BIOPROCESSING EQUIPMENT (BPE) STANDARD

This vital ASME standard serves the needs of those involved in the bioprocessing, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. The ASME BioProcessing Equipment (ASME BPE) Standard provides the requirements applicable to the design of equipment used in the bioprocessing, pharmaceutical, and personal care product industries. It covers vital aspects such as sterility and cleanability, dimensions and tolerances, surface finish, material joining, and seals. 

More specifically, the ASME BPE standard applies to components that are in contact with the product, raw materials, or product intermediates during manufacturing, development, or scale-up; as well as to systems that are a critical part of product manufacture. The later include water-for-injection (WFI), clean steam, filtration, and intermediate product storage.

“The ASME BPE Standard provides designers and process engineers with a reliable and measurable way of specifying hygienic tubes, valves and fittings for use in high purity applications such as water-for-injection, clean steam and ultrafiltration,” says BPE Staff Secretary Paul D. Stumpf. “As a result, the process of design installation, validation and maintenance will be easier to manage and should assist in minimising overall project and maintenance costs.”

This international standard is recognised in over 30 countries. Its rules provide for adoption of other ASME and related national standards, and when so referenced will become a part of the standard.

ASME BPE Committee
To promulgate this standard, the ASME BPE Committee was formed in 1990. Its membership is balanced among manufacturers, designer-constructors, equipment users, and general interest to assure a consensus is achieved. 

Reporting to the BPE Main Committee are a number of primary subcommittees. These meet separately and cover a wide range of topics: Material Joining; Surface Finish; Seals; Dimensions and Tolerances; Design Relating to Sterility and Cleanability of Equipment; General Requirements and Editorial Review; Polymers, Elastomers, and Lubricants for Cold Purified Water Systems; and Metallic Materials of Construction. In addition, Task Groups are formed to address specific assignments.

Major conferences
The BPE Committee also holds three business conferences a year. All meetings are open to the public as space will allow. A major upcoming BPE event is the 3rd Annual Bioprocess Technology Seminars & Exhibition Europe, to be held on 25-27 May 2009 in Dublin, Ireland in conjunction with the BPE Committee Meetings. Another key date to mark in your calendar is the 22nd North American equivalent of this event, which will be held in Montreal, Canada, 26-29 October.

Both these events are highly appreciated amongst designers and process engineers. “The conference is not only a great opportunity to network, it also gives attendees a chance to discuss problems and issues common to the industry and how other companies have dealt with them,” says Lindsay Wilkinson, Process Engineer, CRB.

Topics covered in the ASME BPE Standard

• General Requirements
• Design for Sterility and Cleanability
• Dimensions and Tolerances for Stainless Steel Automatic Welding and Hygienic Clamp Tube Fittings and Process Components
• Material Joining
• Stainless Steel and Higher Alloy Interior Surface Finishes
• Equipment Seals
• Polymer-Based Materials
• Compendial Water Systems and Point-of-Use Design
• Transfer Panel Design
• Heat Exchanger Bonnet Design
• Updated Vessel Design Information
• Sightglass / Lightglass Design
• Hose Assembly Design and Use
• Worldwide Accepted Dimensions and Tolerances for Standard Hygienic Face Fittings

For further information, feel free to contact BPE Staff Secretary Paul D. Stumpf (stumpfpa@asme.org)

ASME CODES AND STANDARDS –IMPACTING INDUSTRY

Testimonial from Vinçotte

“When the Belgian Government gave permit in 1974 for the construction of four new nuclear power plants, the ASME BPVC Section III was selected for the design and construction of the pressure equipment of the Nuclear Steam Supply System as the Belgian codes and standards at that time were not adapted for a nuclear installation.

However, whereas the technical requirements are followed almost strictly, the application of the ASME BPVC Section III in the Belgian context required a transposition of the administrative and organisational requirements of the code to the Belgian context. In particular more duties were assigned to the Belgian Authorised Inspection Agency (Belgian AIA) with respect to several aspects such as: the performance of QA-audits for qualifying engineering organisations, material suppliers and manufacturers, the review of stress reports, the approval of nondestructive examination qualification tests, the stamping of the equipment.
Other examples of administrative and organisational requirements that are transposed are the material certificate types, the qualification requirements for the professional engineer, and the data report form.

