4th Middle East NDT Conference and Exhibition, Kingdom of Bahrain, Dec 2007

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CSWIP (Certification Scheme for Welding and Inspection Personnel) APPROVED

TRAINING AND INDEPENDENT CERTIFICATION FOR PERSONNEL
ENGAGED IN DRILLSTEM INSPECTION

BJ (Bill) Brown,
Training Manager, Eurotechnology-Incon, Aberdeen, Scotland, UK

Gerry Glover,
Chief Examiner, TWI (The Welding Institute) Cambridge, England, UK

Abstract
Twenty years ago Companies involved in the Servicing of the Drilling Industry had very well
documented and formal internal training schemes. The Inspection personnel were subject to
formal, well managed, training and certification. Unfortunately the Industry has changed and
with it the formal training and certification. With very few exceptions the Service Industry has
broken up into small Companies offering Inspection / NDT Personnel in a very competitive
market. Today, in the United Kingdom it is the norm for Personnel Training and Certification
to be conducted in accordance with the SNT-TC-1A scheme. The management and control of
these schemes tend to lean towards general Magnetic Particle Inspection and Liquid Penetrant
Inspection with some knowledge of ultrasonic thickness measurement using digital thickness
meters. These schemes, in general terms, do not formally address the specific requirements of
the Product, neither do they address the visual and dimensional controls called for in the
relevant Standards or Specifications. We are all aware of how important visual and dimensional
inspection methods are to the Industry.

Brief History

In an oil or gas well, the Drillstem is the collective name for all the drilling tubulars
extending from the drilling rig to the drill bit.

A typical well may contain 400 pipes, each approximately 9metres (30ft) long. Near the drill
bit, and comprising roughly 10% of the total length of the drillstring, is the Bottom Hole
Assembly (BHA).

The BHA consists primarily of drill collars which provide the weight on the drill bit and is
normally in compression. Above the BHA is the drill string, consisting of much thinner and
more flexible drill pipe which extends upwards to the drilling rig and is normally in tension.
Common to all components of the Drillstem are rotary shouldered connections. These are
coarse, tapered, male and female threads with a sealing shoulder, machined onto the ends of
each component and which permit rapid addition or removal of individual components from
the Drillstem.
The stresses imposed on the Drillstem during drilling operations can result in rapid
accumulation of fatigue damage and frequent inspections are performed to detect mechanical
damage and cracking in the rotary shouldered connections and in the tubes of drill pipe.

Typically, rotary shouldered connections are subjected to visual, dimensional and either
magnetic particle or penetrant inspections.

Drill pipe tubes are subjected to the same types of inspection as rotary shouldered connections,
but additional inspections using ultrasonics (compression and shear wave) and electromagnetic
(diverted flux) methods are performed.

Development of Scheme:

Eurotechnology was requested to revise their existing BINDT Approved training

schemes and bring them up to date to meet the requirements of the Standards &
Specifications currently being applied by the Industry.

Several meeting were held whereby representatives of Major Oil Companies, Service
Sector, Training Establishments and Certifying Bodies were represented.

A core technical committee was formed and given the task of establishing:

Current requirements of the Industry

Resources necessary to meet these requirements
Willingness of TWI Certification Ltd, a UKAS Accredited Certification Body, to
support the scheme and conduct the appropriate audit programme.
Willingness of recognised Industry Experts to advise on current practices, supply
relevant technical procedures, oversee the relevance of the samples to be used for training and
master same.

The core committee consists of TWI, Eurotechnology & Bruce McPherson.

Firstly, the committee agreed that the remit was certainly too extensive to have a one-fit- all
Training and Certification Scheme. The Scheme was split into the Industry Sectors:

Rotary Tool Connections or BHA (Bottom Hole Assembly) and Drillpipe

The two sectors were then sub-divided into the relevant Inspection / NDT categories.

Rotary Tool Inspectors

Rotary Tool Inspector Supervisor.
Drill Pipe Inspector.
Drill Pipe Inspection Supervisor.
Magnetic Particle Inspection of Drillstem components
Liquid Penetrant Inspection of Drillstem components
Senior Drillstring Inspector (Level 3).

The Rotary Tool Inspector category was to be the base unit. In the UK, the majority of
Inspection / NDT application is applied to Rotary Tool Connections.

Once achieved then additional categories may be undertaken such as;

Drillpipe Inspector incorporating ultrasonic methods for material evaluation, thickness

measurement and manual end area inspection.

