API SIFE – Source Inspector Fixed Equipment

Source Inspection is a quality inspection in which Buyer requires the quality check before the material is received. The ‘Buyer’ or its representative performs a quality inspection at the vendor’s location to make sure all requirements are fulfilled in accordance to codes, standards and specifications.The ‘Buyer’ can be anybody who orders equipment or parts such as pressure equipment or its parts (base materials, flanges, valves, welding consumables etc.), piping spools, structures etc.

Company supplier quality programmes have long had the need for a minimum standard of competency regarding inspectors working on fixed equipment assignments around the world within the oil and gas industry. Industry expectations are that individual inspector certifications will be mandatory by many clients and projects, sometime in the near future.

The API Source Inspector certification program was developed in cooperation with industry experts. It qualifies individuals (employees of end-users and individual contractors) who perform the important task of supplier quality surveillance. The Source Inspector has been defined as the individual responsible for:

  • Examining fabricated and manufactured equipment and materials at a supplier’s facility
  • Confirming that the supplier’s quality management system is being utilized effectively

SIFE – Source Inspector Fixed Equipment focuses primarily on pressure containing equipment and structural equipment, including: vessels, columns/towers, heat exchangers, piping, valves, pressure relief devices, tubulars, and associated structural fabrications.