【Safety Management and Standardization of Special Equipment】How should mandatory inspections of pressure gauges be carried out? See what the experts say! !

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Ensure proper safety management of special equipment – Standardization ensures safety! [Special Equipment Safety Management and Standardization] – Comprehensive summary post! Constantly being updated – feel free to communicate! ! ! https://bbs.hcbbs.com/forum.php?mod=viewthread&tid=5718553 Everyone is welcome to participate in the discussions---------------------------------------------------------How should mandatory inspections of pressure gauges be carried out? Immerse yourself in reading within the novel reader. Regarding the mandatory inspection of pressure gauges, there is still some confusion and disorder in practice at present. This is especially true when it comes to pressure gauges attached to special equipment – what exactly are the regulations regarding their mandatory inspection, and how is it carried out in practice? Due to the ambiguity of the standards and the lack of clear guidelines, the mandatory inspection of pressure gauges is currently carried out in a fragmented manner, without any unified standards. Today, we will delve into the issues surrounding the mandatory calibration of pressure gauges And how to solve these problems? First, we will carefully examine the current situation of the issue, analyzing it from the perspective of laws, regulations, and standard provisions. It should be noted that the laws and standards I cite are all the latest versions; no further details on their historical evolution will be provided here. Let’s first take a look at how the two **major laws stipulate it. Measurement Law of the People’s Republic of China: Article 9 The measurement administration departments of people’s governments at or above the county level shall enforce mandatory inspection on social public measurement standard instruments, the highest measurement standard instruments used by departments, enterprises, and institutions, as well as working measurement instruments that are included in the list for mandatory inspection and are used in areas such as trade settlement, safety protection, medical and health care, and environmental monitoring. It shall not be used if it has not been submitted for inspection as required or has failed the inspection. The catalog and management measures for working measuring instruments subject to mandatory verification shall be formulated by the State Council. Law on the Safety of Special Equipment: Article 83 If a unit using special equipment commits one of the following acts in violation of the provisions of this Law, it shall be ordered to make corrections within a specified time limit ； If the violation is not corrected within the prescribed time, the use of the relevant special equipment shall be ordered to be stopped, and a fine of not less than 10,000 yuan but not more than 100,000 yuan shall be imposed: (3) Failing to carry out regular maintenance and periodic self-inspections on the special equipment in use, or failing to conduct regular calibration and maintenance of the safety accessories and safety protection devices of such equipment, while also failing to keep records thereof ； According to the provisions of these two major laws, the safety accessories of special equipment must be regularly calibrated (mainly for boilers). The list of measuring instruments that are subject to mandatory inspection and the relevant management regulations are established by the State Council. So let’s take a look at what the State Council has stipulated in this regard. On October 26, 2020, the **State Administration for Market Regulation issued Document No. 42, titled “Announcement on Adjustments by the State Administration for Market Regulation.” Item 16 of the annex specifies the methods and scope for mandatory inspection of pressure instruments. To provide a brief explanation of some of the concepts mentioned in that table, type approval refers to the requirement that pressure instruments manufactured using new technologies, materials, or manufacturing processes must undergo evaluation by a **type inspection agency; only after passing such evaluation can they be approved for use. There are two ways of mandatory inspection: one is periodic inspection, which involves re-inspection at regular intervals, and the other is a single initial mandatory inspection, after which the item can be used for a specified period only; it must then be discarded and replaced once that period has expired. Document No. 42 mentioned above only provides a brief overview of the regulatory and calibration methods for pressure instruments, as well as the general scope of instruments that are subject to mandatory inspection. However, many detailed issues are not addressed, such as the frequency of calibration and how the calibration of pressure instruments for special equipment is carried out. We will set these aside for now and continue with the discussion. Document No. 42 merely provides a list of instruments that are subject to mandatory inspection; the specific regulations for such inspections are set out in the \"Regulations on the Inspection of Working Measuring Instruments Subject to Mandatory Inspection in the People’s Republic of China.\" Let’s outline the relevant provisions: \"Regulations on the Inspection of Working Measuring Instruments Subject to Mandatory Inspection in the People’s Republic of China\": Article 5 Units or individuals that use working measuring instruments subject to mandatory inspection must register these instruments in accordance with the regulations, file the registration details with the local county (city)-level government’s metrology administration department, and apply to the designated metrology inspection agency for periodic inspections. If calibration cannot be carried out locally, an application should be submitted to the calibration institution designated by the metrology administrative department of the higher-level people’s government for periodic calibration. Article 8 The metrology administrative departments of the State Council and those of the people’s governments of provinces, autonomous regions, and municipalities directly under the Central Government shall establish inspection deadlines for various working measuring instruments subject to mandatory inspection. The agency responsible for conducting mandatory inspections must complete the inspections on time within the specified period. Article 9: The institutions responsible for conducting mandatory inspections shall issue **uniformly prescribed inspection certificates or approval documents to the measuring instruments that pass the inspection, or affix an approval stamp on such instruments ； For those that fail the inspection, a notice of the inspection results is issued, or the original inspection approval stamps and certificates are revoked. Article 10: The metrology administrative departments of people’s governments at or above the county level may, in accordance with the principles of facilitating management as well as production and use, and taking into account the actual conditions of their respective regions, authorize the metrology verification institutions of relevant units to carry out mandatory verification work within specified limits. Article 11: The measurement standards used by the institutions authorized to carry out mandatory verification tasks must be verified against measurement benchmarks or publicly available measurement standards ； Those who carry out mandatory inspections must pass the assessment conducted by the authorized authority ； The authorized entity shall supervise its calibration work. ” The information contained in the above provisions is quite extensive; taking the calibration of pressure gauges as an example, I would summarize it as follows: 1. The calibration of pressure gauges first requires the using unit to register and file the relevant documents, and to apply for periodic calibration. 