The Inspectioneering Style Guide

The Inspectioneering Style Guide

When submitting an article for publication with Inspectioneering, it's important that you follow some editorial standards that we have established to maintain consistency across our archives. Please review the following stylistic conventions and be sure to apply them, where possible, in your submissions.

Each style guide rule listed below will contain a correct example and an incorrect example, shown as follows:
Correct example.
Incorrect example.
Note: This Style Guide is a constant work in progress and may not contain conventions or rules for all stylistic scenarios. In such cases, it's best to refer to other commonly accepted style guides.

Our Editorial Conventions

When referring to Inspectioneering Journal or its acronym (IJ), do not use an article.
In this issue of Inspectioneering Journal ... 
In this issue of the Inspectioneering Journal ...

Inspectioneering Journal articles are referred to as articles, not papers.
In this article, we discuss ...
In my last article, I introduced ...
This paper focuses on ...
In my last paper, I introduced ...

Acronyms

Present the acronym along with the first occurrence of the term in the body of the article.
This article discusses risk-based inspection (RBI). RBI is a ...
This article discusses risk-based inspection. RBI is a ...

Acronyms should follow the full term, not the other way around.
corrosion under insulation (CUI)
CUI (corrosion under insulation)

All letters in the acronym should be capitalized.
The two components of the RBI risk equation are POF and COF.
The two components of the RBI risk equation are PoF and CoF.

Aside from some specific cases, plural forms of industry acronyms should not contain apostrophes, just like any other word.
IOWs and CCDs
IOW's and CCD's

Do not use acronyms that are confusing, have limited value to the reader, or are not commonly accepted within the industry.
One of the key components of a best-in-class (BIC) mechanical integrity program...
It is important to follow all applicable rules and regulations (RR) when performing...

Only provide an acronym if the term is used repeatedly in the article.

Chemical Elements and Compounds

The names of chemical elements and compounds should only be capitalized if they appear at the beginning of a sentence or in a title. The symbols for chemical elements, however, are always capitalized.
Analysis identified the scales as pyrite (FeS 2).
Pyrite was identified by analysis.
Analysis identified the scales as Pyrite (FeS 2). 

Use subscripts properly for compounds.
a section of a CO 2 absorber tower 
a section of a CO2 absorber tower

Dates and Times

Decades are either spelled out (as long as the century is clear) and lowercase or expressed in numerals. No apostrophe appears between the year and the s.
the nineties
the 1980s and 1990s (or, less formally, the 1980s and '90s)
The report was written in the 1990's.

Formatting

Use only a single space between sentences.
The report is finalized._It is approved by management.
The report is finalized.__It is approved by management.

Titles of books, magazines, newspapers, and industry publications should be italicized.
According to The 101 Essential Elements in a Pressure Equipment Integrity Management Program, the key to success in pressure equipment integrity management is operational excellence.
It is often necessary to qualify observed corrosion using FFS techniques such as those outlined in API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, Fitness-For-Service.
It is often necessary to qualify observed corrosion using FFS techniques such as those outlined in API 579-1/ASME FFS-1, Fitness-For-Service.

A part or section of a larger work is put in quotation marks. (This includes a chapter of a book, the title of an article in a magazine, etc.)
The Inspectioneering Journal article "How to Reduce Your Exposure to High Consequence FEMI Events" explains how to identify and assess the risk of potentially high consequence, but usually lower likelihood, fixed equipment mechanical integrity issues.
The Inspectioneering Journal article How to Reduce Your Exposure to High Consequence FEMI Events explains how to identify and assess the risk of potentially high consequence, but usually lower likelihood, fixed equipment mechanical integrity issues.

Headings and subheadings should never be fully capitalized. Headings should be in title style. Subheadings may be in either title or normal text style as long as they are consistent within the article.

Graphics

Graphics should be sufficiently high resolution to use in print.

Graphics should be free of any commercial branding.

When referencing graphics in a paragraph, styling should be bold and capitalized.
The chart in Figure 1 demonstrates ...

Figures and tables are different elements and numbering for each should start at 1.
Refer to Figure 1 ... per Figure 2 ... as in Table 1 ... from Figure 3 ... per Table 2, and so on

Captions for figures should appear below the figure and be formatted to be center-aligned, in bold type, and end with punctuation.
Figure 1. Consequences of overfilling.

Captions for tables follow the same stylistic conventions as figures except that they should appear above the table.
Table 1. Risk matrix of RBI.

Numbers

Write out numbers up to and including ten, except in percentages (see below) and hard data. The exception to this rule is if you have a list of numbers that includes numbers under and above ten. In this case, just make the list consistent (see example below).
Of the 20 marketing employees, only three decided to go to the party.
The table was stocked with 2 cakes, 10 pizzas, and 24 sodas.

Write out numbers at the start of a sentence.
Twenty-two experts agreed.

Use numeric form for percentages except if it is used at the start of a sentence. Do not include a space between the number and the percent sign.
The survey results showed that 9% of refineries use this method.
Nine percent of refineries use this method.

