General Preparatory Work required to carry out the inspection

Before the inspection, the tools needed for inspection should be checked for availability, proper working condition, and accuracy. This includes tools and equipment that are needed for personnel safety. Safety signs should be provided where needed before work is started. The following tools are needed to inspect fired heaters and stacks:

a. Portable lights, including a flashlight.

b. Thin-bladed knife or scraper.

c. Broad chisel or scraper.

d. Pointed scraper.

e. Inspector’s hammer.

f. Inside calipers.

g. Outside calipers.

h. Direct-reading calipers or special shapes.

i. Mechanical tube caliper or micrometer for measuring the inside diameter of tubes.

j. Pocketknife.

k. Steel rule.

l. Special D calipers.

m. Pit depth cage.

n. Paint or crayon.

o. Notebook.

p. Magnifying glass.

q. Wire brush.

r. Plumb bob and line.

s. At least one type of special thickness measurement equipment (see next list).

t. Small mirror.

u. Magnet.

v. 25-foot tape measure

The following tools should be readily available in case they are needed:

a. Surveyor’s level.

b. Carpenter's or plumber’s level.

c. Magnetic-particle inspection equipment.

d. Liquid-penetrant inspection materials.

e. Radiographic inspection equipment.

f. Ultrasonic inspection equipment.

g. Megger ground tester.

h. Grit blasting equipment.

i. Micrometer (0 in. – 1 in.).

j. Electronic strain gauge caliper.

k. Borescope.

l. Fiberscope.

Note: When selecting products which will be used to mark or applied to stainless steel tubes, these products should not contain chlorides to prevent stress corrosion cracking. Additionally, any equipment or paint which can/will contact the stainless steel tube surfaces should not be made or coated with aluminum, zinc, lead, and cadmium to prevent liquid metal embrittlement concerns.

Other related equipment that may be provided for inspection includes planking, scaffold material, a bosun’s chair, and portable ladders. If external scaffolding is required, it may be possible to erect it before the unit is shut down.

Before the inspection is started, all persons working around a fired heater or boiler, flue duct, or stack should be informed that people will be working on the inside. A safety guard (“hole watch”) should be stationed at the inspection door of the equipment being inspected. This person can serve as a guard and can also record data from the inspection findings.

Personnel working inside this equipment should be informed when any work is going to be done on the outside so that any unexpected noise will not cause needless alarm. Vibration of the tubes and the setting should be minimized while internal inspection work is being performed to prevent injuries due to the dislodging of loose refractory.