Annual maintenance contracts explained

1. What the contract covers

An annual maintenance contract turns valve care from reaction into a plan. The site and the provider agree a valve population, a visit schedule and a scope of work for the year. The work itself is done online, on valves in service, through their buttonhead injection fittings.

Online treatment is not possible on every valve. Before any treatment on a visit, three gates apply:

• The injection fittings are in serviceable condition.
• The valve design and its service suit injection.
• The site rules and the permit-to-work allow the job.

Where maker's documentation exists, we consult it for limits and warranty terms. Valves built with injection points are designed to be maintained this way.

You can see how we shape this in our annual maintenance contract service.

2. How a contract year runs

A contract year is a loop: establish, treat, record, review. Each stage feeds the next.

1. A baseline is set for the population, often through a condition survey.
2. Planned visits treat each valve on its schedule. Cleaner goes where deposits are suspected, lubricant to seats and bearings, sealant where leakage is screened.
3. Every action is recorded: products, amounts, pressure response, and how the valve cycled.
4. A yearly review reads those records and sets the next year's plan.

The baseline deserves care. A survey before the first visit shows which valves need attention and which are healthy. Our article on what a valve condition survey covers explains this step.

3. Records and what they tell you

Records are the contract's real product. For each valve we note what was injected, how much, and the pressure response. We also note the effort to cycle and any screening result for seat leakage.

Read across visits, records show trend. A valve that takes more sealant each visit, or turns harder, is suggesting wear. Screening only indicates; it never proves. The confirming test for a passing valve is a seat-leak test under agreed conditions. Examples are pressure decay across the closed valve, or double block and bleed monitoring.

Injection itself stays controlled: set amounts, within equipment and fitting ratings, watching the pressure response, with clear stop-work conditions.

Valve-level records also feed wider programmes, as described in valve integrity management for pipelines.

4. Setting visit frequency

There is no universal cadence. Frequency follows the valve type, its service, its condition and the maker's guidance, always within your site rules.

Some practices are widely reported. Cycling valves at least twice a year is common industry practice to prevent seizing. Operators also report topping up lubricant with about one eighth of system capacity. Many do this twice a year, and quarterly during warranty periods. These are reported practice, not rules. The maker's limits and your own records come first.

Duty shifts the answer. A valve in dirty or dry service usually needs more attention than one in clean service. The contract should name who reviews the cadence, and when.

5. What a good contract states

Before signing, check that the document states a few things plainly.

1. The valve population covered, by tag and location.
2. Visit frequency, and the work permitted at each visit.
3. When a valve is treated, and when it is skipped.
4. The records kept at each valve, and their format.
5. How seat tightness is screened, and which test confirms it.
6. Support between visits, and how urgent failures are handled.
7. The yearly review: who attends, and what it may change.

The review clause deserves attention. A contract that never questions its own scope is only a visit schedule. Valves that cannot be treated online should be referred for proper assessment, or for replacement. They should not sit in the contract as untouchable line items.

Between visits, our article on the emergency call-out process explains what happens when a valve stops planned work.

6. Starting a contract with BTR VSI

Begin by sending your valve details: type, size and pressure class, service, and the symptoms you see. An engineer replies within 24 hours, through WhatsApp or the contact form. We usually propose a condition survey first, so the contract starts from evidence rather than guesswork.

You can also request the product guide through an enquiry. An engineer sends it, with advice on cleaner, lubricant and sealant choice for your valves and duties.

Our field teams travel worldwide from India, so site location is rarely the limit. The wider questions are covered in our guide to choosing an online valve maintenance provider.