In the high-stakes world of oil and gas, the integrity of pressure vessels, piping, and critical equipment is paramount. The API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Fitness-for-Service (FFS) training programme equips engineers and professionals with the skills to assess and manage equipment health, ensuring safe and efficient operations. Over five intensive days, participants delve into the technical intricacies of identifying, evaluating, and addressing damage mechanisms that threaten industrial assets.
This comprehensive course bridges theoretical principles with practical applications, providing a roadmap for analyzing general and local metal loss, hydrogen damage, crack-like flaws, and more. Participants gain hands-on experience with industry-standard tools and methodologies, learning how to perform Level 1 and Level 2 assessments, calculate remaining life, and make informed decisions about repair or replacement.
Designed for engineers, maintenance professionals, and safety experts, this programme not only enhances technical expertise but also fosters a deeper understanding of compliance with global standards. By the end of the course, participants will have the confidence to address complex fitness-for-service challenges, ensuring the safety, reliability, and longevity of critical industrial equipment.
• Inspection Engineers
• Maintenance Engineers
• Mechanical Engineers
• Plant Managers and Supervisors
• Integrity Engineers
• Design Engineers
• Risk and Reliability Engineers
• Health, Safety, and Environment (HSE) Professionals
It is especially beneficial for those who are responsible for implementing Fitness-for-Service (FFS) assessments and ensuring the safe operation of industrial equipment.
- Explain the scope, structure, and applicability of the FFS standard
- Identify modes of equipment degradation and appropriate assessment procedures
- Conduct Level 1 and Level 2 assessments for various types of equipment flaws, including general metal loss, local metal loss, pitting, hydrogen damage, cracks, and more
- Apply failure assessment diagrams (FADs) and calculate remaining strength factors (RSF)
- Assess components for brittle fracture, creep damage, and fire damage
- Evaluate hydrogen-induced cracking (HIC) and shell distortions
- Calculate required thickness and remaining life for pressure vessels and piping
- Use step-by-step methodologies to assess flaws and damage, ensuring safe continued operation or recommending repair/replacement
- Utilize real-world case studies and exercises to master assessment techniques
- Interpret results to ensure compliance with safety and operational standards
- Overview of API 579-1/ASME FFS-1 Standard
- Fundamentals of Pressure Vessels and Piping
- Scope and Limitations of API 579
- Definition of Technical Terms
- FFS Assessment Procedures and Levels
- Failure Assessment Diagrams (FAD) and Remaining Strength Factor
- Fitness-for-Service Engineering Evaluation Roadmap
- Calculation of Required Thickness and MAWP
- Concept of Minimum Allowable Temperature (MAT) and Critical Exposure Temperature (CET)
- Overview of Flaw Damage and Assessment Procedures
- Modes of Deterioration and Metal Loss
- Definition and Assessment of General Metal Loss
- Procedures for Level 1 Assessment
- Calculation of Minimum Required Thickness and Average Thickness
- Coefficient of Variation
- Case Studies and Exercises: General Metal Loss
- Assessment of Local Metal Loss and Pitting Corrosion
- Required Data, Measurements, and Acceptance Criteria
- Hydrogen-Induced Cracking (HIC) and Step-by-Step Assessment
- Assessment of Hydrogen Blisters
- Techniques and Acceptance Criteria for Hydrogen Damage
- Case Studies and Exercises: Hydrogen Damage Analysis
- Flaw Characterization: Single and Multiple Cracks
- Step-by-Step Assessment Method
- Failure Assessment Curves and FAD Selection
- Maximum Permissible Crack Dimensions
- Case Studies and Exercises: Crack Analysis as per Level 1
- Introduction to Fracture Mechanics
- Level 2 Assessment of Crack-Like Flaws
- Assessment of Components Operating in the Creep Regime
- Creep Range Temperatures and Creep Curves for Various Materials
- Case Studies: Creep Damage Analysis
- Assessment of Fire Damage
- Fire Zones and Damage Characterization
- Case Studies on Fire Damage
- Assessment of Dents, Gouges, and Dent-Gouge Combinations
- Techniques and Acceptance Criteria
- Case Studies and Exercises: Dents and Gouges
- Assessment of Weld Misalignment and Shell Distortion
- Techniques and Acceptance Criteria for Level 1
- Case Studies: Weld and Shell Distortions
- Assessment of Laminations - Step-by-Step Evaluation and Case Studies
- Overview of Fatigue Damage Mechanisms
- Assessment Techniques and Acceptance Criteria
- Case Studies: Fatigue Damage
- Remaining Life Assessment and Reduced Permissible MAWP
- Application of API 579 Methodology to Long-Term Maintenance
- Practical Applications of API 579: 1. General Metal Loss, Local Metal Loss, and Pitting Corrosion; 2.Crack-Like Flaws and Hydrogen Damage; 3. Creep, Fire Damage, and Dents/Gouges
- Group Exercises and Case Studies
- Instructor Feedback and Discussion
Training can take place in 4 formats:
- Self-paced
- Blended learning
- Instructor-led online (webinar)
- Instructor-led offline (classroom)
Description of training formats:
- Self-paced learning or e-Learning means you can learn in your own time and control the amount of material to consume. There is no need to complete the assignments and take the courses at the same time as other learners.
- Blended learning or "hybrid learning" means you can combine Self-paced learning or e-Learning with traditional instructor-led classroom or webinar activities. This approach requires physical presence of both teacher and student in physical or virtual (webinars) classrooms or workshops. Webinar is a seminar or presentation that takes place on the internet, allowing participants in different locations to see and hear the presenter, ask questions, and sometimes answer polls.
