Keeping national infrastructure assets and installations in check is of high priority. It is not uncommon for inspection tools to produce incompatible data formats and this is where the complexity of the data collected can degrade the intelligence that they are designed to record.
The ability to store, analyse and share intelligence is at the heart of every successful operation whether it be the maintenance team in the field or operation support at the national headquarters. Enabling key stakeholders to access and collaborate to support their decision-making is fundamental.
"We recommend that techniques are developed across the oil and gas industry to share the raw data from multiple installations in a secure manner"
The SCi-Toolset is built upon the foundation of simplifying complex information gathered from many differing sources to allow operators to determine what is relevant by presenting key information to decision makers in a secure and timely manner.
One of the biggest threats to high pressure gas pipeline networks is damage caused by third party interference. Normally, aerial inspection of these Critical National Infrastructure assets is achieved using manned helicopters or light aircraft, covering the high pressure network every two weeks. The helicopter patrols use an observer who looks out of the window while flying the pipeline route and the observer records any potential ground based threats (sightings) onto a laptop computer. This process is limited because the real-time data is restricted to that observed from the aircraft.
Technology is fast moving in fields such as imaging, mapping, data processing and analysis. In order to provide end-to-end solutions for autonomous inspection, advancements have been made in digital inspection software, analytics and intelligent scheduling. The SCi-Toolset can make the data-view simple, more automated and available in real-time.
The use of helicoptors has been the preferred method for performing aerial patrols for many years. This however is costly and relies heavily upon human input.
Helicoptors generally operate at low altitude, with an on-board observer. Automating this process reduces safety issues and improves quality of output.
Using a wide range of sensors such as LIDAR and optical cameras, previously visually shielded spots can be brought to life using the SCi-Toolset point cloud capability.
Fusing data collected by state-of-the-art inspection tools such as robotic crawlers and drones provides valuable evidence to operations, maintenance and regulatory stakeholders.
By improving safety, decreasing turnaround times and providing more accurate outputs, significant annual savings can be achieved.