Whole body Electromagnetic (EMI Buggy) inspection of drillpipe to incorporate Magnetic

Flux Leakage applications to be offered as a separate category as was the individual
methods of Magnetic Particle Inspection, Liquid Penetrant Inspection and Ultrasonic
Inspection.
All these training courses were to include general and specific theory together with
specific practical application to Drillstem components.

The theoretical and practical material had to match the Inspection / NDT methods to be
applied in accordance with the Industry Specific Standards and Specifications. Two main
Industry specifications exist for In-Service Inspection of Drillstem.

Standard DS-1, Drill Stem Design and Operation. TH Hill Associates Inc.
NS-2, Drill String Inspection Standard, Fearnley Proctor Group

These Specifications are in addition to the current API Standards,

A.P.I. Specification 5D - Specification for Drill Pipe:

API Specification 7 – Specification for Rotary Drill Stem Elements:
A.P.I. Recommended Practice 5A5 (API RP 5A5):
A.P.I. Recommended Practice 7G (API RP 7G):

Each Inspection / NDT task was reviewed and assessed as to the criticality of its application. A
Tutorial, complete with details of each task and its methodology was compiled and reviewed
for technical accuracy and relevance to its practical application.

The Verification Process.

This was indeed detailed and exacting. Under the guidance of the Training & Examination
Services Division of TWI the format for the training course was devised. EN 473 and ISO
9712 were the standards to be applied.

Training Course Format and Material.

The first thing that had to be done was to compile a comprehensive set of course notes to cover
the Product Technology as well as the Inspection / NDT methods to be applied. The notes
include the following topics:

Introduction & Overview Drillpipe: Manufacturing Processes, Drill Tube, Tool Joints (Box &
Pin), Drill Pipe Operating Conditions, Drillpipe Failures & Causes of Failure, Bottom Hole
Assembly (BHA), Heavy Weight Drillpipe (HWDP): Manufacture of Heavy Weight Drillpipe,
Heavy Weight Drillpipe Operating Conditions, Heavy Weight Drillpipe Failure Modes. Drill
Collars:Drill Collar Manufacture, Drill Collar Operating Conditions, and Drill collar Failure
Modes, Stabilisers:Manufacturing Process, Stabiliser Operating Conditions, Failure Modes.
Subs: Manufacturing Process, Operating Conditions, Failure Modes.

Rotary Shouldered Connections: Technical Description, Main Features, Number Style,

Other Features of Rotary Shouldered Connections, Manufacture of Rotary Shouldered
Connections, Operating Conditions, Failure Modes. Non-Magnetic Drilling Tubulars. Use
of Downhole Mud Motors

Drillpipe Tube Inspection Methods: Visual Inspection, Dimensional Inspection, Ultrasonic

Wall Thickness Measurements, Electromagnetic Inspection (EMI), Magnetic Particle
Inspection, Ultrasonic End Area Inspection. Drillpipe Tool Joint Inspection Methods: Visual
Inspection, Dimensional Inspection, Magnetic Particle Inspection. Preparation for
Connection Inspection. Heavy Weight Drillpipe Inspection Methods: Visual Inspection,
 Dimensional Inspection, Magnetic Particle Inspection. Drill Collar Inspection Methods:
Visual Inspection, Dimensional Inspection, Magnetic Particle Inspection, Elevator Groove
Inspection. Electromagnetic Inspection (EMI): Basic Principles, Magnetising Methods,
Magnetic Flux Leakage sensors, Search Coil Sensors, Applications of Parallel Search Coils,
Buggy Type EMI Units, Fixed Head EMI Units, Buggy & Fixed Head Equipment, Drillpipe
& BHA Inspection Standards Inspection Equipment Requirements Reporting of
Inspections.Audit Formats by Third Party Companies

Each Tutorial and lecture was vetted for technical accuracy set against verifiable
procedures – all traceable to the relevant Standards / Specifications.

