What goes into a storage tank turnover package
An above-ground storage tank turnover package documents that the tank was fabricated, erected, welded, examined and tested in accordance with the contract and the applicable code. Typical contents include material test reports for shell, bottom, roof and annular plates (usually EN 10204 3.1), welding documentation (WPS, PQR and welder qualifications) with the weld map, NDE results per the examination plan (radiography of shell seams, vacuum-box testing of bottom welds, magnetic-particle or penetrant testing where required), the foundation and settlement survey, the hydrostatic test report with the associated tank-settlement measurements, calibration and tank-capacity data where in scope, drawings (engineering and as-built), and the certification and as-built records. The exact scope depends on the tank size, service and the client's turnover requirements.
Normative context: API 650, API 653 and EN 14015
New welded above-ground storage tanks for oil and similar service are most often built to API 650, while EN 14015 is the European standard for site-built vertical steel tanks; API 653 governs inspection, repair, alteration and reconstruction of tanks already in service. These codes set the requirements for materials, weld examination, the hydrostatic test and the settlement criteria that the turnover documentation must demonstrate. Welding qualification follows ASME Section IX or the relevant European standards. An MDB platform should mirror what the chosen code and contract require — it should not redefine the acceptance criteria or the inspection regime.
Why a generic document workflow falls short
Tank projects combine shop-fabricated and field-erected work, with material traceability across many plates and a weld examination programme that spans radiography, vacuum-box and other methods. Add the foundation survey, the hydrotest and the settlement measurements, and the documentation set becomes large and milestone-driven. Reconciling it in spreadsheets and folders works until a plate certificate goes missing, a radiograph is filed against the wrong seam, or the hydrotest package is assembled before the last NDE report is signed — problems that typically surface at turnover, under schedule pressure.
How MDB Builder helps
MDB Builder gives a tank fabricator a sector-specific structure organised the way a tank turnover package is reviewed — by component (bottom, shell courses, roof), by examination type and by test. Plate suppliers and NDE subcontractors upload directly into the sections they own, without an account. Every document is tracked with its revision status (IFR / IFA / Approved), and the platform assembles the bookmarked turnover package — cover, index, weld map, certificates, NDE reports, settlement survey and hydrotest — automatically, rebuilding it when a revision lands. The client or inspector reviews it online and approves it with a single action.
What MDB Builder does not do
MDB Builder does not design tanks, does not perform settlement or shell-thickness calculations, and does not replace the responsibilities of the authorised inspector, the NDE Level III or the API-certified tank inspector. It is a documentation workflow platform: it gives the fabricator the structure, supplier collaboration and PDF assembly that a modern tank turnover package needs, while the engineering, welding, examination and inspection content comes from the parties qualified to produce it.