NDT for welded steel and piping: VT, PT, MT, UT and RT compared
The five common non-destructive testing methods for welds, what each finds, where each is used, and how NDT extent is specified.
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Practical articles on fabrication, piping, shutdowns, lifting, fire protection and construction health and safety in South Africa, written for engineers, buyers and HSE practitioners.
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Construction Regulations 2014: what belongs in a contractor's Health & Safety File
A practical checklist of the Health and Safety File documents South African clients and principal contractors expect under the Construction Regulations, 2014.
Diameter-inches explained: how piping contractors measure and price welding
What a diameter-inch is, how DI is counted for butt welds, branches and socket welds, and how contractors use it to price, plan and track piping work.
Estimating welding man-hours for piping and structural steel
How to estimate welding man-hours for piping and structural steel: productivity norms, correction factors, operator factor and the deposition-rate method.
How to estimate welding consumables: weld metal volume, deposition efficiency and electrode quantities
Estimate welding consumables from joint geometry: weld cross-section, weld metal mass, deposition efficiency by process, shielding gas and electrode storage.
Crane lift planning: total load, load charts and when a lift becomes critical
How to plan a mobile crane lift: calculating total lifted load, reading the load chart, utilisation limits, tandem lifts, wind and what a lift plan contains.
Ground bearing pressure under crane outriggers: sizing mats before the lift
How to check ground bearing pressure under mobile crane outriggers: outrigger loads, kN and kPa conversions, mat sizing, ground hazards and mat materials.
Mill test certificates explained: EN 10204 type 2.2, 3.1 and 3.2
What EN 10204 type 2.2, 3.1 and 3.2 inspection documents certify, who signs them, what to check on a mill test certificate and how heat numbers stay traceable.
Positive material identification (PMI): preventing mix-ups in alloy piping and steel
How positive material identification works, the difference between XRF and OES, when PMI is specified, how much to sample and what a PMI record should include.
Pressure Equipment Regulations in South Africa: the role of the Approved Inspection Authority
How South Africa's Pressure Equipment Regulations work, how SANS 347 categorises equipment and where the Approved Inspection Authority (AIA) is involved.
Preheat, interpass temperature and PWHT: controlling hydrogen cracking and residual stress
Why welds need preheat, interpass control and post-weld heat treatment, how temperatures are measured and recorded, and how codes set PWHT requirements.
Fabricating stainless steel without contamination: segregation, pickling and passivation
How iron contamination and heat tint undermine stainless steel, and the segregation, purging, pickling, passivation and ferroxyl test practices that control it.
Bolted flange joints: assembly, tightening sequence and leak-free start-up
How to assemble bolted flange joints in line with ASME PCC-1: gasket handling, face inspection, lubrication, torque or tensioning, patterns and joint records.
Shaft alignment for pumps and motors: soft foot, tolerances and laser alignment
How to align pump and motor shafts: offset and angularity, soft foot and pipe strain checks, thermal growth, dial versus laser methods and typical tolerances.
Installing rotating equipment: foundations, baseplates and grouting
How to install pumps, fans and compressors on concrete: foundation checks, anchor bolts, levelling, cementitious or epoxy grout, curing and post-grout checks.
Conveyor structures and transfer chutes for mining and bulk materials handling
What goes into conveyor gantries, trestles, stringers and transfer chutes: idler alignment, liner selection, trial assembly, shutdown tie-ins and safe access.
Protecting structural steel: ISO 12944 corrosivity categories, paint systems and hot-dip galvanising
How to specify corrosion protection for structural steel: ISO 12944 categories and durability, Sa 2½ blasting, DFT checks, galvanising and paint quantities.
Working at height: what a fall protection plan must cover
What a fall protection plan under the Construction Regulations 2014 must contain: risk assessment, control hierarchy, rescue, equipment, fitness, scaffolds.
Permit-to-work and lockout/tagout on operating plants
How permit-to-work and lockout/tagout control work on live plants: permit types, isolation and the try step, group lockboxes, shift handover and close-out.
Incident investigation: from first report to root cause and corrective action
A practical guide to industrial incident investigation: immediate actions, reporting, evidence, interviews, root cause methods and lasting corrective action.
Sprinkler system inspection, testing and maintenance: what owners must keep up
What owners must keep up on automatic sprinkler systems: routine checks, valve supervision, pump and alarm tests, obstructions, impairment control and records.
Prequalifying an industrial contractor: a checklist for procurement and project teams
A checklist for prequalifying an industrial contractor in South Africa: compliance documents, ISO scope, HSE record, quality, insurance and capacity.
Hydrostatic testing of process piping: test pressure, hold time and records
How hydrostatic and pneumatic leak tests are specified for process piping under ASME B31.3, how test pressure is calculated and what the record must contain.
Coded welding in South Africa: WPS, PQR and welder qualification explained
What 'coded welder' actually means, how a WPS and PQR work together, and the welding records a client should expect on pressure and structural work.
Buying structural steel fabrication: a checklist for plant engineers and procurement
What to put in a structural steel enquiry, the standards SA fabrication is built to, and the quality records to ask for before steel leaves the workshop.
Sling angles and leg loads: why a 30° lift can double the tension
How sling angle changes the load in each leg of a multi-leg sling, with worked examples, and the South African regulations that govern lifting equipment.
Planning a plant shutdown: how to protect the critical path before the plant stops
A contractor's view of shutdown and turnaround planning: scope freeze, pre-fabrication, permits, isolations, shift structure and handover.
SACPCMO registration explained: CHSA, CHSM and CHSO
What the SACPCMO construction health and safety categories mean, why clients ask for them, and how to check a registration before appointing someone.
Wet, dry, pre-action or deluge? Choosing a fire sprinkler system for an industrial site
How the main automatic sprinkler system types work, where each is used in industrial facilities, and the standards South African installations are designed to.
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Pipe weight calculator
T-02Steel weight calculator
T-03Sling load calculator
T-04Hydrotest pressure calculator
T-05Weld inch calculator
T-06Welding hours estimator
T-07Butt weld consumables calculator
T-08Fillet weld calculator
T-09Crane lift calculator
T-10Ground bearing pressure calculator
T-11Paint & coating calculator
T-12Plate nesting & cutting calculator
T-13HSE appointments & resources planner
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