Questions to ask before hiring an online valve maintenance provider

1. Ask about capability and scope

Capability comes first, so ask what the provider has actually treated in the field.

1. Which valve types, sizes and services have you treated online in the field?
2. Do you make your own cleaners, lubricants and sealants, or buy them in?
3. Which certifications and references can you share before we commit?
4. Will you confirm first that injection suits this valve and this service?

We are ISO certified, and we manufacture our valve cleaners, lubricants and non-hardening sealants in-house. That final question about suitability matters more than any certificate or claim.

First, the valve must have injection fittings in good working condition. Second, the valve design and the service conditions must suit injection. Third, site rules and the permit-to-work must allow the job.

Valves built with injection points are designed to be maintained in service. Online treatment is not possible for every valve, and an honest provider says so early. Where OEM documents exist, the provider should consult them for limits and warranty terms.

For the wider decision, start with our guide to choosing an online valve maintenance provider.

2. Ask for evidence, before and after

Ask first how the provider knows the valve is actually passing. Seat leakage is often why a provider is called in the first place.

Source: a risk-based valve integrity study of upstream and midstream sites, published by Valve World. It reported 61 per cent passing, 28 per cent seized and 6 per cent leaking externally. Distributions vary by valve population, so read them as context, not a rule.

1. What readings and observations will you record before any injection starts?
2. How will you confirm the valve is passing before you treat it?
3. Which acceptance test will we agree, and who witnesses it?
4. What exactly will the visit report contain, and when do we receive it?

A slow pressure rise downstream, or sound at the body, suggests a leak. So do bubbles at a vent or drain point. Confirmation comes only from a seat-leak test under conditions agreed beforehand. Examples include pressure decay across the closed valve, double block and bleed monitoring, and witnessed tests.

Our article on online sealant injection visits walks through the stages and the acceptance evidence.

3. Ask about safety limits and stop-work rules

Safety questions reveal how a provider behaves when a job turns difficult. Injection is controlled dosing inside ratings, never forcing material until a valve seals.

Pressure limits are one good place to probe a provider. Industry safety practice caps stem-fitting injection through buttonhead fittings at 3,000 psi. Limits vary by fitting, valve and site, so follow the equipment and fitting ratings.

1. What maximum pressure will you apply at each fitting, and why that figure?
2. How do you watch the pressure response during every injection?
3. What are your stop-work conditions, and who can call them?
4. What equipment do you bring, and how is it maintained?

Strong answers name the ratings, the gauges and the stop rules. Weak answers talk about persistence and force instead of method. If pressure climbs with no movement, the correct action is to stop.

4. Ask what records you will hold

Good records decide whether the visit has any lasting value. Ask what you will hold after the crew leaves site.

1. Which product went into each valve, and in what amount?
2. What pressures were reached, and how did the valve respond?
3. What condition was recorded before the treatment and after it?
4. What follow-up do you recommend, and when is it due?

These records let your own team continue the maintenance later. They also support audits and any emissions programme you run. Ask whether the provider will train your operators on the valves they treated. Our guide to handover after online valve treatment shows what good records enable.

5. Ask about escalation and honest endpoints

Ask one direct question before you hire: what happens if the treatment does not succeed?

1. Will you tell us when online treatment will not fix this valve?
2. Will you say so when a valve needs assessment, workshop repair or replacement instead?
3. Can you attend urgent failures between the planned maintenance visits?
4. Do you offer annual maintenance contracts across the valve population?

Emergency isolation by body fill sits outside routine maintenance work. It is a specialised and higher-risk procedure, performed by trained specialists, assessed case by case. A provider should never offer it casually as a routine fix.

Vague answers to any question above are a warning sign. Read our guide to red flags when choosing a valve maintenance contractor. For urgent support, see our emergency call-out service, or an annual maintenance contract for planned care.