Korea: Piping installation and documentation 2

[Stefan2211]

Dear All,

does anyone has experience with requirements for piping installation in Korea?
We have carbon steel, stainless steel and inconel piping. Mostly used for gas (acetylene, Silan, N2) and water, steam (11barg). Gas lines are all below 6 bar.
We are planning to follow DIN standards but even the client does not know whether it requires to follow other Korean standards.

What testing is required besides hydotessting?

Thank

 

[DekDee]

If you do not know and the Client does not know you have the potential for a major nightmare - that is putting it politely.
How can you possibly tender on a job when you have no idea of the testing requirements ?

 

[Stefan2211]

DekDee, deshalb bin ich jetzt dabei diese Probleme zu beseitigen.

 

[jari001]

I think if you and the client are new to answering these types of questions, it would be beneficial to hire a local resource with this experience. There can be many nuances with obtaining approval to operate an installation. I worked for a company that installed a new distillation system in Korea around 5 years ago and the local engineering partner we worked with had the experience and contacts to sort out similar types of questions for us.

 

[XL83NL]

North or south? Cant imagine the first one though.

We did job some 10yrs ago for South Korea. All piping was B31.3. No special requirement. Some piping was HF or F service (yeah, fluorine - nightmare stuff). Didnt make the jurisdictional or local requirements anymore difficult though.

Huub
- You never get what you expect, you only get what you inspect.

 

[Stefan2211]

XL83NL. We are thinking of prefab pipe spool in Germany acc. to DIN which is accepted by the client but we are not sure if it is sufficient to get local approval in Korea. Anyway, we will need to find a contractor over there and he needs to install all so he will be the best source to advive.

 

[pierreick]

Hi,
Let you try to get a copy of the standards and get contact with a local construction company, should not be difficult to find reputable one in South Korea (Samsung, SANYO), including Japanese branches (Sumitomo as an example), based on my experience in China.

http://www.sanyosteel.com/files/Others/Korean Standard.pdf

Pierre

 

[Stefan2211]

Thank you Pierre, I will try to find it.

 

[DekDee]

Stefan,
I am sorry if I was a bit harsh in my earlier response but there are a few things that seem strange.
Testing requirements (and their cost) form a significant part of any bid / tender.
How can you bid / tender when the testing requirements are unknown ?
If you are fabricating and installing piping on behalf of a Client then surely the Client is responsible for ensuring the required approvals and then they pass these requirements to you, the Contractor.
Or, are things done differently in your part of the world (Europe) ?

 

[Stefan2211]

I got yr point DekDee,
it is a difficult project with lots of unusual issues. I just joint the project as freelancer and they have totally underestimated piping and installation. It probably happened due to the fact that they never built such a complex system before and covid has led to an insuffiient teamwork. They also use a lot of SS316Ti and inconel due to high temperatures. So now we have to award piping and installation to a Korean contractor who is extremely expensive and was unwilling to detail his costing. So I started from scratch counting the DI and material costs to find a basis to negotiate. We are just not sure what requirements we have to follow as all our piping follows DIN code until the battery limit of the client where we have ANSI flanges. We are planning to pre fabricate as much as possible here in Germany to reduce the costs unless the contractor is willing to come down with the prices. The problem is that welding,testing and documentation done in Germany finally need to get approval by Korean government body. We experienced that Korean goverment bodies are strict and there is always a language barrier to get it right.
Anyway, we sent our team to Korea today to discuss details and understand their pricing.

 

[MJCronin]

Stefan,

If neither you nor the client are familiar with local codes, standards or fabrication requirements for piping and mechanical components, then..

... maybe, just maybe it is not a good idea to make the immediate "MBA JUMP" into final design

Perhaps a preliminary design study (possibly with the help of experienced consultants) would be a better course of action and serve your client better

MJCronin
Sr. Process Engineer

 

[LittleInch]

Sounds to me like you need to contact a TPI company working in Korea to give you advice.

International inspection companies like DNV and Lloyd's usually have inspectors and data about countries requirements, but they will charge for that advice.

Remember - More details = better answers
Also: If you get a response it's polite to respond to it.

 

[Stefan2211]

Thank you all,

Finally our engineering team just arrived in Korea and will clarify the issues.

 

[pierreick]

HI Stefan 2211,
A few comments based on experience in China (projects) and GMP inspection by Korean authorities, you really need to stick to their standards for project's approvals and maintenance in the future. I don't think it's a great idea to perform the construction in Germany based on DIN standard. You also need to pay attention to custom when you decide to import the products, with all the relevant documentation to supply, etc. I guarantee you a lot of headaches along the process, time delays, expenses not budgeted.
To me you should select a reputable construction company in Korea, familiar with foreign companies and having good relations with authorities for approvals.
Good luck anyway.
Pierre

 

[Stefan2211]

Thanks Pierre, I agrre they should have done it in an early stage. This project turned out to be too complex for them and the lack of experienced manpower after covid did mess it up too. They finalize it this week and the contractor just need to follow local regulations.