Summary Outline of Rotary Tool Inspector Training Course:

Introduction to the Drillstem. Bottom Hole Assembly – Overview, Visual & Dimensional
Inspections – Overview, Visual & Dimensional Applications. Rotary Shouldered
Connections – Overview, Visual & Dimensional Inspection Procedures, Environmental
Conditions & Potential Causes of Failure. Drillpipe & BHA Inspection Standards – Detailed
Review. Review of MPI. Review of Liquid Penetrant Testing. Theory Assessments, General
& Specific Papers.Practical Assessment, Visual & Dimensional Applications. Practical
Assessment, MPI & DPI Samples

Relevant and Verifiable Samples

Of course, the availability of such samples was critical to the outcome of the Scheme.
Eurotechnology has built up an impressive range of Drillstem related samples over the years
and agreed that these should be used if found acceptable by the Industry experts.

Examples of samples.

Drillpipe with known Defects

 Samples with relevant In-Service Defects.

Examples of external wear & Washouts

Visual and Dimensional Samples.
Traditional Strip Chart Recording and PC Based Data-Logging from the Electromagnetic (EMI)
Inspection

Standard Set-Up with EMI Buggy Unit Well categorised Training Aids
Independent Competency Examinations:

The competency levels are quite separate to the end of training examination. In order to meet
EN473 / ISO 9712 requirements it is necessary to test each candidate in the method applied
from an Independent source – in this case TWI / CSWIP. As a result, for the Rotary Tool
Inspector it is necessary for the personnel to:
 Successfully undergo an approved course as described above.
Test a minimum of two areas on mastered samples e.g. Two dimensional and visual
checks on typical samples e.g. box and / or pin. Two MPI and two Dye Pen areas. Could be
same samples e.g. MPI on the boxes, dye pen on the pins. One ferromagnetic one not so.
Theory will consist of general and specific – multiple choice 50 questions for the
general paper and 30 for the specific.

The examination samples are specific to examination. Each sample was verified as relevant
to In-Service inspection and typical of what would be found in the field by the Industry
Experts. The master reports were audited and verified by TWI.

In order to prove the scheme was, indeed, practicable the initial Certification was performed
initially under the CSWIP Employer Specific EN 473 scheme. CSWIP Employer Specific
Certification enables organisations to satisfy the requirements of the various Standards by
conducting job specific qualifications on realistic test pieces. The CSWIP Scheme is managed
by TWI Certification Ltd, a UKAS accredited Certification Body. The Scheme has been
successfully utilised in the Rail, Metal manufacturing and Line Pipe manufacturing sectors of
Industry.

After issuing some 100 certificates, CSWIP was formally requested to consider
adopting the scheme.

The Route to CSWIP Approval.

Following on from the pilot scheme involving some 100 examinations carried out under the
CSWIP Employer Specific Training & Examination Scheme, it was decided to place the
Scheme within the generic CSWIP programme. This entailed producing a document DS-16-06
for approval by the Certification Management Board. The document details specific topics such
as:

Amounts of Training
Necessary experience
The Certification Levels
Examination content for the Certification Levels
Examination exemptions
Rules for certificate renewal and re-certification.

Plus the general rules for administration of the scheme.

The Certification Management Board approved the Scheme document in March 2007.
The document also requires that Training Providers, programmes and facilities are
approved by TWI Certification Ltd.

Course approval was gained in May 2007.

Examiners qualified at Level 3 are also required to mark and grade examinations. Currently,
a minimum of two Level 3 examiners are specified in EN & ISO Standards.

Two well experienced personnel successfully undertook the Level 3 examinations and are in
place for the Scheme.
The examinations were compiled and conducted by TWI Training & Examination
Services.

TWI Training & Examination Services monitored the conduct of the examinations by the
Level 3 examiners as complying with the Scheme requirements.

In addition, TWI Training & Examination Services validated the examination marking
scheme as being in compliance with the Standards.

A training & examination programme for 2007 is now in place.

Examination validation by TWI Certification Ltd in conjunction with TWI Examination

Services will continue in accordance with the CSWIP rules.

CSWIP Scheme Outline:

The CSWIP document DS-16-06 can be downloaded from www.cswip.com

References

Standard DS-1, Drill Stem Design and Operation. TH Hill Associates Inc. NS-2,
Drill String Inspection Standard, Fearnley Proctor Group
A.P.I. Specification 5D - Specification for Drill Pipe: API Specification 7 –
Specification for Rotary Drill Stem Elements:
A.P.I. Recommended Practice 5A5 (API RP 5A5):

A.P.I. Recommended Practice 7G (API RP 7G):Document No. CSWIP-DS-16-06,

Requirements for the Certification of Personnel Engaged in the Inspection of Drillstem
Components (Rotary Tool & Drillpipe)