For the In Service Inspection (ISI) requirements, the Belgian Government imposed to follow the ASME BPVC Section XI. Its application in the Belgian context required also for this code a transposition of the administrative and organisational requirements such as the duties of the owner and its agent, the duties of the Belgian AIA, and the NIS forms.
The experience with the application of the ASME BPVC Sections III & XI transposed to the Belgian context was successful. More information can be obtained by contacting Mr Andre Weyn of AIB-Vincotte International (email: nuclear@vincotte.be).”

ASME DISCLAIMER:
The testimonials provided herein are the voluntary perspectives of individuals and their experiences or opinions and are intended for informational purposes only. They do not necessarily reflect statements, views and/or positions of ASME and have not been verified for accuracy. ASME makes no warranties or representations as to the accuracy of these statements and they are supplied without any expressed or implied warranties.

CONTRIBUTE!
This section of the ASME EMEA eUpdate is open for your comments, news and issues on the use and implementation of the ASME Codes and Standards in the EMEA region. Write a short one to two paragraphs of a maximum of 200 words answering the question: "How have you been implementing the ASME Codes and Standards, and which ones? How has it made a difference?"

This could be an excellent opportunity for you or your company / organisation to share your experience / success stories with over 27.000 mechanical engineering professionals in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. Please also enclose your photo, company logo or a company photo (jpg format, high resolution if possible). Send it to fortesc@asme.org

CONTINUING EDUCATION

A series of four ASME technical courses were held in Amsterdam on 2 - 6 March 2009. Participants had the opportunity to expand their knowledge on Section IX (Welding), Section VIII Division 1 (Pressure Vessels) and Gas Turbines.

Similarly to previous programmes in Turin and Barcelona, the four courses organised in Amsterdam were very well attended with a total of over 50 participants from 15 countries. These courses allowed participants to enjoy and benefit from a first class learning and networking experience in an international environment.

If you are interested in participating in an exclusive ASME learning experience and acquiring more knowledge and competences, visit www.asme.org/education/europe . Plan to attend our highest quality continuing education programmes

Don’t miss the training opportunities in Stockholm this coming June. Book now to benefit from the early bird fees and gain the knowledge you need on:

• ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code - Section VIII, Division 2: Pressure Vessels
• B31.1 Power Piping Design
• B31.1 Power Piping Materials, Fabrication and Examination

 To register visit: http://www.asme.org/Education/Europe/

In Partnership with ALITUR (Associazione dei Laureati in Ingegneria di Tor Vergata, Università di Roma); BSMEE (Belgian Society of Mechanical and Environmental Engineering); Coordinamento Mecanica; DMS (Danish Society of Mechanical Engineers); FABI (La Maison de l'Ingénieur); SNE (Spanish Nuclear Society).

Upcoming Courses
Don’t miss the upcoming educational opportunities in Europe to gain the necessary know-how and expertise to advance in your career!

Other Educational Activities
ASME organises a variety of educational activities worldwide. Check the upcoming dates and locations and further your knowledge and ensure the next steps in your professional future.

For the Online Educational opportunities please click here

 

Solving complex global challenges can be a puzzle. Attend ASME Turbo Expo 2009, on 8 - 12 June 2009, in Orlando, Florida, USA, to piece it all together! If it’s being considered, studied, tested or developed in the global gas turbine community, you will learn about it at Turbo Expo – the most important conference for gas turbine professionals.
Why YOU Should Come to Orlando:

• Networking
• Leading R&D
• Industry Leaders
• Targeted Leads
• Fundamental Training
• High ROI
• Cutting-Edge Technology
• Career Development
• Practical Application

To see the conference full programme, sponsorship and exhibition opportunities and to REGISTER visit: www.turboexpo.org
Special savings for ASME members and early registration discount through 11 May 2009.

Highly-focused training workshops will be held prior to the conference on 6 - 7 June:
- Basic Gas Turbine Metallurgy and Repair Technology Workshop
- Physics-Based Internal Air System Modeling
- Gas Turbine Aerothermodynamics & Performance Modeling
- Film Cooling & Technology for Gas Turbines

GE, Siemens, Mitsubishi Power Systems, and ANSYS are power package sponsors for ASME Turbo Expo 2009.  Additional sponsors include Numeca, Sulzer Metco, Parker, Calnetix, Southwest Research Institute and Solar Turbines.

 

The ASME Bioprocess Technology – Europe conference is built as an essential learning experience from which participants can take practical applications described by experts in the field.

