About CARBER
CARBER is a privately owned global specialty industrial service company based in Houston, TX. We provide trained and experienced technicians to provide professional and timely services driven by a Health, Safety, and Environmental program that reflects our commitment to safety. Our services increase safety, decrease downtime, reduce environmental impact and provide cost savings.
CARBER was established in 1995 as CAR-BER Testing Services and was based in Canada. Since then, CARBER has grown exponentially. The original services included the CARBER Weld Test and CARBER Isolation services. Our first two services were built around patented technologies found in our Weld Test Tool and our Isolation Tool (U.S. Patent No. 5,844,127). These tools allowed our customers to benefit from our technology by saving time, increasing safety and reducing costs associated with traditional methods of testing a weld or isolating a line for hot work. As our reputation grew, CARBER grew with it. Specialty services were added to the growing list of services at CARBER in 1997, which allowed CARBER to provide additional in-demand services our clients requested. Many more service lines were added over the next several years, which enabled CARBER to become a complete service provider to our customers.
CARBER continues to innovate, refine, and create solutions while maintaining an emphasis on safety, decreased downtime and cost savings. We are proud of our technological innovations that include our Weld Test Tool, Self-Restrained Isolation Tool, Nozzle Test Tool (protected under International application PCT/CA99/00859), Plain-End Test Tool, etc. Our technologies are written into procedures around the world because they are the safest available in today’s market.
CARBER Core Values
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Safety & Quality – first and foremost
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Committed Leadership Through Collaboration – leadership by example; corporately and individually. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better through collaboration with our customers and employees.
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Service Excellence – service with superior value – to accept nothing but the best in ourselves, our products and our services.
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Integrity – we will be trustworthy, honest, genuine and loyal in every action.
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Innovation – defines our past, propels us into the future and provides us with a strong market position through better technology and processes.
Business Description
The National Board of Boiler and Pressure Vessel Inspectors interprets and enforces the ANSI / ASME codes within the pressure vessel industry throughout North America. "The National Board" stipulates that all pipe welds must have a pressure leak test applied to each assembly before that particular assembly can be put into service. As per B31.3 of the ASME codes the preferred method of testing the integrity of welds is through application of Hydrostatic pressure. All other NDT testing methods e.g. radiography (X-rays), magnetic particle examination, liquid penetrate examination etc. are considered variances to B31.3.
Most vessels, flanges, valves and other various pipe assemblies are tested at the manufacturer's facility; the only portion of an assembly that remains untested is the weld (tie-in point) which connects the various assemblies under field conditions. In other instances a leaking flange may require replacement as part of an on-going maintenance program (between turnarounds) creating the need to isolate and hydro-test the connecting weld. It is to these specific areas of the pipe assembly that CARBER has focused attention.
Traditionally the method of testing welds which connect assemblies in the field involves filling the entire system with testing medium and pressurizing to a pre-determined value (usually 1 1/2 times the working pressure) and maintaining that specific pressure for a pre-determined time. Such a methodology requires extensive person-hours to blank and purge the entire assembly and requires large amounts of medium to perform the test. The requirement for large amounts of medium means that a significant amount of medium must be lost in order to register a noticeable change in pressure.
The minuscule amounts of medium required for the CARBER equipment to perform, translates to very precise pressure readings should the slightest volume of medium escape the pressurized vessel during testing procedures.