Frequently-Asked Question FAQ #213

FAQ-213: Prioritizing excavations for ECDA

Question: At what point during ECDA does one move from severe, moderate, minor to immediate, scheduled, monitored?

Answer: The categories of "severe", "moderate", or "minor" refer to the severity of indications (see Section 4.3 of NACE RP0502-2002). Each operator is responsible for determining these severities during the indirect inspection step.

"Immediate", "scheduled", or "monitored" refer to the priority for excavation (see Section 5.2 of NACE RP0502-2002). After each indication has been categorized according to its severity, the operator is responsible for determining the urgency (prioritization) of excavation of indications for direct examination (see 192.925(b)(2)(iii)).

Identified defects then must be scheduled for remediation (see 192.933(c)), or classified as "immediate", "one-year", and "monitored" repair conditions (see 192.933(d)). This classification must be done once the operator has sufficient information to "discover" remediable defects.