What is BS EN 1591-4 - Personnel competency in bolted connection assembly about?
BS EN 1591 is a European Standard on flanges and their joints that discusses the qualification of personnel competency. The main aim of the BS EN 1591 series is to provide manufacturers with best industry practices to ensure structural integrity and leak tightness of flange and bolted connections, such that they are fit for its intended use.
BS EN 1591-4 is the fourth part of the BS EN 1591 series that is applicable to the bolting technicians, and their supervisors, the responsible engineers, who disassemble, assemble and tighten the bolted connections of whatever shape of critical service pressurised systems. A failure of a connection in such a system would endanger personnel, plant or the environment. A route for achieving competency in the skills required to safely and successfully disassemble, assemble and tighten pressurised bolted joints of any shape to a design bolt load using documented work instructions are given in BS EN 1591-4. The aim is the establishment of a joint capable of maintaining a leak-free status throughout its’ service life.
BS EN 1591-4 provides a modular training syllabus and an assessment process that can be used to determine the competency of personnel who disassemble, assemble and tighten bolted connections, whatever their shape, fitted to pressurised equipment containing a medium at any combination of temperature and pressure.
Certification to BS EN 1591-4 provides an attestation of general competency in accordance with the stated syllabi and assessments.
Note: Certification to BS EN 1591-4 does not represent an authorisation to operate, since this remains the responsibility of the employer, and the certified person may require additional specialised knowledge of employer-specific procedures, processes and equipment.
Who is BS EN 1591-4 - Personnel competency in bolted connection assembly for?
BS EN 1591-4 on personnel competency in bolted connection assembly is useful for:
- Manufactures of the device having the bolted connection
- Operators and constructor
- Bolting technicians and supervisors
- Technical authority
- Mechanical engineers
- Product design engineers
- Certification bodies
- Oil & gas industry
- Petrochemical industry
Why should you use BS EN 1591-4 - Personnel competency in bolted connection assembly?
The competence of the bolting technicians is a key factor in the safe operation of a system containing pressurised bolted connections and in the achievement of the highest performance from a pressurised bolted connection. Therefore, competent bolting technicians are needed so that the specified bolt load tolerances can be met and, where appropriate, the specified tightness requirement can be achieved.
The essential elements needed to achieve competency are:
- Theoretical knowledge combined with practical experience gained on site or by simulated workshop activities
- Assessment by a competent assessor to verify that the required knowledge, skill and ability have as been gained and can be applied in accordance with an operating procedure.
In this regard, the qualification for trainer and assessor, as well as the training venue and syllabi, are set out in BS EN 1591-4.
BS EN 1591-4 specifies the effectiveness of training, competence evaluation, competence management, and the certification's validity duration.
As a result, if you are a manufacturer of flange joints, conforming to BS EN 1591-4 can help demonstrate the performance and credibility of your product, ensuring that they are suitable for its purpose and achieve the stated level of joint tightness with accuracy.