Use thousands separators.
a total of 1,000 units
a total of 1000 units

Ordinal numbers (adjectives describing the numerical position of something) should be written out up to and including ten.
first, third, tenth
1st, 3rd, 10th

Punctuation

Use the Oxford comma before the "and" or "or" in lists.
piping, inspection, and management
piping, inspection and management

References and Citations

Citations should appear within the article text, immediately preceding the punctuation mark ending the sentence that is to be cited. The numbered reference citations should be enclosed in brackets.
One can utilize the thickness 5% and 95% credible intervals described herein along with the API 581 Inspection Effectiveness Category confidence ranges [1] .
One can utilize the thickness 5% and 95% credible intervals described herein along with the API 581 Inspection Effectiveness Category confidence ranges. [1]
One can utilize the thickness 5% and 95% credible intervals described herein along with the API 581 [1] Inspection Effectiveness Category confidence ranges.

In the case of two citations, the numbers should be separated by a comma. In the case of more than two reference citations, the numbers should be separated by a dash.
These inspection practices can be found in API 510 for pressure vessels and API 570 for piping [1,2].
These inspection practices can be found in API 510 for pressure vessels, API 570 for piping, and API 653 for aboveground storage tanks [1-3].
These inspection practices can be found in API 510 [1] for pressure vessels and API 570 [2] for piping.
These inspection practices can be found in API 510 for pressure vessels, API 570 for piping, and API 653 for aboveground storage tanks [1,2,3].

All references should be listed together at the end of the article. Footnotes on individual pages should not be used for this purpose. References should be arranged in numerical order according to their order of appearance within the text.

Reference to journal articles and papers in serial publications should include:
  1. last name of each author followed by their initials
  2. year of publication
  3. full title of the cited article in quotes, title capitalization
  4. full name of the publication in which it appears
  5. volume number (if any) in boldface (Do not include the abbreviation, "Vol.")
  6. issue number (if any) in parentheses (Do not include the abbreviation, “No.”)
  7. inclusive page numbers of the cited article (include “pp.”)
[1] Ning, X., and Lovell, M. R., 2002, “On the Sliding Friction Characteristics of Unidirectional Continuous FRP Composites,” ASME J. Tribol., 124(1), pp. 5-13.
[2] Barnes, M., 2001, “Stresses in Solenoids,” J. Appl. Phys., 48(5), pp. 2000–2008.

Reference to textbooks and monographs should include:
  1. last name of each author followed by their initials
  2. year of publication
  3. full title of the publication in italics
  4. publisher
  5. city of publication
  6. inclusive page numbers of the work being cited (include “pp.”)
  7. chapter number (if any) at the end of the citation following the abbreviation, “Chap.”
[3] Jones, J., 2000, Contact Mechanics, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK, Chap. 6.

Reference to individual conference papers, papers in compiled conference proceedings, or any other collection of works by numerous authors should include:
  1. last name of each author followed by their initials
  2. year of publication
  3. full title of the cited paper in quotes, title capitalization
  4. individual paper number (if any)
  5. full title of the publication in italics
  6. initials followed by last name of editors (if any), followed by the abbreviation, “eds.”
  7. Publisher
  8. city of publication
  9. volume number (if any) in boldface if a single number, include, “Vol.” if part of larger identifier (e.g., “PVP-Vol. 254”)
  10. inclusive page numbers of the work being cited (include “pp.”)
[4] Lee, Y., Korpela, S. A., and Horne, R. N., 1982, “Structure of Multi-Cellular Natural Convection in a Tall Vertical Annulus,” Proc. 7th International Heat Transfer Conference, U. Grigul et al., eds., Hemisphere, Washington, DC, 2, pp. 221–226.
[5] Hashish, M., 2000, “600 MPa Waterjet Technology Development,” High Pressure Technology, PVP-Vol. 406, pp. 135-140.
[6] Watson, D. W., 1997, “Thermodynamic Analysis,” ASME Paper No. 97-GT-288.

Reference to theses and technical reports should include:
  1. last name of each author followed by their initials
  2. year of publication
  3. full title in quotes, title capitalization
  4. report number (if any)
  5. publisher or institution name, city
[7] Tung, C. Y., 1982, “Evaporative Heat Transfer in the Contact Line of a Mixture,” Ph.D. thesis, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, NY.
[8] Kwon, O. K., and Pletcher, R. H., 1981, “Prediction of the Incompressible Flow Over A Rearward-Facing Step,” Technical Report No. HTL-26, CFD-4, Iowa State Univ., Ames, IA.
[9] Smith, R., 2002, “Conformal Lubricated Contact of Cylindrical Surfaces Involved in a Non-Steady Motion,” Ph.D. thesis, http://www.cas.phys.unm.edu/rsmith/homepage.html

Spelling

As Inspectioneering, LLC is based in the United States of America, our convention is to use American English, not British English.
Prioritize your inspections, starting with the red-colored square of the risk matrix.
Prioritise your inspections, starting with the red-coloured square of the risk matrix.

Units of Measure

Where possible, provide both Imperial and Metric units.
The length of the piping is 128 inches (325 cm).
The length of the piping is 128 inches.

Temperatures should use the degree symbol (°) and provide both Fahrenheit and Celsius units.
Not to exceed 125°F (52°C)
Not to exceed 125°F