Pipeline Commissioning

Depends on industry and the ACTUAL design of the pipeline.

For potable water, we consider pressure retention of the pipe, seal integrity, depth of cover, bedding material etc, then we would sterilise with chlorinated water, flush and so on.

For sewers, the grade becomes important while pressure integrity takes on a different expectation, with little or no sterilization.

For compressed air systems there would be yet again different considerations.

When you get into petrochemicals, there would be another raft of safety factors and considerations.

I would suggest whatever industry you are in, there would be some form of national standard in place to assure that pipelines maintain the integrity of the contents and protect the quality of the surrounding space from leaks/contamination.

There is a power plant in the Eastern US where people just learned something about commissioning a natural gas line - wrongly done somehow, an explosion, people were killed and the project delayed for a good period. İf commissioning is done correctly considering the service then no problems should be expected - poorly done and refer to the power plant İ mentioned.

Russ123 is correct, I was close to the plant that had the issue. The last news letter from NFPA had a story that the NFPA will be setting standards for some pipe testing in the near future. They have had to many problems with gas line testing and purging over the years. So we may all have new info very soon from the NFPA.

• Download the following PDF files: Pipeline_Pre-commissioning , Pipeline_Commissioning & Pipeline_Precommissioning_and Commissioning.
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• See the 4Shared link: http://search.4shared.com/q/1/commissioning

Follow the one described in the Method Statement and Risk Assessment document for the activity.