Summary
MICHAEL “CHASE” PLAUCHE is a certified coating and welding inspector with 13+ years of industrial quality assurance and quality control experience across the oil & gas, chemical, and power industries. He has led coating inspection on Shaw / Chicago Bridge & Iron construction and fabrication work and currently performs in-process and final inspection of fabricated pipe, structural steel, and tank work at Gulf Coast supplier facilities. His expertise covers coating application, surface preparation, ambient conditions, film thickness, repair acceptance, and safe loadout. He is equally strong in reviewing coating, welding, and NDE procedures, ITPs, and MTRs against purchase orders, industry codes, and client specifications. He also coordinates supplier surveillance, client communication, fabrication status reporting, and final release activities.
summary may omit high-priority source evidence: AMPP/NACE Coating Inspector Level 2 certified since 2012 and AWS Certified Welding Inspector.
Education
- 2008 – 2010 – Associate of Applied Science — Southeastern Louisiana University, Hammond, LA
- 1999 – 2002 – Ponchatoula High School
Qualifications and Training
- AMPP/NACE Coating Inspector Level 2 — Certified, Cert. # 3985 (2012 – Present)
- AWS Certified Welding Inspector (CWI), Cert. # 20012501 (2020 – Present)
Codes & Standards
- Working knowledge: SSPC/AMPP surface preparation standards
- SSPC-PA 2
- NACE/AMPP coating inspection practice
- API 582
- ASME Section I, V, VIII Div. 1, and IX
- ASME B31.1, B31.3, B31.4
- ASNT SNT-TC-1A
- ASTM
Work Experience
Jul 2024 – Present
Sigma
Senior Inspection Coordinator
- Perform in-process and final coating inspection at supplier fabrication facilities, including surface preparation acceptance, ambient condition monitoring, film thickness verification, and repair acceptance, to NACE/AMPP requirements and project site-specific coating specifications through final coating release.
- Establish points of contact with clients and suppliers and attend pre-inspection meetings to clarify coating and specification requirements, delivery dates, and priority items.
- Perform visual and dimensional inspection of shop fabrication against approved drawings, industry code, and client specifications.
- Monitor non-destructive examination, review NDE documentation, and verify equipment calibration and technician certification.
- Inspect outgoing fabricated material to confirm specification compliance and safe, damage-free loading for transport.
- Monitor fabrication status, report percent complete weekly, address client concerns, and perform final inspection and release.
- Review inspection documentation on parallel projects for compliance with purchase orders, codes, standards, and client specifications, including welding documents, NDE procedures, ITPs, MTRs, and coating applications.
2018 – Jul 2024
Worley
SQS Inspector
- Performed vendor data coordination and review.
- Expedited project quality documentation.
- Reviewed and dispositioned supplier quality documentation across refinery and petrochemical capital projects, including coating procedures, welding procedures, NDE procedures, ITPs, and Material Test Reports, against applicable purchase orders, codes, standards, and Worley/client specifications.
- Expedited quality documents carrying comments or non-conformances to keep supplier submittals on schedule.
- Performed quality surveillance of equipment and components through all fabrication phases at supplier facilities, including initial supplier visits to review purchase orders and project specifications and inspection to approved ITPs.
- Witnessed hydrostatic testing and non-destructive examination and verified documentation for compliance with industry codes and client specifications.
- Performed in-process inspection of shop welded connections, visual inspection to approved drawings, and final inspection and release to galvanizer and site.
- Maintained vendor points of contact through weekly or biweekly meetings, coordinated shipping and delivery records, and notified the client of changes affecting delivery.
2011 – 2018
Shaw / Chicago Bridge & Iron
Lead Coating Inspector
- Performed QC / NDE and visual and dimensional inspection.
- Oversaw application of all coatings on and off site to ensure compliance with current codes and client specifications.
- Maintained coating application records and coordinated coating progress with the project manager and client inspectors.
- Reviewed shop drawings to determine NDE requirements and performed magnetic particle, liquid penetrant, visual inspection, hardness testing, and positive material identification on induction bends and fabricated pipe for Shaw Sunland.
Projects
| Client | Project | Vendor / Location | Scope |
|---|
| Marathon Garyville | Mt. Airy Component Pipeline | Epic Piping — Livingston, LA | Fabricated pipe |
| Marathon Garyville | Asphalt Shipping Pumps | Epic Piping — Livingston, LA | Fabricated pipe |
| Marathon Garyville | Asphalt Shipping Pumps | PAX — Gonzales, LA | Structural steel |
| Marathon Galveston Bay | Fuel Gas Recovery | Epic — Livingston, LA | Pipe fabrication |
| Marathon Garyville | GVL Tank Rebuild | Epic — Livingston, LA | Pipe fabrication / tank |
Skills
- Coating Inspection
- Welding Inspection
- Supplier Quality Surveillance
- Quality Assurance / Quality Control
- Surface Preparation Inspection
- NDE Documentation Review
- Procedure & Document Review
- ITP and MTR Review
- Vendor Surveillance
- Project Expediting
- Visual & Dimensional Inspection
- Inspection Reporting
- Final Inspection and Release
Commodities
- Fabricated Pipe
- Pipe Spools
- Structural Steel
- Tanks
- Induction Bends