Records, Reports, and Repair/Replacement Documentation
What has to be written down
The inspection report records the date, inspection type and methods, CMLs and thickness data, damage found with its mechanism, corrosion rate and remaining life, recommendations, and the next inspection date. It is signed by the inspector and traceable to the specific system. Supporting records include as-built drawings and P&IDs, line class/specification sheets, the inspection plan and intervals, CML location drawings, prior reports, NDE reports, and any fitness-for-service evaluation.
Repair and alteration records are the ones most often tested: the repair organization, the scope, materials with mill test reports, the WPS/PQR and welder qualifications, heat treatment charts, NDE results with acceptance criteria, final thickness or dimensions, and the pressure test record. Rerating documentation must show the engineering basis, the new design pressure and temperature, and that relief devices, supports, and the inspection plan were updated.
Traps
- Records are not paperwork. The inspector's signature is the evidence that the rating is sound; an undocumented repair behaves like an unverified alteration in an audit.
- Drawings must show the system as it actually is. A field change without a drawing update is a finding.
- Retention matters: repair and alteration records must remain available for the life of the piping, and inspection records must be current and retrievable at the time of the next inspection. Verbal turnover is never sufficient.
Rule of thumb: ask whether a new inspector could reconstruct the piping's current condition and design basis from the file alone. If not, the records are deficient, however good the inspection work was.