Designing a pilot programme across a small valve set

1. What the pilot must prove

A pilot answers a narrow question: can in-service treatment hold or restore these valves on this plant, at a sensible effort? Write the question down before any valve is touched. Decide in advance what result counts as success, and what counts as failure.

A vendor demonstration shows that injection works in principle. It cannot show how your valves, your service conditions and your site rules behave together. That is the job of the pilot. A structured trial is also a fair way to judge a supplier, alongside our guidance on choosing an online valve maintenance provider. For the difference, see what a live demonstration can and cannot prove.

2. Choosing the pilot valve set

The set must be small but honest. It should mirror the problems you actually have, not the valves easiest to reach. The spread of failure modes was reported in a risk-based valve integrity study of upstream and midstream sites, published by Valve World. Passing seats accounted for 61 per cent of failures, seized valves 28 per cent, external leakage 6 per cent and other causes 5 per cent. Distributions vary by population, so check your own records first.

A condition survey builds that picture quickly when records are thin. Then apply three rules:

1. Select mostly valves with the problem you chiefly need to solve, usually seat leakage.
2. Add a few stiff or hard-to-operate valves, since seizing is also common.
3. Leave two similar valves untreated as controls, so results carry a comparison.

3. Gates to check before treatment

In-service treatment is not possible on every valve, so the pilot checks suitability before chemistry. Before any valve in the set is treated, confirm these gates:

1. The valve has buttonhead or other injection fittings, in good condition, with known ratings.
2. The valve design and the service suit injection of cleaner, lubricant or sealant.
3. Site rules and the permit-to-work allow the work on a live, pressurised line.
4. OEM documentation, where it exists, has been read for limits and warranty terms.

Valves built with injection points are designed to be maintained in service. A pilot valve that fails a gate is not a failed pilot. It is an early finding, and it belongs in the record.

4. Let evidence set the duration

Fix the length by the evidence you need, not by a calendar. Record a baseline for every valve before treatment: how it operates, and what it passes under agreed test conditions. Observation, sound and pressure rise are screening evidence. They indicate a problem or an improvement, but they do not prove one.

Confirmation comes from a seat-leak test under conditions agreed before work starts. Common forms include pressure decay across the closed valve, double block and bleed monitoring, or a witnessed leak test. API 598 and ISO 5208 are factory acceptance references, not field results.

Treatment itself stays controlled: planned amounts within equipment and fitting ratings, watching the pressure response, with stop-work conditions agreed in advance. Then hold the pilot long enough to see whether the first result survives. A valve still tight at the next scheduled top-up gives stronger evidence than one early pass.

5. Reading results and scaling up

Read the results before you scale them. Treatments that passed the agreed test, then held through a top-up cycle, earn a place in the routine programme. Valves that stayed passing, or could not be treated safely, point to assessment or replacement instead. A pilot that ends with a replacement list has still done its job.

Record every decision as you go: which valve, which treatment, which test, which result. A simple decision log turns findings into an approved plan. The same records later serve audit or regulatory review, which is how we work as an ISO certified company.

Scale in stages. Move the confirmed treatments to the next group of valves, keep the cadence and the records, and review the evidence before each expansion. When the routine is proven, an annual maintenance contract can carry it forward with fixed responsibilities. To begin, send your valve details by WhatsApp or the contact form, or request the product guide through an enquiry.