Professional Training and Consultation

API 653 Preparatory

GUIDELINES FOR API 653 CERTIFICATION EXAMINATION
Contents
1. Examination Scheme

2. Distribution of Marks

3. Salient Features of the Examination

4. How to Prepare for the Examination

5. Tips for Maximizing the Score

6. Time Management During the Examination

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1. EXAMINATION SCHEME
As per the present scheme, API 653 examination is oneday, 8-hour, 2 session examination, comprising of prel
unchs
es
s
i
on(
4hour
s
)f
oropen-bookex
ami
nat
i
onand
post-l
unch s
es
s
i
on (
4 hour
s
) f
or cl
os
ed-book

examination.
There are a total of 150 questions carrying 1 mark each
(total of 150 marks), split into open-book (approximately
50 questions) and closed-book (approximately 100
questions). The distribution of 50 and 100 questions
respectively
for
open-book
and
closed-book
examinations is approximate; however the total is always
150 questions.
Each question is multiple choice questions with given 4
possible choices. Only one is the correct choice. The
candidate has to pick-up the correct choice and indicate
the same on separate answer sheet. The answer sheet
along with the question paper should be returned back to
the Supervisor. The correct answer is to be indicated by
blackening (filling) the relevant circle by a pencil. There is
no set passing percentage. However a score of about 95
to 105 out of 150 is a good estimate of passing score.
Please note the following:
Fill only one circle out of four given
Fill the circle fully and completely. Half or less than
half blackened circle area is not reckoned for
answer.
Never indicate the answers by ticking ()t
hecircles.
There is no negative marking.

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Dur
i
ng t
he
open-book
s
es
s
i
on,you ar
e per
mi
t
t
ed t
o
r
ef
ert
ot
hecodesandot
herdocument
sasperEf
f
ect
i
vi
t
y
S
heet
s

.Code pages may be t

abbed,hi
ghl
i
ght
ened,
underlined or notes in margin of the pages are accepted.
Additional new pages to codes are not accepted. Always
carry the following to the exam hall.
2 Nos. B or 2B pencils and eraser
Non-programmable calculator
Photo identity (passport, driving license, etc.)
Exam confirmation letter
Be present in the exam hall at least 15 minutes prior to
scheduled start of exam. The supervisor announces
important instructions during this period. Do not miss them.
Now relax and attempt the exam calmly. Time is always
more than enough.
Good luck, friends!

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2.

DISTRIBUTION OF MARKS

As per the Effectivity Sheet, there are total 7 codes prescribed

for examination. However, all of them are not equally important
and do not therefore require equal emphasis. About 50
percent questions are asked from one code API 653 which is
hardly 40 pages, while all other 8 codes contribute 50% marks
which are more than 1,000 pages. Following distribution
scheme will help the participant to decide how much time he
should spend for each document during preparation.

S.N.
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8

Code
API 653
API 650
ASME Sec. IX
ASME Sec. V
API RP 575
API RP 651
API RP 652
General Knowledge

Approx. Weightage
(in %)

Questions
Asked Out of
Total 150

45 50
15 18
10 -12
10 12
5
3
3
2

68 75
22 - 27
15 - 18
15 - 18
7
4
5
3

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3.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE EXAMINATION

As stated earlier, the examination comprises of open book and

closed book parts. The closed-book examination includes such
questions which the inspector is normally expected to know
without refer
r
i
ng t
he Codes
,i
.
e.
,t
he ques
t
i
onsar
e
awar
enes
s
l
evel
ques
t
i
ons
.
Whenever you find a very definitive or quantitative statement in
body of the Code, a closed book question may be expected
oni
t
.T
hus
,t
hebas
i
cr
equi
r
ement
sofacode,s
peci
f
i
cDOand
DON
T
s
t
at
ement
s
, i
mpor
t
ant quant
i
f
i
ed s
t
at
ement
s
,
important definitions and well-known inspection principles will
constitute such questions.
Where the student is required to refer to the diagrams or
formulas or tables or graphs and curves from the Codes, it will
al
waysbe an
open-bookques
t
i
on.Al
lcal
cul
at
i
on or
i
ent
ed
ques
t
i
ons wi
l
l nor
mal
l
y be open-book
t
ype. T
he Code
information which is not short and crisp, (i.e., large paragraphs,
several descriptive statements clubbed together) will normally
beas
kedi
n
open-book
par
t
.Her
et
hepar
t
i
ci
panti
sex
pect
ed
not to remember the information but should know where to find
it in the body of the Code.
The questions asked in closed book part are straight forward
statements directly taken form Code without much of the
modifications and therefore are easy to answer. To answer
open-book questions, one only needs to know where to find
the answer in the code and therefore tabbing of Code pages,
highlighting the paragraphs or additional explanatory notes in
page margins is useful for saving time. Closed-book part of the
exam (100 marks) can be finished in hardly 2 to 2 hour
t
hough4hour
sar
eal
l
ot
t
ed.Whi
l
e
open-book
par
t(
50mar
ks
)
takes a little longer and may require all the 4 hours that are
allotted.

