A Non-Intrusive Pipeline Leak Detection Service Using Pressure-Wave Analysis

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Srinivasan Jagannathan ◽  
Neil Stewart ◽  
Graham Jack
Keyword(s):  
Pressure Wave ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
The Moment ◽  
Pressurized Fluids ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

Product losses from pipelines, whether attributed to acts of man or nature, amount to operator losses of approximately USD 133 billion annually [1], not even considering costs associated with remediation, environmental damage, and reputational harm. When an incident occurs, pipeline operators need to minimize the event by quickly and accurately locating and quantifying the pipeline loss and its cause. Having this detailed knowledge enables determination of the best method for dealing with possible issues while helping minimize remediation costs, pipeline downtime, and the impact of the work on surrounding infrastructure. Currently, most systems for pipeline leak detection are limited to either listening methods, which require being online and monitoring both pipeline ends at the moment the leak occurs, or intrusive methods that require the insertion of a pig into the pipeline. Both of these techniques are restricted in usage because access should be available to both ends of the pipeline. Additionally, for the intrusive method, the pipeline should be piggable and, for the listening method, the instrumentation should be able to communicate with a central data processing point placed at both pipeline ends as they rely on travel time difference between signals received at either end of the pipeline. The method this paper describes is a proven, nonintrusive technology that can be used by pipeline operators to identify losses quickly and safely with a repeatable and verified high level of accuracy. It monitors the signature response of a generated fluid hammer and resulting pressure wave transiting within the pipeline and analyzes the reflected signature wave and pressure data to extrapolate both the location and magnitude of the loss with all pipeline parameters taken into account. The method enables operators to detect, locate, and quantify the loss of pipeline inventory in a safe and cost-effective manner without having to stop production, beyond the temporary closing of a mainline valve, or risk tools or personnel, due to exposure to pressurized fluids, before performing any intervention at the leak site.

THE CREATION OF NOVEL AND MARKETABLE SERVICE IDEAS

2011 ◽  
Vol 08 (01) ◽  
pp. 113-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. M. CHANG
Keyword(s):  
Virtual Teams ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Service Development ◽  
Manufacturing Companies ◽  
Time Zone ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Parallel Teams ◽  
Critical Issues ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Impact

Novel and marketable service ideas are useful to most service enterprises. However, the literature has identified several reasons for innovations in services as lagging behind those in manufacturing. Some service enterprises believe that service ideas and innovations are readily imitated by competitors. Others view the impact of service innovations on profitability difficult to assess because specific innovative service elements are typically bundled with many other service elements when delivered to or used by customers. Some service enterprises do not have in-house groups specifically dedicated to innovative pursuits, making it difficult for them to systematically produce new service ideas. Furthermore, because services are usually produced and consumed concurrently, any failure tends to expose the service enterprise immediately, unlike the manufacturing companies which can minimize such risks of exposure by conducting pilot testing away from the marketplace. As a result, many service enterprises are said to shy away from aggressively pursuing new service development projects. It does not have to be this way. This paper describes the combinatorial, heuristic, and normatively guided method, which when correctly applied to a service enterprise enhances the generation of new service ideas in a systematic, speedy, and cost-effective manner, and without requiring the creation of a dedicated and rigid organizational structure. Virtual teams of the "stealth" type are set up to address innovation needs related to marketability and cost competitiveness. These teams may include frontline customer-facing employees as well as customers, suppliers, and other external experts, who can work together despite geographical and time-zone constraints. The application of this method toward developing a specific new service idea is discussed in greater detail. The integration of a "stealth" team can also be readily applied to the front end of a typical stage-gate service development process, whereby parallel teams are engaged to address critical issues and steps needed to successfully market a service idea before initiating costly development, thereby raising the service enterprises' overall probability of developing commercially successful new services over time.

scholarly journals Green ICT for Sustainable Development

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hind Zantout ◽  
Norbert Seyff
Keyword(s):  
Energy Consumption ◽  
Detailed Knowledge ◽  
Construction Project Management ◽  
Energy Demands ◽  
Information And Communication ◽  
Green Ict ◽  
Day To Day Operations ◽  
High Level ◽  
Almost All ◽  
The Impact

