API SIFE study guide
API SIFE · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The API Source Inspector – Fixed Equipment (SIFE) credential belongs to the American Petroleum Institute's Individual Certification Programs (ICP), the personnel-certification family API lists among its Global Industry Services. It is intended for inspectors who act on behalf of the purchaser at a fabricator's shop, confirming that pressure vessels, heat exchangers, piping, valves, and fittings are built to the governing code and to the buyer's specification before release and shipment. The API SIFE study guide has 5 sections and about 1,772 words.
01Source Inspection Fundamentals, Roles, and Quality Surveillance Planning
Source inspection is the purchaser's verification, performed at the vendor's works, that equipment is built to the purchase order, the technical specification, and the governing code. The inspector does not replace the vendor's quality organization and never accepts work on the vendor's behalf.
381 words, about 2 min02Materials, Welding, and Fabrication Processes
Every pressure part must be traceable from the mill certificate to the installed component. Distinguish the MTR (mill test report), the EN 10204 3.1 certificate (test results from the same cast or heat, issued by the manufacturer), and the 3.2 certificate (independent inspection and testing, countersigned by an authorized inspection body).
320 words, about 2 min03Non-Destructive Examination and Pressure Testing
Non-destructive examination is performed to ASME Section V for method requirements and accepted to the construction code: Section VIII Div. 1 UW-51 and UW-52 for radiography, UW-53 for ultrasonics, Appendix 6 and 8 for magnetic particle and penetrant; ASME B31.3 Chapter VI for piping; API 598 for valves.
367 words, about 2 min04Fixed Equipment: Pressure Vessels, Heat Exchangers, Piping, Valves, and Fittings
Know the parts and the rules that govern them: shell courses, 2:1 ellipsoidal and torispherical heads, nozzles and reinforcement, flanges, manways, supports, and the nameplate. Confirm the minimum design metal temperature and its impact-test exemption (UCS-66 curves), the joint efficiency implied by the radiography category, and the accuracy of the data report.
341 words, about 2 min05Codes, Standards, Documentation, and Release of Equipment
Know which document answers which question. ASME Section VIII Div.
363 words, about 2 min