Overview
Three disciplines sit together on this page because they tend to arrive together on a job sheet, and because all three share the same characteristic: done properly they are invisible, and done poorly they surface as a leak, a failed bearing or a pressure excursion that nobody planned for.
Pressure safety valves are the last line of protection on a pressure system and are worthless unless proven to lift at the pressure they are marked with. Pump alignment determines whether rotating plant reaches its design life or consumes couplings, seals and bearings. Flange management decides whether a joint holds, and a joint that does not hold on a process line is a safety event rather than an inconvenience.
ProMech delivers all three across Northern Ireland, Dublin and London, with the documentation a duty holder needs to show the work was done and done to specification.
Our Process
- 1
Scope and isolation planning
We agree what is being worked on, how it will be isolated, and what the plant can tolerate being offline. On live sites this is the step that decides whether the job takes a shift or a shutdown.
- 2
Pressure safety valve inspection
Valves are identified against the written scheme of examination, removed where required, stripped, inspected for seat damage, corrosion and spring condition, and assessed against their duty.
- 3
Set pressure testing and recertification
Valves are tested to confirm set pressure, reseat pressure and leak tightness, adjusted where required, then sealed and certificated with results recorded against the asset.
- 4
Pre alignment mechanical checks
Before a laser goes anywhere near a coupling, we check soft foot, baseplate condition, grouting, pipe strain and hold down bolt integrity. Aligning a machine standing on a bad foundation moves the problem rather than solving it.
- 5
Laser shaft alignment
Horizontal and vertical offset and angularity corrected to tolerance using laser alignment, with thermal growth allowed for where operating temperature differs materially from ambient.
- 6
Controlled flange bolting
Joints assembled to a defined procedure: correct gasket, clean and inspected faces, calibrated torque or hydraulic tensioning applied in the specified sequence and stages, and every joint recorded.
- 7
Vibration check and documentation
Post work vibration readings confirm the correction took effect, and you receive the valve certificates, alignment results, bolting records and vibration data as one pack.
Why Alignment and Bolting Matter
Misalignment destroys bearings
Offset and angular misalignment load the bearing outside its design envelope. The pump keeps running, which is the problem, until the bearing fails at a time nobody chose.
Seals go before bearings do
Mechanical seals are intolerant of shaft deflection. Repeated seal replacement on the same machine is usually an alignment symptom being treated as a consumables cost.
Pipe strain defeats alignment
Pipework pulling on a pump casing distorts it and shifts the shaft after the alignment is signed off. We check for it before aligning, not after the callback.
Soft foot corrupts readings
A machine rocking on an uneven baseplate cannot hold an alignment. Correcting soft foot first is the difference between an alignment that lasts and one that does not.
Uncontrolled bolting leaks
Bolting a flange in the wrong sequence, or to no defined load at all, produces uneven gasket compression. The joint may pass a first pressure test and weep once thermally cycled.
Tensioning for large joints
On large diameter and high pressure joints, hydraulic tensioning applies load more evenly and repeatably than torque alone, where friction introduces significant scatter.
Standards & Compliance
- PSSR 2000, Pressure Systems Safety Regulations, written schemes of examination
- BS EN 1591-1, flange joint design and bolt load calculation
- ASME Section VIII, pressure vessel and relief device practice
- ISO 9001 quality management and calibrated equipment records
- CDM 2015 site safety protocols
Industries We Serve
- Energy and utilities, generation and distribution assets
- Oil, gas and petrochemical, process pressure systems
- Industrial and manufacturing, rotating plant and utilities
- Data centres, pump sets and pressurisation equipment