Almost all businesses, organizations and governments today have Information and Communication Technology (ICT) at their core. ICT enables day-to-day operations as well as assessing what has passed and planning ahead. However, ICT professionals aside perhaps, there is often little understanding of the technology and little appreciation of the link to sustainability and the impact ICT is having on the environment. The coverage of this chapter is intended for an audience with no detailed knowledge of the various ICT specialisms, providing a broad, but high-level presentation of ICT, and discusses the various links to sustainability that are firmly established. The discussion starts with the rapid developments since computers first were invented and then moves to energy demands that are being placed as a result of technology proliferations. We then introduce the term Green ICT, report on metrics enabling the measurement of energy consumption and discuss efforts underway to curtail energy consumption, with a focus on data centres. A view from a number of European countries is then presented, looking at how governments are addressing the issues and the barriers that are still in place for a country-wide sustainability drive in ICT. The construction project management sector is one that relies heavily on ICT services, and a brief discussion at the end presents additional issues for the project manager to consider.

scholarly journals Mutual effect of labour market development and COVID-19 pandemic progression

2021 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 421-428
Author(s):  
N. V. Shishkina ◽  
E. A. Mamistova ◽  
T. V. Sabetova
Keyword(s):  
Labor Market ◽  
Negative Impact ◽  
Mutual Effect ◽  
The State ◽  
Social Consequence ◽  
Staff Retention ◽  
Current Events ◽  
The Moment ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Impact

This paper tackles the economic impacts of COVID-19 pandemic on the labor markets and human capital. Specifically, it looks into the issues the pandemic brought upon the human resources and personnel during coronavirus lockdowns. The high level of globalization characteristic of the modern economy has only exacerbated the negative impact of the pandemic. At the moment, it remains impossible to assess the qualitative and quantitative parameters of the damage caused to the economies of countries and regions by this event. However, it is possible to identify the main directions of analysis of the consequences of the pandemic, including in terms of the impact on the state of the labor market, which was the main goal of this study. In particular, the authors highlight a number of consequences, the work on overcoming which is still to be done by the Russian socio-economic system. The most obvious of them is the growth of unemployment, the release of part of the employed and the reduction in the number of jobs, and this is observed extremely unevenly across the sectors of the economy. Nevertheless, the authors point out that the problem of staff release is aggravated by the size of the share of informal employment in the labor market, especially in the sectors of public catering, leisure and tourism that have been most affected by the pandemic. As the second important problem, the authors point to ineffective staff reduction, the dismissal of useful and valuable employees of some organizations while maintaining an unnecessarily bloated staff of others. It also mentions the reasons and forms of staff retention, some of which, being either forced or economically and technologically attractive, give rise to additional problems. The authors call an important social consequence of the pandemic a reduction in the number and level of personal contacts in society, in particular, in working groups. As a result, the author's vision of the long-term consequences of current events for the state of the labor market, employment of the population and the economy as a whole is proposed.)

scholarly journals A Simple Method to Map Groundwater Depth and Water Quality for Leogane, Haiti and Elsewhere

2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-19
Author(s):  
Michael Edward Kalinski ◽  
Nicholas Duda ◽  
Herby Lissade ◽  
Harry Donaghy
Keyword(s):  
Water Quality ◽  
Water Table ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Groundwater Depth ◽  
Simple Method ◽  
Deep Aquifers ◽  
Water Wells ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
System 2 ◽  
The Impact

