Servtech

Pressure Testing brought to the next level at ServTech AS with 50% time savings and enhanced safety

To improve the quality of pressure testing services to gain and retain key customers, ServTech AS investigated suppliers for pressure testing equipment that enhance quality and process safety in an economical manner. ServTech AS is a Norwegian company offering sales, rental, repair, overhaul, testing and re-certification of all types of pressure accumulators and pulse dampers. With the Resato HPU-Separated including camera and reporting systems, the Norwegian company has taken its pressure testing to a new level of quality and service.

Manual labor, long testing times

ServTech AS operated like many other mid-sized enterprises that are offering services to the oil & gas and marine industry. “Like many other companies, we carried out our pressure tests manually with small workshop equipment and reports were created using manual recorders”, said Kjetil Pundsnes, Managing Director at ServTech AS.

With increasing technological advances in the industry, customers for pressure testing were demanding more quality and improved service. To maintain the integrity of their operations, end-users of accumulators conducted audits at their suppliers. Documentation and safe procedures grew in importance to ServTech’s business operations.

Moreover, the workflow of pressure testing with small workshop equipment can be a time-consuming job: Equipment has to be moved to a safe location and has to be available. Repeating tests on several accumulators in need of service was a challenge with the small workshop systems as multi-testing was impossible. In addition, the range of accumulators serviced by ServTech covering piston accumulators, bladder accumulators, and float accumulators required different testing procedures. Conducting all these tests with small workshop equipment was inefficient and reliability depended greatly on the operator.

A solution for the future

Together, ServTech and Resato developed a pressure test bay equipped with a HPU-Separated containing a dual pump setup allowing for low and high pressure testing up to 1,240 bar (18,000 PSI). With this setup, the high pressure containing parts are placed inside the test bunked and separated from the control panel which increases the safety of high pressure activities such as pressure testing and N2 filling / precharging.  To maintain control on the pressure testing activities inside the bunker, a camera system was installed allowing the operator to monitor the process from outside the bunker.

In order to reduce pressure test time, it is possible to connect multiple accumulators at the same time to the system and apply pressure. With the automatic reporting system, the certification of several accumulators was possible in one process.

A safe & time saving test bay

“With the new test bay, safety has been increased significantly and we can pressure test more items in less time”, says Mr. Pundsnes about the Resato solution. Pressure testing is undertaken in a shielded environment and high pressure unit and control are separated making sure operators are safe. ServTech gains more control over the process with automated reporting and a camera system, staff maintains process control and human error during reporting is effectively minimized.

By allowing ServTech to pressure test multiple accumulators at the same time the company saves up to 50% of time during pressure testing.