CAM-327

The flange was opened before the line was isolated

Mid-morning at the pipe rack. An operator in a yellow hard hat has unbolted a flange and swung the cover open to one side. A white plume of vapor rises from the joint in front of the pipe. On the ground below lie the wrenches and the tool box. Nowhere in the frame is there a blind fitted, nor any isolation put in place before opening.

CAM-327 · FLANGE BREAK · NO ISOLATION FITTED

What IRIS understands

What it recognizes in this scene

flange opened without isolation
operator in a yellow hard hat
plume of vapor from the joint
valve on the line
tools on the ground

What this camera measures

An alert says something’s happening. The reading says how much.

1people on the job
2 mintime the flange has been open
40 stime with vapor in view
0isolations fitted in view
10:07time of the opening

The figures on this screen are an example from the illustration, not any client’s measurement.

The rule

You decide once. IRIS applies it always.

a flange is opened without the isolation having been seen fitted on that line first

Then

alert the work permit holder
save the video from the first bolt loosened
log the sequence of steps with their times in the permit record

The instruction that set it up«Tell me if anyone opens a flange on this line without the isolation having been seen fitted first.»

What changes

What changes for whoever answers for the plant

Order matters more than speed. Opening before isolating is what turns a routine job into a release. Here the alert goes out while the vapor is still coming, not at tomorrow’s meeting. It carries the video from the first nut loosened, so the responsible person sees the whole sequence and knows which step was skipped. Fixing it in that minute costs almost nothing.

What people usually ask

Does IRIS know what’s coming out of the joint?

No. A camera sees that something is coming out and sees the plume grow. Whether it’s steam, gas or product is for the process and the plant detectors to say. IRIS contributes the picture, the minute and the sequence of what was done before opening.

And if the isolation was fitted outside the frame?

Then the alert is closed and recorded with its reason. A camera can only assert what it has seen in its own frame, and that’s worth saying out loud. That’s why the alert carries the video: so whoever reviews it can check in ten seconds whether the step was done.

Does this replace the work permit?

No. The permit is run by the plant and still rules. IRIS works alongside it: it puts a picture and a time on each step, so the permit stops being only a signed paper and gains proof of what actually happened.

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