In the aftermath of the January 2010 Haiti Earthquake, the streets of downtown Leogane were paved to mitigate waterborne disease using humanitarian relief funds. After paving, many of the shallow water wells in Leogane dried up. It was believed that the new pavement disrupted groundwater recharge and negatively impacted the wells. Therefore, a project was performed to assess groundwater conditions in a cost-effective manner using a rapid, inexpensive, non-intrusive geophysical approach. The scope of the project included 1) surveying the new pavement system, 2) surveying water wells in Leogane, 3) testing the well water for coliforms, 4) performing geophysical DC resistivity testing to map groundwater depth and 5) developing a groundwater map to assess the impact of the pavement on the water table. As a result of this project, it could not be concluded that the new pavement was a factor in the groundwater fluctuations observed in the water wells in Leogane. It is more likely that some of the drop in the water table was due to the earthquake itself and some of it was caused by seasonal fluctuations in the water table. It was also observed that all the water wells that extract water from shallow (less than 6 m deep) aquifers in Leogane contain coliforms due to their proximity to household latrines, although a second deeper aquifer was identified and found to be coliform-free. With respect to broader impact, this methodology represents a relatively simple approach to mapping groundwater and assessing water quality that can be easily applied to other communities in the developing world to guide their efforts to develop and manage groundwater.

Breathing New Life to Aging Pipeline Infrastructure Using Unique Wireline Inspection Techniques and Pipe-Lining Technology

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Clay Goudy ◽  
Alex Gutiérrez
Keyword(s):  
Cost Effective ◽  
Steel Pipe ◽  
Quality Data ◽  
Central Component ◽  
Efficient Manner ◽  
Southern Mexico ◽  
Inspection Method ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Pipe Replacement ◽  
High Level

Mexico’s Energy Reform has opened up various interesting and unique opportunities for energy infrastructure. A CO2 pipeline project that was recently completed in southern Mexico provides a perfect example of how to breathe new life to deteriorated pipeline infrastructure — infrastructure that would have typically been written off. By coupling a unique pipeline inspection method with a novel lining system, two 28-kilometer (17 mile) pipelines were rehabilitated in record time and in a cost-effective manner. The project consisted of two 12 and 18-inch (300 and 450 millimeters) CO2 transport pipelines that had been out of service for 22 years and that are a central component for a high-profile fertilizer project. Replacing these deteriorated assets with a new transport pipeline was not an option due to time, environmental, permitting and budgetary constraints. The rehabilitated system had to offer a minimum 25-year service life required by the owner. To put this aging infrastructure back into service, it was essential to assess the condition of the pipelines with a high level of accuracy and precision which would allow for the rehabilitation of the pipeline and installation of an interactive liner to extend the system’s serviceable life for a minimum of 25 years. The challenge, however, was that these pipelines were non-piggable by traditional methods. By using a tethered MFL and Caliper ILI solution, the pipelines were each inspected in 13 separate sections with the level of detail necessary to assess the condition and suitability of the rehabilitation strategy selected for the project. Fast-track scheduling constraints required 24-hour data analysis turnaround of reports identifying and discriminating areas of modest and significant corrosion as well as deformations including areas of significant weld slag which could complicate the installation of the liners. Once high-quality data was available, pinpoint repairs were possible with a combination of carbon fiber reinforcement and steel pipe replacement. Afterwards, the pipelines were internally lined with a patented process that effectively provides a double containment system. A grooved liner and the host steel pipe create an annular space that is pressurized with air and remotely monitored. The system is able to detect even a small pressure drop in the annulus that would occur in case the integrity is breached, or a pinhole develops in the steel pipe. With the grooved liner, external repairs can be conducted while the line continues to operate without interrupting CO2 service to the plant. By applying these novel solutions, the rehabilitated pipelines will transport carbon dioxide to a revitalized fertilizer plant in a safe and efficient manner for the next 25 years.

Results of a pilot study to examine the effective integration of apprentices into the industrial construction sector

2003 ◽  
Vol 30 (2) ◽  
pp. 391-405 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aminah Robinson Fayek ◽  
Ahmed Shaheen ◽  
Ayo Oduba
Keyword(s):  
Pilot Study ◽  
Best Practice ◽  
Labour Force ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Lessons Learned ◽  
Construction Sector ◽  
Skilled Workers ◽  
Industrial Construction ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
The Impact

