Inspectioneering

Joint Integrity Management

Explore this topic

Preventing leaks is extremely important for operators in the oil and gas and chemical processing industries. Joint Integrity Management is the practice of designing, inspecting, and maintaining bolted joints to prevent the occurrence of leaks, which can lead to delayed production, unplanned shutdowns, and process safety incidents. When leaks do occur, they can often be very costly. Thus, operators should always be looking for ways to prevent them from occurring in the first place.

There are several essential elements in an effective joint integrity management program. They are:

  1. Ownership,
  2. Best Practices,
  3. Criticality Assessments,
  4. Proper Training,
  5. Record Keeping,
  6. In Service Inspections,
  7. Leak Management, and
  8. Learning and Continuous Improvement.

When it comes to ownership, every joint integrity management program should have an established owner. This person needs to be responsible for implementing the program and carrying out periodic maintenance. They also need to be in charge of setting expectations for the program and monitoring its effectiveness. Next, it’s important to encourage the use of best practices when constructing joints. After construction, all joints should undergo criticality assessments. This helps to determine what types of inspection and testing they will need. Everyone involved with the program should be properly trained. They should know why the integrity management program is in place and how it works. Likewise, any personnel who inspect, repair, or install the joints should be properly trained in their job. Proper records should be kept on all activities performed on all joints. Having this information is helpful for future inspections and maintenance activities. In-service inspections are important for any joint integrity management program. Everyone involved with the management program should be trained to effectively gather data on the joints.

This information should be reviewed regularly in order to establish trends. Ultimately, the point of all of these tasks is to preserve the integrity of the joint and to manage and prevent leaks. Beyond just prevention, another significant part of leak management is dealing with leaks when they occur. This includes both repairing the leak and determining why it happened.

Finally, it is important to periodically review the leak reports, inspection data, and system records. This should be done in order to determine how effective the system is and how it can be improved in the future.

Relevant Links

Topic Tools

Share this Topic

Contribute to Definition

We welcome updates to this Integripedia definition from the Inspectioneering community. Click the link below to submit any recommended changes for Inspectioneering's team of editors to review.

Contribute to Definition
Articles about Joint Integrity Management
May/June 2023 Inspectioneering Journal

A look into how complications due to low diameter, geometry, procedure, and qualification of welders resulted in flaws that were overlooked.

May/June 2021 Inspectioneering Journal

A safety-focused mindset and awareness of the dangers associated with the process, environment, and associated tasks through planning and execution is essential for the safe completion of a single stud replacement campaign.

March/April 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

Myths, challenges, and good practices related to process piping integrity management activities that help inspection and maintenance managers make the right decisions to develop cost-effective piping inspection plans without compromising the...

January/February 2017 Inspectioneering Journal

This article presents a perspective on the human factor and emphasizes the value of using risk tools at all levels in the organization to help provide management focus during times of severe economic pressure.

July/August 2016 Inspectioneering Journal

Joint integrity management remains at the top of many operators’ priority list.  The discipline considers risk and drives safety to ensure we learn necessary lessons from past catastrophic failures, such as the Piper Alpha explosion in 1988,...

Authors: Neil Ferguson
Partner Content

Our proprietary furnace tube inspection system, FTIS is an ultrasonic inspection technology capable of rapid, automated fired heater coil inspection in refinery fired heaters. The data captured by our furnace tube inspection system is...

May/June 2016 Inspectioneering Journal

Large scale capital projects present a myriad of challenges for owner-users in the oil and gas and petrochemical industries. Budgets are constantly being stretched and project deadlines are often exceeded. One area that deserves attention from all...

Authors: Neil Ferguson
July/August 2015 Inspectioneering Journal

With the increasing demand for oil, gas, and petrochemical products in a highly competitive market, products and services irrespective of their origin must satisfy customer quality requirements. Additionally, the needs to ensure quality control and...

Authors: Neil Ferguson
May/June 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

In November 2013, ASME released its updated PCC-1 guidelines for pressure boundary bolted flange joint assemblies. Contained within the document is Appendix A, which represents a major change from the previous 2010 release and is considered to be...

Authors: Neil Ferguson
Online Article

The bolted connection is a critical and complex component in any pressurized system, on typical Oil and Gas projects there will be many thousands of joints all of which need managing through Design, Fabrication Completion, Commissioning and...

March/April 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

Joint integrity programs (JIP) should be an integral part of every refinery, petrochemical, production, or other industrial-complex facility operations.

Authors: Neil Ferguson
Partner Content

Traditional pressure vessel inspections often require taking assets out of service. However, MISTRAS’ Non-Intrusive Inspection (NII) programs provide data as good or better than internal inspections, while assets remain in service. NII is...

January/February 2014 Inspectioneering Journal

If necessity is the mother of invention, then the American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME), the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are the parents of guidelines, standards,...

Authors: Neil Ferguson
Online Article

Leak related problems in bolted assemblies are an ongoing issue for virtually all facilities in the chemical, petrochemical, and refining industries. From leak detection to leak prevention, operators need knowledgeable and experienced technicians to...

Authors: Jeremiah Wooten
September/October 2009 Inspectioneering Journal

Leakage of pressure vessel and piping bolted joints in refineries is an unnecessary hazard, with high associated cost, that can be easily rectified using currently available technology. There have been advances in gasket testing technology in recent...

    Downloads & Resources related to Joint Integrity Management

      Inspectioneering Journal

      Explore over 20 years of articles written by our team of subject matter experts.

      Company Directory

      Find relevant products, services, and technologies.

      Training Solutions

      Improve your skills in key mechanical integrity subjects.

      Case Studies

      Learn from the experience of others in the industry.

      Integripedia

      Inspectioneering's index of mechanical integrity topics – built by you.

      Industry News

      Stay up-to-date with the latest inspection and asset integrity management news.

      Blog

      Read short articles and insights authored by industry experts.

      Expert Interviews

      Inspectioneering's archive of interviews with industry subject matter experts.

      Event Calendar

      Find upcoming conferences, training sessions, online events, and more.

      Downloads

      Downloadable eBooks, Asset Intelligence Reports, checklists, white papers, and more.

      Videos & Webinars

      Watch educational and informative videos directly related to your profession.

      Acronyms

      Commonly used asset integrity management and inspection acronyms.