A survey before maintenance establishes what each valve actually needs. It records a baseline, identifies the likely failure mode, and checks whether in-service injection is possible at all. Only then do we recommend cleaner, lubricant, sealant or cycling, and sometimes the honest answer is repair or replacement.
Knowledge ยท Working with us
Why we survey before we recommend
We survey first because the right treatment depends on facts we can only get at the valve.
1. The problem with recommending blind
Cleaner, lubricant, sealant and cycling each address a different problem. A valve that passes needs different treatment from a valve that will not move. A recommendation made before looking risks treating the wrong failure mode.
A risk-based valve integrity study of upstream and midstream sites, published by Valve World, reported a clear mix. Passing seats accounted for 61% of failures, and seized valves for 28%. External leakage accounted for 6%, with other causes at 5%. Distributions vary by population, so your plant may differ.
Those numbers explain why we hesitate to quote a treatment from a short message alone. The mix of failure modes at your site is a fact to be found, not assumed. A survey finds it, valve by valve, before anyone commits equipment and product.
2. The baseline a survey records
A survey puts facts on record for every valve in the agreed scope. Those facts become the baseline that later work is measured against.
- Operability: the effort needed to cycle the valve, and whether it moves at all.
- Leak observations: passing, stem leak or body leak, noted with location and conditions.
- Fitting condition: the state of every buttonhead injection fitting and cap.
- Identity: nameplate data recorded before anyone chooses products. Reading valve nameplates comes first.
Leak observations at this stage are screening evidence. Bubbles, sound or a pressure rise suggest a passing seat; they do not prove one. The confirming test is a seat-leak test under agreed conditions, such as pressure decay across the closed valve, double block and bleed monitoring, or a witnessed leak test.
Factory references such as API 598 and ISO 5208 set acceptance criteria for new valves. They do not transfer as field proof for a valve in service. Without a baseline, a treated valve cannot be compared with its starting state.
3. Gates we check before recommending
Before we recommend cleaner, lubricant, sealant or cycling, the gates below must be open. Not every valve can be treated in service, and saying so early saves everyone time.
- The valve must have injection fittings, and they must be in good condition.
- The valve design and the service must suit injection. Valves built with injection points are designed to be maintained in service.
- Site rules and the permit-to-work must allow the job. Permits, access and escorts are arranged before the visit, not during it.
- Where OEM documentation exists, we consult it for limits and warranty terms.
If a gate closes, the honest answer is not a product. It is a different plan, taken early, while options remain open.
4. Honest options, including no sale
After the survey, we present what the facts support, not a fixed menu.
- Treat in service, where the gates are open and injection suits the failure mode.
- Schedule the work into a planned window, using maintenance window planning to sequence valves and contingencies.
- Recommend workshop repair or replacement, when the valve is beyond in-service treatment.
The third option is a real outcome, and we say it plainly. A seized valve with damaged internals, or a body leak from corrosion, may need more than any chemical can deliver. Recommending injection there would waste your money and our credibility.
When a valve must isolate immediately and cannot seal, body fill isolation exists. It is a specialised and higher-risk procedure, performed by trained specialists and assessed case by case.
5. How to start with BTR VSI
The path to a recommendation is short. Send the valve details by WhatsApp or through the contact form, and an engineer replies within 24 hours. To see products first, request the guide through an enquiry, and an engineer sends it.
Good first information speeds up the answer. What to send in a first enquiry lists the valve data that helps: tag numbers, size and class, service medium, and the symptom observed.
For sites that want evidence before commitment, valve condition surveys cover the baseline and the gates in one scope. Our field teams travel worldwide from India, so the survey can follow into treatment without a handover. The same logic shapes our guide to choosing an online valve maintenance provider: evidence first, then treatment.
Common questions
Valve surveys questions, answered directly
How long does a valve survey take?
It depends on the number of valves, their location and site access. A small group of accessible valves can often be surveyed in a single visit, while a full plant population takes longer and is scoped in advance.
Can you recommend a treatment without a site visit?
We can give an honest first opinion from the details you send, and often narrow the options. A firm recommendation needs the baseline and the gates confirmed at the valve, which is what the survey does.
Does a valve survey require a shutdown?
In suitable cases the survey is done with the valves in service. Access, permits and safe operation set the limits, and some checks need the valve to be cycled under agreed conditions.
What do you check during a valve survey?
Operability, leak symptoms, injection fitting condition and nameplate data for each valve in scope. Findings are recorded as a baseline, so the effect of any later treatment can be measured against it.
Have a valve that needs attention?
Send the valve details. An engineer replies within 24 hours.
Include the tag number, valve size and class, service medium, and the symptom you see.