These are the words spoken by Lord Cullen after a 13-month inquiry into the Piper Alpha disaster. Lord Cullen made 106 recommendations in his report, all of which were taken on board by the industry. My fear is that we may well be at a tipping point in terms of joint integrity (or lack of) whereby […]

On the 30th anniversary of the Piper Alpha disaster, I have reflected on how in many ways the industry has changed for the better in terms of process safety and business improvement techniques to reduce the chances of similar disasters occurring. Conversely and specifically in terms of mechanical joint integrity of bolted joints, I also