How portable PMI analyzers make being proactive easier

Portable, robust PMI (positive material identification) analyzers mark an important change in the way for example oil and gas upstream, midstream, and downstream operators ensure their sites are working in a safe, compliant, and efficient manner. Same applies to power and chemical plants as well. 

Portable alloy analyzers make it simpler to take a proactive approach to process safety, pipeline integrity management, and to detect safety and process risks early. This is important because many operators still tend to default to a reactive approach, only addressing issues with equipment and systems after they’ve begun to show signs of degradation or damage. 

A reactive strategy often leads to higher maintenance costs, more unscheduled downtime, and increased risk, while making it harder to hit strategic and commercial production goals. Retroactive PMI (retro-PMI) or safety inspection, however, doesn’t need to be a costly or time-consuming process. When matched with data management solutions like cloud storage, it can help minimize unscheduled downtime, operational disruption, unforeseen costs, and catastrophic failures.

Making it easy

PMI analyzers provide a long-term solution to unforeseen problems by making it simple to
get an overview of the health of a site’s assets. The increasing use of data management solutions
also makes it less costly to store, analyze and share inspection data across an organization in real-time. This creates the possibility that managers and safety officials can analyze inspection results as they come in from the field and flag up potential problems fast.

Here’s how PMI analyzers can help to make your life easier: 

1. No need to stop operations

   A widespread program of regular data collection for condition monitoring of key assets is unpractical if you have to shut down a part of the plant to take a measurement. Many of today’s analyzers are designed to work alongside plant processes. Our handheld XRF X-MET8000 analyzers for example can measure hot components up to 400ºC which means you don’t have to stop production. 

2. Reliable results even in harsh environments

   Taking accurate PMI/NDT measurements to assess the condition of components involves using an advanced piece of technology that’s capable of analyzing the chemical composition of the part at a very precise level. It would seem counter-intuitive that such a piece of kit can’t be safely taken into any kind of hazardous environment, but today’s analyzers are designed to do this. As oil and gas exploration and extraction lean towards more hazardous environments, the fact that portable material analyzers can cope, is a huge advantage.

3. Take measurements in hard to reach areas

   Plant design and construction isn’t always completed with maintenance in mind. Within a complex maze of pipelines, valves and switches are areas that are difficult to access. The advantage of many portable analyzers is that they are small, light and can be operated with one hand. This means that if you can reach an area, you can analyze it. You don’t have to haul a large and heavy instrument into place to deliver accuracy and precision of results. 

4. Automatically upload and store data to a central cloud

   Making measurement, analysis and distribution of inspection data a seamless and fluid process could create a system whereby problems are acted upon much faster and the costs of downtime
   and maintenance are reduced. Perhaps of most interest to operators however, is the idea of using reporting software and cloud storage to automate the compliance process. By allowing real-time inspection data monitoring, you can monitor and present results in an audit-friendly way. 

Fundamentally, we’ve made it so it’s a simple job to take the analyzer and make a series of measurements – within minutes you have an accurate and precise set of data that gives you crucial information on the health of your plant.

Hitachi High-Tech’s X-MET8000 and PMI-MASTER Smart for PMI/NDT

Our X-MET8000 handheld XRF and PMI-MASTER Smart spark OES analyzers are ideal for widespread PMI testing across petrochemical plants and refineries as part of a PMI/NDT program. 

Here’s why to choose our instruments as your preferred tools:

• Fast – inspection doesn’t have to be a time-consuming process. Fast start up and analysis time minimizes disruption and downtime.
• Accurate – for analysis of important elements like carbon, nitrogen, and boron for grade ID and elemental composition.
• Durable – our analyzers work wherever you need them to. Designed for long-term use in the most demanding environments.
• Efficient – cloud-based data management tools allow you to generate, store and share inspection data in real-time. You can also manage a fleet of instruments easily from one place.

Our range of PMI analyzers delivers the right results, time after time, even in the most demanding of environments. 

Learn more

To learn more about how Hitachi portable PMI analyzers can support you, get in touch to for a quote or arrange a demo.

View our range of products for PMI/NDT.

You might also be interested in:

• Guide: How PMI is transforming plant process safety
• Blog: How to comply with API 5L and API RP 578 guidelines
• Case study: IWT Solutions uses PMI-MASTER Smart to develop new guidelines for component safety
• Application note: Calibration ranges portable and mobile spark spectrometers

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