JSC “Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant” has its own metrological laboratory for checking and calibrating measuring instruments.

JSC "Sintez-Kauchuk" and “Sterlitamak Petrochemical Plant” operate about 30 thousand measuring instruments used in the course of technological processes. According to the federal law "On Ensuring the Uniformity of Measurements", such equipment used at hazardous production facilities must go through the procedure of initial and periodic verification (before putting them into operation, as well as after repair and during use). The enterprises annually allocate several million rubles for these purposes, paying for the services of the Bashkir Center for Standardization and Metrology (BashCSM). In order to reduce production costs and expand the competence of the metrological service of "TAU PetroChem Management" LLC, in 2018 it was decided to create its own laboratory for the verification of instrumentation.

“The work was carried out in several directions: premises, equipment, personnel and documentation,” Evgeny Sysoev, chief metrologist of “TAU PetroChem Management” LLC says. - For the calibration laboratory, separate premises were allocated in workshop R-12, repairs and equipment of workplaces were carried out, calibration schemes were created. The organizational structure of the metrological service (corresponding departments of JSC “SPP”, “Sintez-Kauchuk”, “TAU PetroChem Management” LLC) has been changed and optimized, and the workflow processes have been corrected. A number of purchases of the necessary equipment (missing standards, auxiliary equipment) were made, the procedure for attestation of standards was carried out. The basis of the new laboratory was formed by the department of departmental supervision of measuring instruments and automation equipment operating at JSC “Sintez-Kauchuk”. If earlier, the specialists were responsible for the calibration and accounting of measuring instruments operated at enterprises, drawing up schedules and ensuring the timely delivery of instruments for verification and calibration, now it was supposed to add to these functions the verification of control and measuring instruments and automation equipment, for example, pressure gauges, gas detecting alarms. Therefore, the laboratory staff went through many training programs and received diplomas of professional retraining with the qualification “Specialist in Metrology”.

However, in order for the laboratory to work, it is not enough to train specialists, it is also necessary to go through the procedure of official accreditation in the national system. Typically, laboratories are certified in two stages. At the first stage - a formalized package of documents is prepared, characterizing the state of measurements in the laboratory in six main areas, at the second stage - a commission of specialists from enterprises and experts directly on site checks the compliance of the declared information with real measurement practice. All procedures were completed by the end of 2019 - the required package of documents was submitted to the Federal Accreditation Agency; during the on-site examination, full compliance of the verification laboratory with the mandatory criteria was confirmed - and in January 2020, a new division of JSC “SPP” took its place in the register of accredited objects.

At present, the specialists of the verification laboratory of JSC “SPP” perform work in a new status, but there is still a lot of work to improve the technical equipment of the unit, study new techniques and GOSTs, master new standards and measuring instruments, because even with a good reputation behind, many years of experience, and great potential, you need to work hard to compete in the new service market.