Control Valve Packing Follower Failure in Cold Service

The authors will detail the incident of a control valve packing follower failure in cold service. While attempting a repair, the follower failed on a process service @ 465 psig / -150 degrees Fahrenheit which was eminent based on an operations / maintenance action. The failure potential of failing without any interaction was highly possible due to the broken follower.

Some of the topics that will be covered by the authors are:

1. The root cause analysis findings from the incident.

2. The immediate corrective actions taken as a result of the findings.

3. The long term corrective action items and the path forward to implement them.