Direct Assessment of Pipeline Excavation Sites

Houston, Texas - November 22, 2008 - Coast to Coast NDE Services is proud to announce the release of 4th edition of our comprehensive training manual – “Direct Assessment of Pipeline Excavation Sites” which is now available for sale to Pipeline Integrity Professionals.  The manual has been developed by Coast to Coast NDE Services for training Site Assessment Technicians, with the topics, photo’s and training generally applicable to anyone working in the Pipeline Industry. 

The Manual has been developed and enhanced through several years of field testing on the thousands of Integrity and SCCDA digs executed by the staff of Coast NDE.  The manual is used to train and ensure the continuous improvement of our integrity team.

Organized as a workbook with a logical grouping of sections allowing the reader to select a section of interest and do a quick read on the industry knowledge of the topic as well as provide visual representation and step by step procedures to assist  in understanding the topic area.  The book includes example forms, data collection sheets, and a trial version of the industry leading Coast Field Connect software that has developed in conjunction with the manual.

This book is only available directly from Coast NDE, and can be purchased here on our website for $449 USD, or can be purchased from the Coast NDE booth at many of the industry conferences held through out 2008/2009.

Excerpts from the manual:

 “Introduction ...

The training we are providing in dig-site assessment is much more encompassing than examining the pipe for the presence or absence of flaws – it is aimed at providing an overall assessment of the dig-site and maximizing the knowledge that can be gained from the site.  This includes all above ground and below ground information at the dig-site relevant to external corrosion and SCC as well as what is pertinent to the overall Integrity Management Program (IMP).  Most importantly, the goal of the training is to be able to, not only gather and present the data in a simple and logical manner, but to be able to draw at least preliminary conclusions from the site assessment regarding both the current integrity related conditions and the risk factors applicable to the pipeline at that location going forward.  Conclusions supported by multiple data sets can provide the basis for the root cause analysis required by DA processes.  Dig-site assessment can also provide an alternate basis for full segment Direct Assessment programs by interpolating between dig sites with similar conditions using the results of the above ground surveys between those sites.

The ultimate goal of the training is to provide site assessment technicians with the skills required to carry out comprehensive dig-site assessments. If done properly, these assessments will identify and document sufficient, correlative and consistent data which, in turn, will assist pipeline operators to optimize their pipeline Integrity Management Programs. 

Qualified assessment technicians will be able to provide the highest possible quality of data and will be able to correlate the different data sets to show that they are logically consistent.  He or she will then be able to provide a “reasoning why” this particular dig-site represents a lower integrity risk than otherwise might have to be assumed through straight statistical analysis.

For example, if the results of an in-line corrosion tool show a pipeline segment to have widespread corrosion throughout its length and if the first three excavations verify the existence of this corrosion, this would tend to indicate an integrity concern.  However, if sufficient, correlative and consistent data demonstrated that cathodic protection has been achieved at each site and the corrosion was no longer active, a different conclusion may be drawn – one that allows integrity management funds to be directed to higher risk pipeline segments.

The training was developed to provide field site assessment technicians the following knowledge and skills:

• Ability to be conversant in all aspects pertaining to the dig-site assessment and how it fits into the overall pipeline integrity management program;

• A basic understanding of the causes of corrosion, its prevention and the surveys and associated measurements that are used to predict and control corrosion of buried pipelines;

• A basic understanding of the causes and likely locations of internal corrosion and microbial corrosion;

• Ability to recognize the difference between gathering all possible data for direct input into a large database for the purpose of trending analyses and determining if any correlations can be identified versus carrying out a focused “reasoning direct assessment” for pipeline dig sites to provide “smart” data for input into overall system-wide integrity management programs, where the number of dig-sites must necessarily be minimized;

To make this data-collection and reasoning process as easy for the technicians as possible, we developed “Coast Field Connect” a data input, correlating and reporting software and data base. We believe that this type of user-friendly, visually engaging software will be beneficial for the operating company engineers and/or risk assessment experts who must review the data gathered at each dig-site and determine its relative significance."