- Instructor-led training, or ILT, means that the learning can be delivered in a lecture or classroom format, as an interactive workshop, as a demonstration under the supervision and control of qualified trainer or instructor with the opportunity for learners to practice, or even virtually, using video-conferencing tools.
When forming groups of students, special attention is paid to important criteria - the same level of knowledge and interests among all students of the course, in order to maintain stable group dynamics during training.
Group dynamics is the development of a group in time, which is caused by the interaction of participants with each other and external influence on the group. In other words, these are the stages that the training group goes through in the process of communicating with the coach and among themselves.
The optimal group size for different types of training:
- Self-paced / E-learning: 1
- Instructor-led off-line (classroom): 6 – 12
- Instructor-led on-line (webinar): 6 – 12
- Blended learning: 6 – 12
- Workshop: 6 – 12
- On-the-job: 2 – 4
- Simulator: 1 – 2
Feedback in the form of assessments and recommendations is given to students during the course of training with the participation of an instructor and is saved in the course card and student profile.
In order to control the quality of the services provided, students can evaluate the quality and training programme. Forms of assessment of the quality of training differ for courses with the participation of an instructor and those that are held in a self-paced format.
For courses with an instructor, start and end dates are indicated. At the same time, it is important to pay attention to the deadlines for passing tests, exams and practical tasks. If the specified deadlines are missed, the student may not be allowed to complete the entire course programme.
A personal account is a space for storing your training preferences, test and exam results, grades on completed training, as well as your individual plan for professional and personal development.
Users of the personal account have access to articles and blogs in specialized areas, as well as the ability to rate the completed training and leave comments under the articles and blogs of our instructors and technical authors
Registered users of a personal account can have various roles, including the role of a student, instructor or content developer. However, for all roles, except for the student role, you will need to go through an additional verification procedure to confirm your qualifications.
Based on the results of training, students are issued a certificate of training. All training certificates fall into three main categories:
- Certificate of Attendance - students who successfully completed the course but did not pass the tests and exams can apply for a certificate of attendance.
- Certificate of Completion - students who have successfully completed a course could apply for a Certificate of Completion, this type of certificate is often required for compliance training.
- Verified Certificate - it is a verified certificate that is issued when students have passed exams under the supervision of a dedicated proctor.
You can always download a copy of your training certificate in PDF format in your personal account.
You will still have access to the course after completing it, provided that your account is active and not compromised and Tecedu is still licensed for the course. So if you want to review specific content in the course after completing it, or do it all over again, you can easily do so. In rare cases, instructors may remove their courses from the Tecedu marketplace, or we may need to remove a course from the platform for legal reasons.
During the training, you may encounter various forms of testing and knowledge testing. The most common assessment methods are:
- preliminary (base-line assessment) - to determine the current level of knowledge and adapt the personal curriculum
- intermediate - to check the progress of learning
- final - to complete training and final assessment of knowledge and skills, can be in the form of a project, testing or practical exam
Travel to the place of full-time training is not included in the cost of training. Accommodation during full-time studies can be included in the full board tuition fees.
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You can preview samples of the training materials and review key information about the course on our website. You can also review feedback and recommendations from students who already completed this course.
We want you to be happy, so almost all purchased courses can be returned within 30 days. If you are not satisfied with the course, you can request a refund, provided the request complies with our return policy.
The 30-day money back policy allows students to receive quality teaching services with minimal risk, we must also protect our teachers from fraud and provide them with a reasonable payment schedule. Payments are sent to instructors after 30 days, so we will not process refund requests received after the refund period.
We reserve the right, in our sole discretion, to limit or deny refund requests in cases where we believe there is refund abuse, including but not limited to the following:
- A significant portion of the course has been consumed or downloaded by a student before the refund was requested.
- Multiple refunds have been requested by a student for the same course.
- Excessive refunds have been requested by a student.
- Users whose account is blocked or access to courses is disabled due to violation of our Terms and Conditions or the Rules of Trust and Security.
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Conducting classes is based on the fact that the teacher demonstrates text, drawings, graphics, presentations on an interactive board, while the content appears in the student's electronic notebook. A specially designed digital notepad and pen are used to create and edit text and images that can be redirected to any surface via a projector.
Classes are live streamed online, automatically recorded and published on the Learning Portal, allowing you to save them for reuse anytime, anywhere, on any mobile device. This makes it possible not to miss classes and keep up with classes and keep up with the passage of new material.
Real-life training uses the principles of game organization, which allows future professionals to rehearse and hone their skills in a virtual emergency. Learning as a game provides an opportunity to establish a connection between the learning activity and real life.
The technology provides the following learning opportunities:
- Focused on the needs of the user
- Instant feedback
- Independent decision making and choice of actions
- Better assimilation and memorization of the material
- Adaptive pace of learning tailored to the individual needs of the student
- Better transfer of skills learned in a learning situation to real conditions
Basic principles of training:
- A gradual increase in the level of difficulty in the game;
- Using a simplified version of a problem situation;
- Action in a variable gaming environment;
- The right choice is made through experimentation.
The main advantages of Game Based Learning technology:
- Low degree of physical risk and liability
- Motivation to learn while receiving positive emotions from the process;
- Practice - mirroring the real situation
- Timely feedback
- Choice of different playing roles
- Learning in collaboration
- Developing your own behavior strategy
Conducting practical classes online using remote access technologies for presentations, multimedia solutions and virtual reality:
- Laboratory workshops that simulate the operation of expensive bench equipment in real production
- Virtual experiment, which is visually indistinguishable from a remote real experiment performed
- Virtual instruments, which are an exact copy of real instruments
- Mathematical modeling to clarify the physical characteristics, chemical content of the investigated object or phenomenon.