2. The authority to determine the calibration cycle lies with the local provincial departments; in other words, the calibration cycles may vary from province to province. 3. Upon passing the inspection, a standardized certification certificate will be issued, stamped with the approval mark. 4. If an enterprise has the necessary facilities and personnel for self-inspection, it can submit an application to the government authorities to carry out such inspections; upon approval, it can conduct the inspections on its own. The article states that the scope of mandatory inspection for pressure gauges and the regulations regarding inspection intervals have been roughly defined here. To provide more detailed information, we will take a look at what the relevant technical standards stipulate. The relevant standards and provisions are as follows: \"TSG 21-2016 Safety Technical Supervision Regulations for Fixed Pressure Vessels\": 9.2.1.2 Inspection of pressure gauges – The inspection and maintenance of pressure gauges must comply with the relevant regulations set by the metrology authorities. Pressure gauges should be inspected before installation, and lines indicating the operating pressure should be marked on their dials, along with the date of the next inspection. After calibration, the pressure gauge should be sealed with a lead seal. \"TSG 11-2020 Technical Regulations for Boiler Safety\": 5.2.3 Calibration of pressure gauges – Pressure gauges shall be calibrated regularly; a red line indicating the operating pressure shall be marked on the dial, along with the date of the next calibration. After calibration, the pressure gauge should be sealed with a lead seal. \"TSG D0001-2009 Regulations on Safety Technical Inspection of Pressure Piping – Industrial Piping\": Article 151 The accuracy class, range, and installation location of pressure gauges, thermometers, and other instruments used in pipelines shall meet the requirements of relevant safety technical specifications and corresponding standards. \"TSG D7005-2018 Rules for Periodic Inspection of Pressure Piping – Industrial Piping\": 2.4.2.10 Inspection of safety accessories and instruments The inspection of safety accessories and instruments shall include the following main aspects: (4) Whether the pressure gauge is within its valid calibration period (applicable to pressure gauges that require calibration). The four criteria mentioned above essentially cover the scope of use for pressure gauges related to special equipment in petrochemical enterprises. It is thus clear that pressure gauges attached to boilers, pressure vessels, or industrial pipelines must undergo periodic calibration. But how is the cycle for mandatory inspection determined? According to TSG21-2016, the calibration and maintenance of pressure gauges shall comply with the relevant regulations of the metrology authorities. So let’s take a look at **what the relevant regulations of the metrology department stipulate**. **The metrology department referred to here is the Metrology Department under the State Administration for Market Regulation. However, the Metrology Department is merely an administrative management body; the actual technical management tasks are carried out by the National Technical Committee for Pressure Metrology, which was established by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine prior to the institutional reforms. One of the main responsibilities of the National Technical Committee for Pressure Metrology is to draft and prepare relevant technical documents, including metrology verification regulations. In June 2013, this committee issued the metrology regulation standard JJG 52-2013 for elastic-element type general pressure gauges, pressure-vacuum gauges, and vacuum gauges – a mandatory standard specifically formulated for the verification of such gauges. Article 7.5 of this standard stipulates as follows: \"JJG 52-2013 General Pressure Gauges, Pressure-Vacuum Gauges, and Vacuum Gauges with Elastic Element Sensors\": 7.5 Calibration Period – The calibration period for pressure gauges can be determined based on the operating environment and the frequency of use; it generally should not exceed six months. From the above content of this article, we have basically clarified the following points: 1. The pressure gauges associated with the boiler itself must be calibrated regularly, with a calibration interval of no more than 6 months; this period can be shortened but not extended. 2. The pressure gauges associated with fixed-pressure vessels must be calibrated regularly, with a calibration interval of no more than 6 months; this period can be shortened but not extended. 3. For industrial pipelines in pressure pipelines, pressure gauges that are subject to mandatory inspection must be calibrated regularly; the calibration interval shall not exceed 6 months, and it can be shortened but not extended. Well, let’s take this a step further. If it’s a pressure gauge that falls outside the aforementioned regulations, meaning it is not subject to mandatory calibration, does that mean it doesn’t need to be calibrated on a periodic basis? Obviously not. Let’s take another look at what these two regulations stipulate: The Metrology Law of the People’s Republic of China (amended in 2018): Article 9 The metrology administrative departments of people’s governments at or above the county level shall enforce mandatory inspection on social public metrological standard instruments, the highest-level metrological standard instruments used by departments, enterprises, and institutions, as well as working metrological instruments that are included in the list for mandatory inspection and are used in areas such as trade settlement, safety protection, medical and health services, and environmental monitoring. It shall not be used if it has not been submitted for inspection as required or has failed the inspection. The catalog and management measures for working measuring instruments subject to mandatory verification shall be formulated by the State Council. For other measuring standards and working measuring instruments not covered by the provisions of the preceding paragraph, the user shall conduct regular inspections on them themselves or send them to other metrological inspection institutions for inspection. Implementation Rules of the Metrology Law of the People’s Republic of China (amended in 2018): Article 12 Enterprises and public institutions shall be equipped with metrological testing facilities suitable for production, scientific research, and business management. They shall establish specific procedures and regulations for calibration, specify a list of the metrological instruments under their control along with the corresponding calibration intervals, and ensure that the metrological instruments that are not subject to mandatory calibration are calibrated on a regular basis. As can be seen from the above two regulatory provisions, even pressure gauges that are not subject to mandatory inspection still require regular inspection; it is merely up to the enterprises to determine the frequency and method of such inspection, but it must definitely be carried out.