Analyzing, revising, and updating standardization codes and policies is an ongoing practice. Various committees and governing bodies dedicate a significant amount of time each year to ensuring that the prescribed specifications align with the current safety and logistic requirements. As an avid member and leader in many committees, Trace Scrivner, Principal Engineer, Piping & Valves for ExxonMobil, knows the intricacies involved with maintaining viable valve standards.
In Part Two of this article, Valve World Americas had the opportunity to speak with Scrivner about his experience with industrial committees, the importance of developing relationships, and how understanding how to effectively define the scope of a project can lead to more efficient standards.
By Angelica Pajkovic
Background and Career
Scrivner began his journey with the ExxonMobil team in 1998 after the completion of his BSME from Mississippi State University. At this time, Exxon had yet to merge with Mobil, though it was announced a mere few months later. Although his specific responsibilities have evolved, Scrivner has worked at ExxonMobil throughout the entirety of his ongoing career and supported downstream manufacturing facilities in the U.S., Canada, and Europe.
“I spent seven years in Baytown, Texas, supporting our U.S. refineries, then roughly two and a half years in Fairfax, Virginia, at our central engineering office, then back to Baytown for a while. I also spent time in Louisiana, Southern England, Europe, and in Calgary supporting our Canadian sites,” relayed Scrivner.
In 2017, he transitioned into a global support role as an ExxonMobil Research and Engineering Downstream Piping and Valves Principal Engineer. Two years later, in 2019, he relocated for the role, moving from Calgary to the Central Engineering office in Spring, Texas, where he remains today. In 2022, ExxonMobil aligned its business to leverage the corporation’s scale, integration technology advantages, and the skills and capabilities of its workforce. The company centralized its technology organizations and engineering, creating ExxonMobil Technology and Engineering Company (EMTEC).
“In my current role as EMTEC Piping and Valves Principal Engineer, my responsibilities range from piping and valve troubleshooting and technical support, such as piping flexibility, stress analysis, fitness for service, repair, and maintenance, to new technology identification, development, and deployment for piping and valves,” said Scrivner.
The Beginning of Relationships
Having joined ExxonMobil right after college, Scrivner entered the industry with little hands-on experience and a relatively small network. “Most of my initial relationships were with people in my immediate workgroup and around my same age and experience level,” said Scrivner. “As I moved to different organizations and work locations, my network of friends and colleagues grew, and the same was true for my initial group of friends.”
With each transition into a new role, Scrivner gained more knowledge on valves and their applications by drawing on both his immersion into his work and the interactions he had with his peers and mentors. “After almost 25 years, I have come to realize how essential establishing those initial relationships were,” expressed Scrivner. “I now have over two decades of connections with experienced individuals who I can turn to, should I have any questions. This provides me with a much broader range of information, perspective, and an opportunity to collaborate across a wide range of organizations.”
“This has become invaluable to me,” he continued, “as one of my current primary tasks is the ownership and maintenance of the ExxonMobil Approved Manufacturers List (AML) for piping and valves. Maintaining such a large equipment category requires significant collaboration with manufacturers, distributors, and contractors.”
Industry Committee Participation
After acquiring several years of experience and establishing a strong foundation of know-how, Scrivner had the opportunity to join the ASME B31.3 Process Piping Code as a member of Subgroup Design. “My first experience building significant relationships outside of ExxonMobil came in 2010 when I joined the ASME B31.3 Process Piping Code,” he stated. “I was thrilled to meet and work with the experts who were tasked with writing and reviewing the rules.”
“I thoroughly enjoy taking an active role in making decisions that help to keep our facilities safe and have welcomed the chance to lead the API 602 task force (11th edition published May 2022), as well as the task force to update Recommended Practice API 591 on valve qualifications.”
In addition to gaining a better understanding of the technical details, the ability to participate in the discussions provided Scrivner with background, context, and perspective as to why the rules are written the way they are. “I eventually moved from a participating role to a leadership role, becoming Vice Chair of Subgroup Design in 2017, and Chair in 2022.”
When Scrivner took over as the Piping and Valves Principal Engineer in 2017, he simultaneously increased his active participation in member committees. He became ExxonMobil’s voting member on the American Petroleum Institute (API) Subcommittee for Piping and Valves (SCOPV).
“As a voting member, I had the responsibility of reviewing ballots and providing input on all 15 of the valve design and testing standards (e.g., API 598, 600, 622, 624, etc.) that SCOPV `owns.’ Reviewing and providing comments for each ballot is very educational and has benefited me greatly over the years,” he relayed. “I thoroughly enjoy taking an active role in making decisions that help to keep our facilities safe and have welcomed the chance to lead the API 602 task force (11th edition published May 2022), as well as the task force to update Recommended Practice API 591 on valve qualifications.” Scrivner went on to take the role of Vice Chair of SCOPV in 2019, transitioning to the Chair role in 2022.
“One of my biggest takeaways from participating in API is the importance of collaboration in reaching a consensus with a group as large and diverse as the SCOPV,” said Scrivner. “I encourage those in the valve industry, especially end users, to get engaged and help participate in valve standards development.”
In December of 2021, Scrivner further engaged himself in the valve industry by becoming ExxonMobil’s representative for the International Oil and Gas Producers (IOGP) Subcommittee on Piping and Valves, and by joining the IOGP JIP33 task force updating the S-611 gate valve specification.
“The JIP33 is a Joint Industry Program that seeks to drive the structural reduction in project costs through standardization across a wide range of equipment categories. Since my background is primarily downstream related, it has been exciting to work with other experts who often bring significant upstream experience,” explained Scrivner. “By participating in so many committees I have had many unique learning opportunities. Not only have I expanded my network, making me privy to a wide range of information and varying perspectives, but I have also established three key principles that I rely on to this day; experience can be as good as calculations, more complicated is not always better, and the Code is not a design handbook, engineering is required.”
“I believe that the goal should be to define the scope as well as the required performance criteria, the ‘what’, while providing engineers, designers, and manufacturers with as much flexibility as possible to develop innovative, cost-effective solutions, the ‘how’. If we can establish more efficient standards, we will be better prepared for whatever obstacles arise.”
Looking Forward
There are significant ongoing changes and challenges in the global markets, and the valve industry is no exception. There are exciting new technologies in the areas of valve design, monitoring, controls, automation, testing, fugitive emissions, and leak sealing to help solve the complex problems of today, as well as the problems of tomorrow.
With these exciting technologies, there is a big push across the valve industry to reduce cost and schedule through standardization. “Based on my experience with ASME, API, and JIP33, I have learned that one of the biggest difficulties with effective standardization is scope definition. It is very difficult, if not impossible, to have a meaningful conversation on requirements if there is no alignment on the scope. Another challenge is avoiding overly prescriptive requirements,” said Scrivner. “I believe that the goal should be to define the scope as well as the required performance criteria, the ‘what’, while providing engineers, designers, and manufacturers with as much flexibility as possible to develop innovative, cost-effective solutions, the ‘how’. If we can establish more efficient standards, we will be better prepared for whatever obstacles arise,” he concluded.