Red Flame Industries’ mission and success has been built on providing the industry with a total turn-key solution for this complex service.
Our turn-key, full service solution includes:

1. Initial Engineering Assessment

2. Welding Procedure Design & Qualification

3. Welder Qualification

4. Welding

5. Non-Destructive Testing (NDT)

6. Manufacture of Fittings

7. Quality Control Program

By choosing RFI, clients can be assured that all areas and options have been addressed to best meet their needs through one company at one price.

Contrary to typical production or maintenance welders who may be involved with in-service welding on rare occasions, RFI welders perform in-service welding daily. The special requirements for in-service welding are therefore always fresh in their mind. They are also directly involved in the development and qualification of the welding procedures to ensure they have both the knowledge and the skills required and that no disconnects remain between work in the lab and work in the field.

Following RFI’s specialized procedures and training, welders routinely weld on 3.2 mm (0.125) wall thickness pipe at pressures up to 3550 kPa (500 psi).

A 48-hour waiting period is required to detect any potential delayed cracking, as recommended in CSA Z662 for welding on in-service pipelines. In some cases, an engineering assessment can be performed to reduce or waive that delay.

RFI has been registered and certified by Alberta’s Boiler Association (ABSA) as a Quality Control Authorized Contractor. As part of our full-service solution, we provide each client with a thorough and accurate report detailing everything that was performed and supplied for the job. This information is useful for future reference by clients.

An area where excessive arc penetration has weakened the pipe wall, allowing the pressurized product to escape. This is a concern for welder safety.

Deposition of several layers of weld metal on the parent metal, where the branch connection or sleeve weld will be made, to control the microstructure and hardness of the parent metal.

Hydrogen-induced cracking due to a combination of hydrogen in the weld area, susceptible microstructure, and stress. This can compromise the integrity of the pipe after welding and later in service. In the case of in-service welding, there is a higher risk of cracking resulting from creating a hard microstructure in the steel while welding under the accelerated cooling conditions of a flowing pipe. Cracking prevention in that case relies on the control of the weld microstructure and hardness. Non-destructive testing focuses on the detection of cracks.