Reference Documents & Area of Examination

In this module, you shall learn about:

Prequalification and area of exam

API 580 – Body of Knowledge

Reference documents

Exam Tips

Prequalification and area of exam questions

Questions on the exam are based on the API RP 580 Elements of a Risk-Based Inspection Program, 4th Edition (2023).

The exam is 3.25 hours long and there are 90 questions, of which only 80 are scored.

The remaining 10 are pretest, which are not scored.

Scored and non scored questions are shuffled and unmarked, so, you need to answer all questions.

If you hold a current API 510, 570 or 653 certification, you shall automatically qualify to take the API 580 otherwise please refer to the table below prior to submitting an application.

The minimum experience required MUST be documented on your application and should have been acquired within the last 10 years.

Area of examination scores

You are scored for your performance in the following areas during the examination:

Purpose and Scope

Risk Determination, Assessment, Management and Reassessment through Inspection and Other Activities

Determining and Assessing Damage Mechanisms, Failure Modes, POF and COF

Personnel and Documentation

Risk Assessment and RBI

Planning and Data Information Collection for RBI

Body of Knowledge

The API 580 Risk Based Inspection certification exam tests the individual’s knowledge and expertise in the field of Risk Based Inspection.

Typical API 580 Exam Score Card 

You shall be familiar with the following activities:

Planning the RBI Assessment.

Data and Information Collection.

Assessing Probability of Failure.

Assessing Consequence of Failure.

Risk Determination, Assessment and Management.

Risk Management with Inspection Activities.

Other Risk Mitigation Activities.

Reassessment and Updating.

Roles, Responsibilities, Training and Qualifications.

Documentation and record-keeping.

You may note that the ‘’Area of examination’’ is exactly aligned with the ‘’Body of Knowledge’’ or what is expected from an API 580 Inspector to know.

The following modules presented in our present e-learning course shall cover the body of knowledge and more.

Module 1: Exam and Study tips

Module 2: Body of Knowledge and Exam Tips

Module 3: Scope, references, Terms & Definitions

Module 4: Basic Risk Assessment Concepts; Introduction to Risk-Based Inspection;

Module 5: Planning the RBI Assessment; Data and Information Collection for RBI Assessment;

Module 6: Damage Mechanisms and Failure Modes; Assessing Probability of Failure;

Module 7: Assessing Consequence of Failure; Risk Determination, Assessment, and Management;

Module 8: Risk Management with Inspection Activities; Other Risk Mitigation Activities;

Module 9: Roles, Responsibilities, Training, and Qualifications; RBI Documentation and Recordkeeping;

Module 10: Reassessment and Updating RBI Assessments; Summary of Risk-Based Inspection Pitfalls;

Module 11: Highlights of API RP 580

Module 12: Flashcards

Module 13: 12 sets of mock exams to cover the important topics within the body of knowledge plus a quiz.

Module 14: Hand outs (Downloadable)

Our API 580 course includes mock exam questions that are specifically aimed at sharing with you RBI concepts and knowledge.

Our course is neither intended to supply you with the mere facts and figures to memorize nor API exam questions intends to verify such capability.

After all, what is the point of memorizing when you can easily find them in the relevant document?

Here is how the course is structured: 

Module 1- explains basic facts about what you should expect on exam day.

Module 2 – explains body of knowledge, reference recommended practice and exam tips.

Modules 3 through 10 – explains API RP 580 in detail; Introduction to RBI, Planning and Data Collection, Damage Mechanisms and Probability of Failure, Consequence of Failure and Risk Management, Risk Mitigation and Management, Reassessment, Responsibilities & Record Keeping.

Module 11 – Highlights of API RP 580 Risk Based Inspection, 4th Edition (2023).

Module 12 – 41 sets of flash cards that highlight important terms and should be treated as potential exam question material.

Module 13 – 1000 questions within 12 sets of mock exam questions (2 Hours Q & A).

Module 14 – Hand outs (Downloadable)

Reference Codes and Standards

API 580 is noted as the only reading material for the exam.

