How Remote Inspections Revolutionize Asset Integrity Management

Driven largely by the safety and regulatory climates as well as pressures to reduce the carbon footprint of heavy industry, the Asset integrity management market is expected to reach USD 25.7 billion by 2026. With the surge in offshore decommissioning as well as the steady-to-increasing E&P (offshore exploration and production ) market with companies seeking low-risk, “quick win” and net zero projects, remote solutions are poised to dominate the Asset integrity sphere.

What is Asset integrity management?

Asset integrity management is – effectively – a risk-reduction strategy for Owner-Operators to have a quality-assured overview of their Assets. For the complete Asset lifecycle, Owner-Operators are tasked with demonstrable adherence to environmental health and safety and other regulations. To that effect, efficient, reliable, leak-free systems – particularly in the energy and extractives sectors – are essential.

Traditionally, Asset integrity management is carried out through in-person assessment, monitoring and formal inspection processes. But technological advances have enabled Asset integrity management to be carried out remotely through digital software systems.

What are remote Asset inspections?

Remote Asset inspections enable the following tasks (among others) to be conducted in a virtual environment without personnel having to be present onsite:

• Visually conduct a general site inspection of the whole of the facility (or parts thereof) through a virtual audit environment;
• Inspect and assess specific components at any stage in the value-and-supply chain from fabrication through to being in situ;
• Remotely monitor equipment, components and systems for leaks or other failures during operations; and
• Remotely schedule, plan and oversee turnarounds and shutdown management, as well as maintenance activities.

What are the benefits of remote Asset inspections?

The benefits of remote Asset inspections are extensive, including:

• Improve safety, reducing risk by minimizing the need for onsite workers thereby avoiding hazardous working conditions and catering to optimal logistics;
• Real-time decision making, avoiding the time lags that would encompass in-person inspections;
• Increased transparency, traceability and accountability;
• Facilitate collaboration among stakeholders, no matter where they’re located;
• Save time and money on physical inspections;
• Increase the ability to inspect more frequently and with ease; and
• Reduce embodied carbon, eliminating superfluous travel to decarbonize components and systems.

How do remote Asset inspections work?

Remote visualization of Asset integrity can include many functions. Essentially, a manager, technical expert or other project/Asset stakeholder would utilize a wide range of technical solutions to monitor, inspect and assess components and/or systems using a range of drone, UAV and or millimeter-perfect laser scanning tools to produce navigable 2D plans, 3D models and 360-degree images. 

Inspection records for piping, for example, might include remaining useful life (RUL), corrosion rate and remaining thickness; inspection reports can be easily run, and the virtual Asset environment navigated with greater ease as opposed to physically walking around complex, dynamic infrastructure with a clipboard.

In response to the demand for remote Asset inspections, MODS developed 4DVi, Reality’s Visual Inspection Solution, which features the following:

• 3D digital twin of the Asset, with navigable design and as-built data;
• Inspection status in 2D plot plan view, 3D model and 360-degree photographic imagery;
• Visually isolate Asset components and systems by type, corrosion rate, estimated end of life, inspection timelines, corrosion rates and wall thickness to prioritize work and add them to a digital Work Pack (for example);
• Download point-cloud data and export it into a CAD system;
• Internet of Things (IoT) sensor compatibility; and
• View live Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) footage and live video streaming.
• Seamless integration with Activity Manager software to oversee all activities including existing in-house systems such as SAP or Maximo.

Reality 4DVi virtual Asset inspection

The human brain processes images 60,000 times faster than text – apt when talking about remote visual assessment. In the spirit of this inalienable fact, let’s see what a virtual Asset inspection might look like:

Considerations when Choosing Asset Integrity Management Software

Remote Asset integrity management systems are increasingly en vogue, which means that more options are cropping up. The solution needs to be sustainable, safe, easy to use and efficient. What are the considerations when choosing Asset integrity management software?

Firstly, it’s likely that you already have in-house software in place such as SAP. Is the Asset integrity software compatible with any/all of your existing in-house systems? It should be.

Asset integrity management software solutions are likely to be marketed for specific industries. Regardless, it’s essential to ensure that your chosen system is actually able to look at the components and systems of interest to the level of detail required.

In addition to compatibility with existing software systems, the Asset integrity management software needs to be compatible with the necessary hardware, such as high-resolution cameras. Whatever defects or potential failures the inspector needs to look for ought to be clearly visible remotely. This entails the ability to navigate a virtual representation of the Asset in real time with the appropriate resolution and zooming functions. 

The Future of Asset integrity management

Asset integrity management is benefitting from a range of technological advances in things such as Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) for predictive maintenance. Virtual Reality (VR) solutions – virtual walkarounds for visualization and planning – are starting to revolutionize the construction, maintenance and operations of Assets, throughout the complete lifecycle including everything from scaffolding works to SIMOPS and turnarounds.

Remote Asset inspections shift the dynamics from expensive, reactive integrity management to data-driven, predictive integrity management. Leaning into solutions from other Industry 4.0 use cases, the future of digital remote Asset inspections is moving towards incorporating Internet of Things (IoT) sensors to identify things such as pipework internal diameter (ID) and corrosion under insulation (CUI) in real time. 

To discuss how our remote inspection Asset integrity management solution, Reality 4DVi, could help you remotely manage your industrial Assets, .