When it comes to safety and quality, there are no shortcuts. It’s a simple statement, yet a powerful promise. It holds true in the best sampling products and systems, and in operational results: from higher performing processes and products to the methodical protection of operators, assets and the environment.
A commitment to safety and quality leads to maintaining the highest industry standards and the numerous national and international certifications that go with them. Within many industries, these certifications are familiar. But, when you stop to consider how they work to foster customer trust, the certifications take on added importance. This is particularly true in markets like petrochemical, where safety and quality aren’t goals – they’re expectations.
National certifications
A longstanding American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) certification tells customers that a materials’ strength, chemical composition and pressure testing and ratings comply with the strictest industry quality mandates. Further, an ASME Code manufacturing facility manufactures products that receive the Pressure Vessel designation (the “U” stamp), guaranteeing their alignment with written ASME procedures, specifications and test requirements.
In addition, great care is given to ensure products are compatible with the process fluids they measure. Corrosion of components and piping in the petrochemical industry can pose a physical and economic threat to operators, communities and the environment. Products must adhere to National Association of Corrosion Engineers (NACE) standards that are globally recognized as the authority in defining design criteria to ensure safe operation by mitigating corrosion.
Likewise, compliance with Hazardous Location (HAZLOC) requirements is of particular importance to the petrochemical industry, where devices sometimes need to accommodate dangerous, flammable and explosive environments. Equipment is often specifically designed for use in explosive zones that confidently meet HAZLOC requirements. Thinking beyond on-location safety to on-the-road safety means also maintaining the Department of Transportation (DOT) certification required to collect and transport pressure vessels between sites for contents evaluation.
International certifications
ASME certification and HAZLOC are not unusual within the process sampling industry, nor are their international counterparts like the Canadian Registration Number (CRN), Conformité Européene (CE), Pressure Equipment Directive (PED), and the European Directive for Equipment for Potentially Explosive Atmospheres (ATEX).
However, when a manufacturer also has ISO 9001 certification, this further assures the buyer that the quality management system in place is recognized as world-class. In short, the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) specifies rigorous requirements for a quality management system where an organization:
- Needs to demonstrate its ability to consistently provide product that meets customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements, and
- Enhances customer satisfaction through the effective application of the system, including processes for continual improvement of the system and the assurance of conformity to customer and applicable statutory and regulatory requirements.
Beyond certifications
While maintaining national and international industry accreditation is necessary and important, the safest products utilize a process where the designs are compatible with ASME requirements and are matched to the specific pressures and temperatures of the production environment.
Sentry products comply with standards because it eliminates any guesswork. The process puts science and engineering squarely behind design and construction. It also puts the brand squarely behind our customers’ peace of mind in terms of safety and quality.
Learn more about Sentry samplers for chemical and petrochemical operations.