However, the following codes and reference titles need to be memorized, because API may wish to verify whether you know which code and RP (Recommended Practice) to refer to for a specific issue. For example, you should know that:

API 581 is the RP for RBI methodology or RBI techniques while API 579 is for Fitness For Service (FFS) assessment.

Remember, ASME VIII, ASME B31.3 and API 650 are the construction code while API 510, API 570 and API 653 are the inspection codes used during operation. They are all designated as ‘’Codes’’ which means they are mandatory.

Also remember that welding procedures and welder qualification are prepared as per the ASME IX code and NDE procedures are prepared as per ASME V code, however, the acceptance criteria are as per above construction codes (ASME VIII, ASME B31.3 and API 650).

Body of Knowledge and Scoring Area

Exam Tips

• Exam tip 1: There is no negative marking; therefore, it is advisable to answer all the questions. You can increase your chances by narrowing down the possible correct answers by striking off the obvious wrong choices. During the exam, hold the mouse on possible wrong answers and right click. This would strike them off helping you to concentrate on the remaining possible answers.

• Exam tip 2: All API questions are multi choice (4 possible answers). API never uses terms such as ‘’ none of the above’ or ‘all of the above’ as possible answer.

• Exam tip 3: Remember that all questions carry equal mark. For example, a simple question asking for symbol of Magnesium (Mg) or Manganese (Mn) has equal mark as that of a half a page long question. Although, time management should not be an issue because the exam is 3.25 hours or 195 minutes long for 90 questions, that is, an average of 2 minutes per question. Nevertheless, before ending the exam, you may wish to set aside some time for reviewing all the questions once again or at least review those question that you are in doubt.  Hence, it is recommended to flag off those questions that are taking considerable time and come back to them at the end.

• Exam tip 4: When solving the doubtful questions, try to understand as why a particular answer may be right while the other three given answers should be wrong. Eliminate wrong answers to increase your chances of picking the correct answer

• Exam tip 5: Please note that sometimes the wrong answer is quite a valid statement, but it is the wrong answer simply because it is either not relevant to the question or the question asked is in negative form (NOT). Hence, it is very important that you carefully read and understand the question.

• Exam tip 6: Some API exam questions contain irrelevant information. This is not aimed to confuse you but to verify whether you can differentiate between relevant and irrelevant information in an actual scenario.

• Exam tip 7: Some questions are solely based on your experience as an inspector. API calls them ‘’practical questions’’. Remember that all certifications require certain level of experience in addition to the education and knowledge.

• Exam tip 8: API intends to verify your understanding of principles and theory; interpretation and evaluation; so mere memorizing the facts and figures of the study materials does not really help.

• Exam tip 9: Although a few questions may come straight from the API study material, most questions are either rephrased or brought within a context or is within a scenario, or the question and answer are swapped. Hence, it is very important that you have a clear understanding of concepts and fundamentals.

• Exam tip 10: Time management is not normally a critical issue since The API 580 exam is 3.25 hours long to answer 90 questions, of which only 70 are scored. These scored and non-scored questions are shuffled so you won’t know which questions are scored and which one not scored. This leaves you with approximately 2 minutes. Please note that time using the toilet, checking out and in, commenting on any question, reviewing the questions, etc. is coming off your allowance. For better time management, flag off those questions you are not sure of and revisit them once you have completed all other questions. Try to eliminate the absolute wrong answers by negative reasoning in order to increase your chances of getting the answer right.

• Exam tip 11: Remember that all questions carry equal marks and the minimum passing grade is around 70%, so, it is logical to attempt smaller questions quickly and then in the remaining time, try re-attempting those questions that are longer, more complicated, or you are simply stuck spending too much time on it without any progress.

• Exam tip 12: Although education can offset for less experience, you should appreciate the fact that unless one does not have real hands-on experience in the field, it would be difficult to ‘’FEEL’ the underlying reasons behind some of the codes, standards and recommended practices. The experience is gained through observation, power of deduction and is eventually a common sense really. We have explained all the topics in sufficient detail so you may be able to visualize various scenarios.