passage. Copies already held are set aside and linked, bad readings are flagged and kept, and unreadable ones are held for a person. The ledger adds back to the total.

  2. 02Morning

    CML-09 shows 2.0 mils a year and 63 years left

    Inspection data lead

    The thickness line shows one measuring point's whole life, each dot shaped by the source it came from. As the system shows it, CML-09 runs a gentle line to a next inspection years away. Below it, CML-21 holds one reading and an assumed rate. A 0.726 copy, swapped digits, sits in the off-the-line lane with its reason.

  3. 03Morning

    Row 214 named point 11-0347, which no longer exists

    Inspection data lead

    He runs the agents on the point and watches them work. The source reader finds row 214 of the turnaround workbook, drawn from revision 2. The point matcher finds no 11-0347 today, and the 2009 move map says CML-09. Same elbow on both drawing revisions, same size, same location text: four kinds of evidence agree. Why the rate rose, the readings cannot say.

  4. 04Morning

    Joined, the elbow loses 11.0 mils a year and has 5.5 years left

    Inspection data lead

    Preview as proposed redraws the line through both points. The last two readings, 0.267 in and 0.200 in about six years apart, give 11.0 mils a year. Remaining life to the 0.140 in minimum is 5.5 years, and the next inspection moves up. CML-09 had been left out of the coming round; joined, it goes into it.

  5. 0509:30

    The 2009 drawing puts CML-09 on the elbow below the wash water quill

    Senior piping inspector

    The inspector checks a join on the drawing, not on a summary. Revision 4 of the isometric shows the line from the tower overhead, the injection quill on the drop, and CML-09 on the 90° elbow at its foot. She then opens revision 2, where 11-0347 sits on the same elbow. Each one she opens is marked on the panel.

  6. 0609:35

    Five workbook rows used old numbers, and one is still open

    Senior piping inspector

    The contractor's workbook shows row 214: 11-0347, 20in elbow downstream of the injection, 0.200 in, drawing revision 2. The note under it explains the rest: all five rows used old numbers, the import made five new points, and four were joined the day before. Row 214 stayed apart because its rate change is over two times, so it goes one by one.

  7. 0709:39

    Accept opens only after she has read three of three sources

    Senior piping inspector

    Under the decision, the lead's endorsement and its due date sit above a line that reads 3 of 3 sources opened by you. She picks the reason code for the same location, renumbered, and Accept turns on. No timer opens it. Reject sends the case back to the lead and keeps both points apart. CML-21 will stay as an alias of CML-09, never deleted.

  8. 0809:42

    The referral arrives with the arithmetic and the reason

    Integrity engineer

    Plan changes reach the integrity engineer, each with its sum. Referral RF-2701 shows before and after, 2.0 mils a year and 63 years against 11.0 and 5.5, and says plainly that the readings cannot tell why the rate rose. She can accept the new date, order an on-stream inspection or draft a turnaround scope request.

  9. 0909:45

    Trust in the circuit moves to 95% with the one join

    Inspection data lead

    A point counts as trusted when each reading has a source, no bad reading or split is open, and its rate rests on two readings or more. Unit 11 stands at 81.5% as received, 83.6% now and 95.7% once everything is signed. The overhead circuit reads 19 of 20 points trusted, the score that the signed join moved.

CML-09 before and after the join was signed

One elbow, 20-inch standard weight pipe, on-stream readings. The joined line uses the readings it already had; the only change is that they now sit on one point.

What the record saysAs the system showed itJoined and signed
Points for this elbowTwo: CML-09 and CML-21One, with CML-21 kept as an alias
Governing rate2.0 mils a year11.0 mils a year
Remaining life to 0.140 in63 years5.5 years
Next inspectionAfter the circuit's coming roundAdded to the coming round
Circuit trust score86%95%
Unit 11 load plan, points ready20,16020,161

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Four thickness readings that cannot be right, and what each one got

From the six sample points. Each correction cites the source that shows the right value; with no such source, the reading gets a retest.

Millimeters in an inches column

A workbook held 22.38 for a 0.906 in pipe. As millimeters it is 0.881 in, right on the line, so the unit rule corrects it.

Digits swapped on entry

Keyed 0.581, while the field sheet reads 0.518. With the sheet's value, the rate is 5.0 mils a year.

A wall that grew 0.017 in

Read through paint with a single element probe. The higher 10.1 mils a year stands until the retest is read.

