By working with the end user, product designs can be offered to meet a wide variety of specifications, thereby streamlining project acceptance, says Morgan Sledd, Stark Solutions, USA.
As a manufacturer whose products are used in the oil and gas industry, it is Stark’s professional duty to ensure that the products manufactured comply with various governmental organisations. Businesses, or their contracted third-party representatives, can be expected to want proof that the products they purchase fulfil their requirements of compliance with more than just a simple Certificate of Conformance. Furthermore, some companies have created their own additional specifications, beyond governmental or industry requirements, to confirm their operation or installation meets these additional standards.
Standards and requirements
Operating in North America, it is typical to see American Society of Mechanical Engineers’ (ASME) rules and requirements for oil and gas products. From the simple (but lengthy) pipeline standards to the well-known flange standards, to the ever-present pressure vessel standards, product design is a study in not running afoul of the various requirements while still fitting in all the features and benefits that these product users have come to expect. Quick opening closures are no different than other manufactured products in that regard. Quick opening closures must be capable of withstanding internal and external pressures, having sometimes intricately moving components to provide entry and access inside the product, and provide repeatable, dependable operation in a variety of services and climates. Each component must meet the material requirements, pressure minimum, structural needs, and operator usability requirements. Proof of compliance is not only requested in the form of a document but is also pursued by the use of third-party companies whose job is to pore over the design and verify that they, too, can confirm the product is acceptable based on the specifications laid out …
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