Enhance Pipeline Inspection Safety using Drones
Pipeline surveys play an extremely important role in many different industries. Though we commonly associate pipelines with the transportation of water, they are also used for oil and gas, chemicals, sewage, wastewater, and many other materials. Often times, these pipelines extend over a large area with spots that are difficult to reach. While working in such an infrastructure, it is not easy to identify pipeline imperfections in advance. Moreover, ensuring pipeline inspection safety in these working environments can also be a challenge.
If you are looking to improve the safety of your pipeline surveys, drones can be a reliable as well as cost-effective way. This is the reason why drone inspections have now become common in oil and gas and other industries that are known to be particularly unsafe. Pipeline inspection using drones can contribute significantly towards making pipeline projects safer. Discussed below are a few benefits of using drones in pipeline surveys.
Enhanced Regularity: Compared to other types of inspections, drone inspections can be carried out more regularly. This entire process is not only superfast, but is also cost-effective. It is possible to conduct pipeline leak detection across an entire pipeline using just a single drone. When human inspectors are involved, it takes a lot of time because the entire project is inspected section by section.
As human inspection is expensive and lengthy, it is not always conducted frequently. This may easily lead to missing out on potential safety hazards. On the contrary, drone assisted inspections can generate a robust set of data pertaining to pipeline integrity in quick time. Therefore, it is possible to carry out inspections more frequently and detect more potential issues on a regular and consistent basis.
No Human Involvement: Drone inspection doesn’t expose human workers to any potential danger because it requires no crew. They are capable of flying through fume infested areas that may lead to explosion or fire. In the worst case scenario, the drone may suffer damage, but human lives are never at stake. There are many other potentially dangerous areas where human inspectors are not even expected to access. However, drones can still do the job without any difficulty.
Variety of Sensors: Drone technology is compatible with almost all types of sensors. Repairing related issues and leaks can be detected before they become a major problem by using thermal imaging cameras and other types of sensors. After identifying issues through sensors, drones report the GPS positioning of the problem area immediately to the project team. Therefore, problems can be fixed without experiencing any significant level of downtime. This will not only improve pipeline integrity, but also reduce project cost.
Environment Protection: Pipeline projects sometimes have a negative impact on the environment. This impact can be minimised by completing pipeline surveys quickly using drones. Issues such as plant and root intrusions can be identified quickly before the pipeline breaks apart and a major spill is caused.
At Austeck, we offer industry’s first collision-tolerant drone systems capable of exploring the most inaccessible spaces. Please contact us today to discuss your needs.