BIRMINGHAM, England, September 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --

Today, Hydratight, the market leading joint integrity assurance company confirms its leadership position and its belief to be the world's first ASME PCC-1-2013 Appendix A Qualifying Organization, following an independent audit by a team from Lloyd's Register Energy, led by their UK Managing Surveyor for ASME inspection services.

In November 2013, The American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME) updated the 2010 PCC-1 'Guidelines for Pressure Boundary Bolted Flange Joint Assembly' (BFJA) - one of the significant changes is a comprehensive appendix defining the requirements for the training and qualification of bolted joint assembly personnel.  Supporting this update, Hydratight, the home of joint integrity, opted to go a step further and seek external certification from a Review Organization.

The third party audit took place after months of detailed preparation to confirm Hydratight's comprehensive operational procedures and training and qualification programs are compliant with the new ASME PCC-1-2013 guidelines.

This formal certification of Hydratight's policies and procedures confirms the organization's belief as being the very first world-wide to achieve such an accolade - and the only organization that can qualify employees to ASME PCC-1-2013 standards.

Wayne Dennis, Hydratight's Director of Growth & Innovation, commented: "Hydratight has been aligned with, and executing the principles of these guidelines for many years and this recognition provides clients with assurance that when selecting Hydratight to handle their bolting execution and joint integrity assurance programs they are working with a company that complies with and exceeds all of the requirements of the ASME PCC-1-2013 guidelines."

Wayne added: "When leaks happen, they cost asset owners millions of dollars. All leaks can be avoided. We feel strongly enough about our service offering and our experience, that as an organization we elected to seek certification from a third party agency to evaluate our compliance to ensure the best possible service and peace of mind is being provided to our customer base. This provides them with assurance that they will be working with a reputable and compliant company, which strives to ensure their facilities start up flawlessly and remain leak free from a Bolted Flange Joint Assembly (BFJA) perspective."

Joint integrity is the cornerstone of safe and leak-free operations. Proper assembly in a controlled manner is one of the primary factors integral to the integrity of a bolted joint.

For further information visit: http://www.hydratight.com/en/joint-integrity-assurance

About Lloyd's Register 

Lloyd's Register (LR) is a global engineering, technical and business services organisation wholly owned by the Lloyd's Register Foundation, a UK charity dedicated to research and education in science and engineering. Founded in 1760 as a marine classification society, LR now operates across many energy industry sectors, with over 9,000 employees in the Group across 78 countries.

LR has a long-standing reputation for integrity, impartiality and technical excellence. Their compliance, risk and technical consultancy services give clients confidence that their assets and businesses are safe, sustainable and dependable. Through global technology centres and research network, LR is at the forefront of understanding the application of new science and technology to future-proof clients' businesses.

SOURCE Hydratight