API SIFE study plan

Map the four stages of a source inspection (pre-award review, pre-production meeting, in-process surveillance, final/closeout) to the inspector's authority, communication lines, and documentation duties, and build a one-page role-and-responsibility matrix.

Build a generic inspection and test plan (ITP) for a horizontal ASME Section VIII Division 1 pressure vessel with at least 15 line items, tagging each as hold, witness, monitor, or document review.

Locate and annotate the Section VIII Div. 1 rules for shell thickness, joint efficiency, radiographic requirements by joint type, and impact-test exemption curves in your own copy of the code.

Define quality surveillance planning inputs: purchase order, datasheets, approved drawings, specification deviations, and subcontractor scope, and list what triggers a hold point.

Compare shell-and-tube, plate, air-cooled, and double-pipe heat exchangers on construction, tube-to-tubesheet joint types, expansion provisions, and the inspection points each design demands.

Identify the piping and fitting standards governing dimensions, ratings, and marking for flanges, butt-weld fittings, and valves (ASME B16.5, B16.9, B16.34, API 6D), and state what each standard requires the inspector to verify on the component.

Outline valve testing per API 598: shell test, seat test, backseat test, allowable leakage, and duration, including what changes for metal-seated versus soft-seated valves.

Explain how to convert code and specification requirements into witness and hold points on a vendor ITP, and identify three common vendor ITP gaps.

Interpret material test reports and certificates of compliance, distinguishing EN 10204 type 2.2, 3.1, and 3.2 reports and stating what traceability each provides from heat number to installed component.

Compare SMAW, GTAW, GMAW, FCAW, and SAW on application, deposition, likely defects, and the essential variables that control each.

Read a WPS and supporting PQR and identify mismatched essential variables (process, filler classification, preheat, PWHT, thickness range, position) that would invalidate the qualification.

Describe welder and welding operator qualification logic, including essential and performance variables, position coverage, and continuity requirements.

List fabrication checkpoints for fit-up, alignment, roundness, nozzle orientation, weld prep, preheat, post-weld heat treatment, and dimensional tolerance.

Build a defect-to-method map linking lack of fusion, porosity, slag, cracks, laminations, and incomplete penetration to the NDE methods most likely to detect each and the orientation limits of each method.

Explain the physical basis, typical applications, and blind spots of visual, penetrant, magnetic particle, radiography, ultrasonic, and positive material identification testing.

State acceptance criteria logic: how code acceptance limits, specification addenda, and fracture mechanics-based criteria can differ, and which governs.

Complete a timed 40-question self-authored quiz spanning domains 1 through 3 and log every missed item with a one-line root cause.

Evaluate radiographs against film-quality requirements for density, sensitivity, and image quality indicators, and describe how technique affects discontinuity detection.

Explain ultrasonic examination variables: probe angle and frequency, calibration blocks, scanning coverage, and amplitude versus length sizing.

Compare ASNT SNT-TC-1A and ISO 9712 personnel certification schemes on employer responsibility, level definitions, and validity, and state how to verify a technician's certification before accepting results.

Review an NDE procedure against a checklist covering scope, reference standards, technique, calibration, acceptance criteria, and reporting, and identify missing elements.

Calculate hydrostatic and pneumatic test pressures from code formulas, apply the temperature correction for the test gauge, and state the holding time and inspection requirements for each.

Specify test-fluid quality limits, chlorides, temperature constraints, and the safety precautions and exclusion zone required for pneumatic testing.

Describe gauge selection and calibration requirements, including range, graduation, number of gauges, and calibration currency, and identify what invalidates a test.

Assemble the document set required for release: material certificates, WPS and PQR, welder qualifications, NDE reports, heat treatment charts, test records, dimensional reports, nameplate data, and the manufacturer's data report.

Build a hierarchy map of codes, standards, project specifications, and purchase order requirements, and state the governing document when they conflict.

Identify the certification and marking requirements for release of fixed equipment, including nameplate content, authorized inspection agency involvement, and what the inspector signs versus what the manufacturer certifies.

Process a nonconformance end to end: write the description, disposition options (rework, repair, use-as-is, reject), approval authority, and the re-inspection and documentation trail each disposition requires.

Trace a heat number from mill certificate through cut sheets, weld maps, and NDE reports to the installed item, and flag where traceability commonly breaks.

Complete two timed full-length practice exams covering all five domains, and score each domain separately to expose weak areas.

Re-teach the two lowest-scoring domains using code text and your own notes, and rewrite the affected study artifacts rather than re-reading them.

Rehearse the inspector's decision path for a disputed hold point: verify against specification, document the objection, escalate, and record the resolution.

Build a one-page reference sheet of key numbers, test pressures, acceptance limits, and document names you must recall without reference.