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4.

HOW TO PREPARE FOR EXAM:

If yourai
mi
sonl
yt
o getcer
t
i
f
i
ed
,i
.
e.
,t
o obt
ai
nj
us
tar
ound
100-110 marks, detailed study of documents nos. 1 to 4 above
(Chapter 2) may be adequate. Additionally, one should try to
r
ememberal
lt
he Poi
nt
st
o Recal
l
and r
evi
ew t
he mock
examinations attempted during the Preparatory Course. If two
or more participants from same organization are appearing for
exam, then joint discussions and one putting question to
another and vice versa has been found very effective during
preparation. Other 5 codes (i.e., Serial No. 5 to 9) may be
studied in detail if there is additional preparation time
avai
l
abl
e.Anover
al
l
awar
enes
s
l
evelknowl
edge oft
hes
e5
Codes may be okay.
If your objective is to get certified and also to obtain a good
score, (say 125+) then it is worthwhile to study the 5 Codes
(Serial No. 5 to 9). However, please remember that study of API
653 hast
o be t
hor
oughand t
ot
al
, while study of API 650,
ASME Sec. IX and ASME Sec. V should be such that it can cover
t
he t
opi
csment
i
oned i
nt
he BodyofKnowl
edge
.T
he l
as
t5
Codes (Serial No. 5 to 9) should be read at least once and note
t
he i
mpor
t
ant poi
nt
s
. A ver
y t
hor
ough s
t
udy of t
hes
e
document
showeverwi
l
lnotr
es
ul
ti
n
gai
ns
commens
ur
at
e
with the efforts put in.
If you are about a month away from examination, read all the
Codes at least once and concentrate on highlighted text in the
Codes and also try to solve the question bank.
If you are about two weeks away from the exam, concentrate
on highlighted text as well as the mock examinations
conducted during the course. In the last week of preparation,
focus on Points to Recall and mock exams.
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5.

TIPS FOR MAXIMIZING THE SCORE

Remembert
he
10T
i
ps
cover
ed dur
i
ng t
he pr
epar
at
or
y
course. Following additional tips will be useful.
a.

There are only 5 or 6 important definitions from

Chapter 3 of API 653. Normally 3 to 4 definitions
are asked in closed-book exam.

b.

From Chapter 4 of API 653, nearly 15 questions

are asked (7 to 8 closed book and 7 to 8 open
book). Concentrate more on clauses 4.2.1.2,
4.2.3.1, 4.2.4.3 to 4.3.7.

c.

Chapter 5, knowing figure 5-2 and only 3

clauses 5.3.5 to 5.3.7 is enough.

d.

From Chapter 6, about 10 questions are asked.

It is only 3 page chapter. Particularly pay
attention to Inspection intervals.

e.

From Chapter 7 and Chapter 8, generally 2 or 3

questions are asked.

f.

Chapter 9, about 7 to 8 questions are asked.

Concentrate more on Figure 9-1 and hot tap
(Clause 9.14).

g.

Chapter 10, about 3 or 4 questions are asked

and t
hos
egener
al
l
yopenbookt
ype.S
oyou
can refer to the code and get answers.

h.

Chapter 11, it is hardly 8 to 10 lines chapter but

1 or 2 questions are asked.

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i.

Chapter 12, about 7 to 8 questions are asked.

