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Industrial Insights & News
Technical guides, industry standards, project case studies, and Caribbean industrial insights — written by TAS Welder Mechanics’ certified welders and engineers serving Sint Maarten and the Caribbean.
API · ASME · AWS Standards
Maintenance & Safety Guides
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Caribbean Industrial Insights
Regional industry news, tropical corrosion challenges, island logistics, and refinery operations across Sint Maarten and the Caribbean.
Industry Standards & Compliance
Plain-English guides on API 650, ASME IX, AWS D1.1, OSHA, and ISO norms applied to welding, pressure vessels, and tank inspection.
Maintenance & Safety Guides
Step-by-step how-to guides, inspection checklists, and preventive maintenance procedures for rotating equipment, pipelines, and industrial machinery.
Project Case Studies
Real-world project walkthroughs: emergency repairs, custom fabrications, plant shutdowns, and heavy lift operations across Sint Maarten and the region.
Latest Articles
Maintenance & Safety Guides
How to read a crane load chart
A step-by-step guide to reading a crane load chart: boom length and radius, gross and net capacity, deductions, the bold line and...
Industry Standards & Compliance
NDT for welds: VT, PT, MT, UT and RT compared
A comparison of the five main NDT methods for welds, VT, PT, MT, UT and RT: what each finds, its limits and...
Industry Standards & Compliance
Hurricane-rated solar mounting: wind loads, steel frames and corrosion
What failed on solar arrays after the 2017 hurricanes and how a rebuild hardened the steel frame, fasteners and clamps, with the...
Maintenance & Safety Guides
Industrial coatings for Caribbean marine environments: epoxy, polyurethane and zinc
How marine coating systems protect steel in the Caribbean: ISO 12944 categories, what zinc, epoxy and polyurethane each do, surface preparation and...
Industry Standards & Compliance
ASME B31.3 process piping: what the code requires, from design to testing
What ASME B31.3 requires for process piping: scope, fluid service categories, weld examination, hydrostatic and pneumatic testing, qualification and records.
Maintenance & Safety Guides
Preventive vs predictive maintenance in industrial plants: which one to use
The difference between preventive and predictive maintenance, what each saves according to DOE guidance, when predictive fails to pay and how to...
Maintenance & Safety Guides
Rotating equipment failures: what breaks pumps and compressors, and why
The common causes of pump and rotating equipment failure, how to tell them apart from vibration signatures and what a Caribbean plant...
Maintenance & Safety Guides
Refinery turnaround planning: a six-step checklist
A six-step checklist for refinery turnaround planning: scope, scope freeze, work packages, long-lead items, day-one readiness and review, with published lead times.
Industry Standards & Compliance
Storage tank secondary containment: dikes, berms and liners
What secondary containment is for a storage tank, how the capacity is sized, the main ways to build it and how to...
Maintenance & Safety Guides
Repair or replace a storage tank? A decision guide
Repair or replace a storage tank? The inspection data you need, the factors that favor each route and an example of the...
Industry Standards & Compliance
API 653 inspection intervals: how often a storage tank must be inspected
API 653 inspection intervals explained: monthly routine checks, formal external inspections every 5 years at most, and internal inspections set by corrosion...
Industry Standards & Compliance
Hydrostatic testing of a storage tank: procedure, water and settlement checks
How a storage tank hydrostatic test works under API 650: fill levels, filling rates, six settlement readings, water quality and leak checks.
Industry Standards & Compliance
How an API 650 storage tank is built: fabrication and erection step by step
How an API 650 storage tank is built in seven stages, from foundation and plates to inspection and the hydrostatic test. Step-by-step...
Industry Standards & Compliance
Storage tank types: fixed roof, floating roof and internal floating roof
Fixed roof, external floating roof and internal floating roof storage tanks compared. An internal floating roof cuts evaporation by 60 to 99%...
Caribbean Industrial Insights
How to choose an industrial welding contractor in the Caribbean
How to choose an industrial welding contractor in the Caribbean: a 5-point checklist covering certifications, WPS/PQR, inspection, mobilization and red flags.
Industry Standards & Compliance
Structural steel connections: bolted vs welded
Structural steel connections: bolted (A325/A490) vs welded (AWS D1.1), shear vs moment, common joints, gusset plates and inspection.
Industry Standards & Compliance
Structural steel grades explained: A36, A992, A572 and A500
Structural steel grades explained: A36, A992, A572, A500 and A588. Yield, tensile, weldability, mill certificates and how to choose the right grade.
Industry Standards & Compliance
API 650 vs 620 vs 653: which tank standard you need
Differences between API 650 (atmospheric), API 620 (low pressure, 15 psi) and API 653 (inspection and repair) with diagrams and a decision...
Industry Standards & Compliance
Pipe welder (6G): what it is and when you need one
What a pipe welder is, what 6G means, when you need one certified and what to ask for (ASME IX, API, 6G...
Caribbean Industrial Insights
How to hire an industrial welder in the Caribbean
A guide to hiring a certified industrial welder in the Caribbean: WPQ, AWS D1.1, ASME IX, welder types and a hiring checklist.
Maintenance & Safety Guides
Welding positions explained: from 1G to 6G
A guide to welding positions 1G to 6G: flat, horizontal, vertical, overhead and pipe (5G, 6G), groove vs fillet, and welder qualification.
Industry Standards & Compliance
Structural steel shapes: types, profiles and uses
Structural steel shapes explained: W, S, HP, C, L, HSS and plate. What each profile does, how they're named, and how to...
Industry Standards & Compliance
How to achieve quality welds: 10 keys
The 10 keys to achieving quality welds: preparation, consumables, parameters, technique, heat input, inspection, PPE and following the WPS.
Industry Standards & Compliance
What is structural steel? A complete guide
What structural steel is, its grades (ASTM A36, A992, A572), the shapes (W-beam, HSS) and where industry uses it. A complete guide.
Written by Certified Industrial Professionals
Every article on this site is produced by TAS Welder Mechanics’ in-house team — certified welders, mechanical engineers, and plant maintenance specialists with hands-on experience in Caribbean industrial operations. We don’t publish theory; we publish what works in the field.
✓ AWS Certified Welders
✓ ASME-Qualified Procedures
✓ API 650 Tank Experience
✓ Sint Maarten Based
✓ Caribbean Industrial Projects
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