Summary
Aquiles Aguilar is a certified inspection professional and welding inspector with 20+ years of experience in the petrochemical industry. He leads inspection activities for fixed equipment and piping across midstream and downstream facilities, validating repairs, supporting quality assurance, and preparing detailed findings and recommendations. His background includes chemical process unit inspection, turnaround and maintenance scope development, risk mitigation, reliability support, and collaboration with engineering and operations teams. He has directed NDT/NDE crews and special emphasis inspections covering corrosion under insulation, corrosion under fireproofing, positive material identification, and small bore connections. An Emergency Response Team member for 9 years, he works effectively in leadership, independent, team-based, remote, and high-pressure environments.
Qualifications and Training
- API 510 Certification 38378 — Original Certification Date: July 31, 2010
- API 570 Certification 35560 — Original Certification Date: July 31, 2009
- API 653 Certification 64444 — Original Certification Date: December 31, 2015
- Certified Welding Inspector (CWI), CWI Certification 08090281 — Original Certification Date: September 1, 2008
- Federal Aviation Administration - Remote Pilot — Original Certification Date: July 27, 2023
Work Experience
May 2023 – Present
FREELANCE (Various clients)
- Led Inspector coverage of fixed equipment and piping activities.
- Validated and accepted repairs.
- Ensured leak-tight seating and structural reliability in high pressure applications.
- Conducted inspections of midstream and downstream facilities and related infrastructure.
- Documented inspection findings and prepared detailed reports and recommendations.
- Supervised and provided guidance to NDT Technicians.
- Collaborated with clients to address findings and ensure operational safety.
- Reviewed and signed package completion.
- Performed final quality assurance assessments.
- Partnered with quality control to ensure quality of work.
- Consulted with contractors on welding requirements, procedures, and quality control.
- Generated repair reports and recommendations of discovery work.
- Collaborated with unit inspectors and engineering to provide solutions to findings.
Apr 2014 – May 2023
LyondellBasell Chemical Company
Senior Unit Inspector
- Inspected various chemical process units at both Equistar and Lyondell facilities.
- Collaborated closely with Mechanical engineers to mitigate risk and provide solutions.
- Facilitated Turnaround and Maintenance scope development and execution.
- Administered inspection lookahead and worked with the Production Maintenance Coordinator to execute work.
- Analyzed non-destructive testing data to ensure mechanical integrity of piping and equipment.
- Coordinated and directed NDE crews.
- Authored equipment deferrals and created SAP notifications for repairs and inspections utilizing Meridium APM.
- Directed PSV inspections, deferrals, and permanent frequency changes.
- Followed API 510, API 570, and API 653 repair and alteration recommendations to completion.
- Reviewed and approved external inspections.
- Generated repair recommendations for piping and fixed equipment.
- Partnered in the area optimization team to provide inspection support for reliability performance, concerns, and top threats.
- Evaluated inspection requirements for capital projects and proposed alterations.
- Developed CUF repair scope for assigned operating units.
- Served as an Emergency Response Team member for 9 years.
Aug 2009 – Apr 2014
TPI AGENCY
Program API Inspector
- Executed special emphasis inspections focused on CUI, CUF, PMI, and small bore connections.
- Generated inspection recommendations of findings.
- Refined P&IDs and updated inspection data.
- Directed NDE, scaffolding, and insulation crews for special emphasis inspections.
- Performed QA/QC for API 510 and API 570 repairs.
Aug 2008 – Aug 2009
Austin Industrial
Certified Welding Inspector
- Served as Lead Certified Welding Inspector for Turnaround.
- Collaborated with Turnaround and Maintenance activities.
- Reviewed and approved welding procedures and qualifications.
- Directed non-destructive testing crews, heat treatment, and hydrostatic tests.
- Evaluated and approved non-destructive test data and witnessed hydrostatic tests.
- Evaluated and closed fabrication packages.
Jun 2004 – Jul 2006
Haliburton
Welding Supervisor
- Oversaw welding activities to ensure compliance.
- Held Department of Defense clearance to support the needs of the US Military.
- Convoyed to various camps.
- Supported clearance for third country nationals.
- Procured materials in bulk from US suppliers needed for support.
- Coordinated welding crews to maintain quality and productivity.
- Evaluated and closed fabrication packages.
Jun 1998 – May 2004
Austin Industrial
Single Hand Combination Welder
- Ensured weld quality met code standards.
- Contributed to turnaround and maintenance activities.
- Facilitated hot tap installations and code repairs of various equipment.
- Used various hand tools for fabrication and repairs.
- Collaborated with fitters and equipment operators to execute assigned projects.
- Partnered with Boilermakers to assemble equipment and piping.
- Inspected all work for compliance with job specifications.
- Identified deficiencies as necessary and supervised corrective actions.
Languages
Skills
- Fixed Equipment Inspection
- Piping Inspection
- Welding Inspection
- Welding Supervision
- NDT/NDE Coordination
- Turnaround and Maintenance Inspection
- Repair Inspection
- Quality Assurance / Quality Control
- Risk-Based Inspection (RBI)
- Corrosion Inspection
- Meridium APM
- SAP
- Ultra Pipe
- ASME
- NACE Basic Corrosion
- GTAW
- SMAW
- FCAW
- GMAW
- Hillier Film Interpretation
- Microsoft Office
- Adobe
Commodities
- Fixed Equipment
- Piping
- Small Bore Connections