Normally the questions are on NDT. The
participant is expected to know that NDT
procedures shall be as per relevant article of
ASME Sec. V, the NDT extent shall be as per API
650 or 653 while acceptance criteria is as per
API 650 or ASME Sec. VIII, Div. 1. he should also
know that qualification standard of NDT
personnel is ASNT SNT-TC 1A (or API 650). This
chapter is better explained in Appendix F (API
653) as NDE Summary or in Appt. (API 650)

j.

Chapter 13, generally 1 question covering

name plate stamping is asked.

k.

Appendices: App. A. Here note that API 650

was introduced in 1961 (prior to this was API
12C) and seventh edition (1980) onwards the
joint efficiency (E) is taken as 1.
App. B: The important topics are number of
settlement monitoring points (Figure B-1, B-2)
and formula B = 0.37 R (R in feet while B is in
inches)
App. C: This being item wise inspection
checklist concerning what to check where.
Normally, 1 or 2 open book questions are set.
No need to remember this table.
App. D: Note certification requirement (Clauses
D.2 and D.5)

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l.

From API 650. Normally, two questions are

asked on materials. (Fig. 2-1, Table 2-3, Table 24 and Clause 2.8). Usually 5 to 6 questions are
asked on Chapter 3 concerning shell, bottom
and roof thickness, attachment welds. From
Chapter 5, normally 2 or 3 questions will be
asked. Focus on weld reinforcement,
undercuts, use of low-H electrodes and
inspection pressure for pad-test and vacuum
box test. From Chapter 6, generally 3 questions
covering number of radiographs (Fig. 6-1) and
acceptance standards and personnel
qualifications are asked.

m.

Since there is no negative marking, there is no

harm in making guess. Generally, do not go
against your first impulse, unless you are sure
you were wrong in the first place. If some
questions are still remaining unanswered mark
t
heans
wer
syou
f
eel
maybe right. Do not
leave any question unanswered.

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6.

TIME MANAGEMENT DURING EXAM:

Bot
h openand cl
os
edbooks
es
s
i
onsar
e 4hour
seach.
This means about 25 to 28 questions per hour for closed book
and 12 to 15 questions per hour for open book. For proper
time management following are useful suggestions.
a) You may start from Question No. 1 and proceed. If after
1 hour you feel that you are maintaining the required
progress as mentioned above proceed serially.
b) If, however, you are behind the required rate, start
jumping the questions, i.e., start attempting those
questions you can answer, deleting whose answer you
do not know. Proceed like this till the end. Do not leave
any question unanswered whose answer you know.
c) T
hen come backt
o del
et
edques
t
i
onsand attempt
t
hem us
i
ngyour
f
eel
f
act
or
.Goonl
i
ket
hi
st
i
l
ls
ayl
as
t
10-15 minutes are remaining.
d) If there are still some questions where you have no clue
at all just mark the answer at random in last 10-15
minutes. This may give you few chance marks. Do not
leave any question unattempted.
e) After completion of writing exam, if you have still time
(which you normally have) you may go through your
answers just to check quickly if you have filled a wrong
circle.

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7. TEST TAKING TIPS

Don
tr
eadt
oomuchinto a question. Do not get too
elaborate and ruin your answer.
If two choices are very similar, the answer is probably not
either of them.
If two choices are opposite, one of then is probably
correct.
Don
tgoagai
ns
tyourf
i
r
s
ti
mpulse unless you are very
sure you were wrong.
Check for negatives and other words that can throw you
off.
T
heans
weri
sus
ual
l
ywr
ongi
fi
tcont
ai
nsal
l
,
al
ways
,

never
,
ornone.

The answer has a great chance of being right if it has

s
omet
i
mes
,
pr
obabl
y,
ors
ome.

Whenyoudon
tknow t
heans
wer
,l
ookf
ort
hewr
ongones
.
If you are supposed to read a long passage and then answer
questions about it, read the question first. That will tell you
what you are looking for and affect the way you read the
passage.
Be suspicious of choices that seem obvious.
Don
tgi
veuponaques
t
i
ont
hat
,af
t
eroner
eadi
ng,
seems complicated. Looking at it from a different angle,
restating it in your own words, drawing a picture, or
br
eaki
ngi
tdown,et
c.
,mayhel
pyour
eal
i
z
et
hati
t

snotas
hard as you thought.

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