US Grants Patent Number To SGS Inspection System

United States Patent No 7,596,419 has been assigned to SGS North America's positive material identification inspection system. The original application was filed in 2005 and after an extensive examination process the patent was published by the United States Patent and Trade Mark Office on 29 September 2009. SGS now has a protected inspection system that was created to satisfy client requirements with regard to retro positive material identification (PMI).

SGS clients use the PMI system to determine the alloy composition of piping and vessel materials in order to verify that only the correct materials are being used for their intended service. This SGS product is said to increase the effectiveness of the inspection process and enhance the usefulness of the collected data while ensuring higher levels of accuracy and completeness. The SGS system links CAD drawings, a PMI database, field load sheets and third-party commercial data loggers.

It enables pre-selection of required inspection locations where PMI analysis should be conducted and uniquely identifies each of them. Information is entered into a PMI database, which enables the preparation of field work packages and systematises the process of loading collected measurements into the database. This approach provides improvements for finding and reporting non-compliant materials plus performing future evaluations in response to evolving fluid processing changes.

The portable nature of the system's equipment enables PMI to be performed by trained and skilled inspectors almost anywhere. Plants and facilities, critical process components and even raw materials can be verified, and the resulting details can be mapped into the mechanical integrity management system to help prevent unexpected failures, unplanned downtime and/or extended time between maintenance.