What about AS9100D? Shouldn’t that have prevented this?
Making API 6A parts under API Q1, we had a potential disaster that surfaced 4 years ago. We had a BOP come in for recertification that needed a weld repair (erosion). We sent it out and the welding shop called and reported that the hardness was too high. For H2S compatibility, max hardness is 22 Rockwell C. This BOP body was as high as 26.
We had the MTR from when we made it 8 years previously, and it said it was in spec (18-22 RC)…
I had the body sent back to our shop and we confirmed the out of spec hardness.
I then ordered a Spark test to verify the alloy composition… it was tool steel. Not 4130.
We contacted the steel supplier who then contacted the mill. These were both big name Canadian and American companies. After numerous meetings, the mill admitted they had 3 billets that were swapped. The BA5TARDS knew. Their customer that ordered the tool steel knew immediately that they got 4130 because it wouldn’t harden and they didn’t contact us.
We had to recall 2 other BOPs from active service, one was in the Middle East.
The mill did cover our costs.
This 5hit does happen. None of this material was chinesium.
The worst part for me was that I pulled the manufacturing records for these BOP bodies and the machinist noted the hardnesses as out of spec on his QC sheets, nobody even looked at this. Our quality manager was more concerned about implementing more BS process than learning from this and trying to prevent a future occurrence.
I got recruited to go elsewhere and this was a big factor in my decision to leave. My company put innocent lives in jeopardy and the people that should have cared, didn’t.
To put this into perspective, these billets were about 21” in diameter and 5 feet long. Big chunks of forged 4130… I mean 1075 tool steel.