A new elbow under an old history

Replaced in a turnaround, yet kept on one history, so the wall grew 0.113 in. The agents propose keeping the two apart.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

The rest of the cleanup

Bad readings, split histories and the load, across 214,072 points

Where the inspection data lead, the inspector and the analyst spend the other days of the cleanup.

Readings that cannot be right70,212 of 2,537,128 unique readings, by kind, none deleted. A rule signs only after the lead endorses it and the inspector opens each sampled page.
Split histories9,324 cases by outcome: join, keep apart, retire through the change process, or hold. Class 1 circuits and big rate changes go one by one.
Replaced, kept apartAn amine elbow replaced under a work order. Split at the replacement, the new elbow reads 4.8 mils a year with 40 years left.
Rates recalculatedEach sample point with why it changed, rate before and after, life, and next date before and after, plus the referrals already sent.
The load, held for its sampleUnit 11's batch: 20,161 points ready and 3,450 held out with reasons. The inspector opens 404 sampled records before the analyst can dry run.
Signatures on the recordJoins accepted, rules signed after their samples, loads with receipts, and a later date accepted by the engineer, each with its reason.

demoSample data, from the working solution.

Three people on every join, and three on every load

The lead proposes, the inspector checks after opening the sources, and the engineer owns the plan.

Inspection data lead
Sees
The thickness line, the agents' findings and the queues
Signs
Endorses or edits each proposal and builds load plans; cannot accept his own
Senior piping inspector
Sees
Both drawing revisions and the source row
Signs
Accepts, rejects or sends back joins, corrections and bulk samples
Data migration analyst
Sees
Sources, batches and receipts
Signs
Runs the dry run and the load; proposes settings
Integrity engineer
Sees
Each plan change with its sum and reason
Signs
Accepts a new date, orders a retest or drafts a scope request
Internal auditor
Sees
Each screen and the trail
Signs
Nothing; exports the trail, each action with its reason

Deleting a reading or relaxing a plan is left to people

The agents read, place, flag and recalculate. These stay with the inspection team.

No reading is deletedA bad reading stays on the line, out of the rate, with its reason. An original is never changed.
A correction needs a sourceA value is corrected only when a field sheet or report shows the right one. Otherwise the reading gets a retest request.
No join on the agents' wordThe inspector opens both drawing revisions and the source row first, and a join is never made across a replacement.
A later date waits for the engineerDates that move later take effect only when the integrity engineer signs.
Fitness for service is the engineer's callQuestions about running, deferring or pressure go to the integrity engineer with no values attached.

Six places a refinery's thickness history hides

All read only. A reading that matches no point is held for a person rather than made into a new one.

Old inspection databaseThe export from before the database move
Inspection data systemCurrent points and readings, read only
Contractor workbooksEach in its own layout, often against an old drawing
Scanned reports and field sheetsFrom the document management system, handwriting included
Drawing systemIsometrics, each revision
Maintenance systemWork orders for replaced components

What inspection managers ask about inspection data management

What is inspection data management?

Inspection data management keeps each measuring point's thickness readings, rates and next dates in order. Here agents read the old database, the current system, contractor workbooks and scans, put each reading on its point, flag readings that cannot be right, join histories split by a renumbering, and redo the rate. An inspector signs each join.

Does it replace our inspection data management system?

No. Your system stays the destination. Only signed records load to it, in batches per unit, after a sample check by the inspector and a dry run by the analyst.

How does it tell a renumbered CML from a new one?

It looks for four kinds of evidence: the database move map, the same location on both drawing revisions, matching location text and size, and a reading that fits the point's own line. When they agree, it proposes a join. When fewer agree, the case goes one by one.

What happens to anomalous thickness readings?

They stay on the line with their reason. A unit mix-up or swapped digits is corrected only from a source that shows the right value. A reading with no such source is left out of the rate, and if it was the latest at its point, a retest is requested.

Can one person sign a whole unit of joins at once?

No. Strong joins can be signed in bulk only after the lead endorses the set and the inspector opens each sampled join's drawings and source row. The highest piping class, large rate changes and early new dates always go one by one.

What does the integrity engineer receive?

A referral for each plan change, with the old and new rate, life and date, the arithmetic, and the reason. A later date waits for the engineer's signature. Where the readings cannot say why a rate rose, the referral says so.

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Bring one circuit
and the workbooks that touched it.

We’ll lay its readings from every source on one line and show you where the history split.

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