By attending the technical seminars and industry exhibition you will benefit from:

• Presentations of real case studies from key industry players
• Interactive workshops on BPE standard
• Panel discussions
• Attendance by industry experts, top companies
• Valuable networking

For more information and to register please visit:  http://www.asmeconferences.org/bioprocesseurope09/

 

This 6-hour course is presented by ASME-IPTI, in conjunction with the MCEDD 2009 Conference.

The course provides a high level technical introduction to deepwater field development. Course content will focus on the front-end planning process, as well as outline floating and subsea system options.

Course Audience:
Anyone with limited to no experience in deepwater development basics.

Course Topics:

1. Field development planning process
2. Deepwater project development
3. Introduction to floating production systems
4. Overview of subsea systems and architecture

For more information and to register, please click here

CONFERENCE AND EVENTS

ASME EMEA Events Calendar
See all the events in EMEA and select the event you want to attend.

ASME EMEA Events: Report on WINVR Conference

Virtual became a successful Reality at WINVR Conference
in Chalon-sur-Saone, France

The WINVR Conference welcomed over 150 delegates from Europe, USA, Malaysia, Indonesia and South Africa.

“The success of the WINVR Conference exceeded all our expectations and this success is shared with our partner AFM (Association Française de Mécanique).

Jeroen van Liempd, ASME EMEA Office, Director of EMEA Operations

The WINVR Conference attracted high-level speakers from the VR industry and academics. The quality of the programme, speakers and attendance was mainly due to the efforts of our Scientific Committee. Our Conference Chairman, Dr. Samir Garbaya PhD (Image Institute - ENSAM ParisTech, France), was vital to our success. Dr. Garbaya worked relentlessly and with great enthusiasm. The members from our Scientific Committee, in particular Prof. Imre Hovarth (Delft University of Technology) and Prof. James Oliver (Iowa State University) gave the necessary credibility to attract academics to the Conference. Virtual Reality Technologies are revolutionising product development processes in a wide variety of industries. And the increase on the demand and interest is reflected on the success of the World Conference on Innovative Virtual Reality”.

The Highlights…

• The debate with global experts on the scientific and technological challenges and the barriers to developing virtual reality
• Update on the future trends and research focuses, and the best industrial practices and applications
• Panel Discussion on “Virtual Reality Implementation Successes” with Jerry Duncan (Deere and Company), Holger Schmidt (EADS Innovation Works), Professor Bruno Burbaum (Hochshule Manheim), and Michael Russo (Tridelity Display Solutions)
• Exhibition space with the latest solutions and tools
  Antycip – ART – Barco – Codamotion – Immersion – Le2i – Mental Images – Onsitu - Tridelity – Virtuofacto
• Networking and Gala Dinner at the Château Saint Michel (sponsored by Mental Images)

Organised and Co-Sponsored by		Sponsors		Supporting Partners

DISTRICT AND COMMUNITY NEWS

The United Kingdom and Ireland Leadership met on 7 February 2009 in London. Various topics were discussed during the meeting such as the Leadership Training Conference, the membership survey and upcoming section events. The ASME President & Executive Director will visit Europe on March 2009 and will have a meeting with the section leadership.

The ASME Leadership Training Conference (LTC) will take place in Los Angeles, USA, on 5 - 8 March 2009. To reinforce the European presence, the UK & I Section will have Raman Sharma, the Section treasurer, attending this event. Jian Dai, the Section Vice Chair, identified a student who will also attend the conference.

Incentive Competition
As an incentive for European young/student ASME members, Memis Acar, Chair of the UK & I Section, took the initiative to organise an oral competition open to all the District H Students. The winner of this competition will then be sent to International Finals. This will be an opportunity for ASME members located outside the USA to take part in the competitions organised in the USA.
Parallel to this oral competition, the UK & I Section is planning to organise various events throughout 2009 and also 2010:

• The Intelligent Mechanisms and Robotics Conference in June 2009
• Industry/Technical visits later in 2009
• The Early Career Conference in 2010

For more information about the ASME Sections and the UK & I Section, please visit:
http://www.asme.org/Communities/EMEA/Membership/Europe.cfm
http://www.asme.org/Communities/EMEA/Membership/United_Kingdom_Ireland.cfm

 

If you wish to know more about ASME and its activities or are interested in becoming a member, please click here

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