The industrial construction sector in Alberta has recently undergone a period of rapid growth, resulting in a shortage of skilled workers in almost all of the major industrial sector trades. To meet these shortages, a need has arisen to increase the utilization of apprentices on industrial construction projects. In an effort to address this issue, the Construction Owners Association of Alberta has established a goal of developing an industry Best Practice on how to improve the on-the-job portion of apprenticeship training and identify means by which the industry can more effectively use apprentices. The challenge is to increase their usage in a cost-effective manner that also provides apprentices with adequate training opportunities. Before this can be done, the impacts and benefits to the various parties involved in industrial construction must be quantified and assessed. This paper describes the findings of a pilot study that was conducted on a major industrial project to help in quantifying the impact of the use of apprentices in the industrial construction sector and to identify methods of effectively increasing their use while simultaneously enhancing their on-the-job learning experience. The main conclusion of this paper is that apprentices can be effectively incorporated in industrial construction, and they can be both productive and cost-effective, provided they are given adequate instruction and supervision. The lessons learned from the study are discussed to provide insight into conducting future studies. Recommendations for an industry Best Practice on the effective utilization of apprentices are presented.Key words: apprentice, electrician, industrial construction, journeyman, labour force, pipefitter, productivity, training, work sampling.

scholarly journals Development of an app-controlled simple, wearable teeth grinding sensing device

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 331-334
Author(s):  
Laura E. Eisenhardt ◽  
Juliane Mayer ◽  
Peter P. Pott
Keyword(s):  
Treatment Option ◽  
Muscle Tension ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Comprehensive Treatment ◽  
Measuring Device ◽  
Tooth Structure ◽  
Teeth Grinding ◽  
The Moment ◽  
High Level ◽  
Portable Sensor

Abstract Teeth grinding is, due to its various impacts on the human body, a highly discussed issue in dentistry. It can damage the tooth structure or cause pain due to muscle tension. At the moment, there is neither a satisfactory diagnostic nor a comprehensive treatment option. This paper deals with the development of an app-controlled, small, portable sensor unit that can be used by patients to monitor their teeth grinding in everyday life. It also offers a treatment option due to an implemented biofeedback option. To achieve the most cost-effective device possible, only off-the-shelf electronics and no proprietary software were used. In initial tests, the measuring device showed high level of measurement accuracy when performing measurements without feedback at rest (f_score=-0.025...0).

Komunikasi Kebencanaan: Suatu Strategi Dalam Membangun Masyarakat Sadar Bencana Pada BPBD Kota Mataram

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-150
Author(s):  
Baiq Vira Safitri ◽  
Shinta Desiyana Fajarica ◽  
Yulanda Trisula ◽  
Novita Maulida ◽  
Gemuh Surya Wahyudi
Keyword(s):  
Natural Disasters ◽  
Disaster Management ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Communication Strategy ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Disaster Reporting ◽  
The Government ◽  
The Moment ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Selection Of

A disaster is an event that threatens and disrupts people's lives and livelihoods which are caused, both by natural and / or non-natural factors as well as human factors, resulting in human casualties, environmental damage, property loss and psychological impacts. According to Law Number 24 of 2007 concerning Disaster Management, disasters are classified into three parts; natural disasters, non-natural disasters and social disasters. The impact of disasters, especially natural disasters, varies from the moment of occurrence to post-disaster. Referring to the series of earthquake events in Lombok on 29 July 2018 (M6.4), 5 August 2018 (M7.0) and 19 August 2018 (M6.9), until 1 September 2018 has claimed 564 victims and suffered losses with the total rough count reached IDR 12.15 trillion. The impact of the earthquake is a lesson for the government and related agencies, in this case the Mataram City BPBD to better prepare disaster management strategies in a mature and planned manner. This study aims to determine the disaster communication strategy of the Mataram City BPBD in building a disaster-aware Mataram community using qualitative methods. The results of the research also show, among others: (1) Determination of communicators / community leaders as a credible source; (2) Selection of messages that are easy to understand; (3) Selection of disaster reporting media; (4) Mapping communication barriers in building disaster-aware communities

Direct Hydrocarbon Leakage Detection of Pipelines Using Novel Carbon Nanotube Nanocomposites

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaushik Parmar ◽  
Simon Park
Keyword(s):  
Carbon Nanotube ◽  
High Sensitivity ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Leak Detection ◽  
Liquid Hydrocarbon ◽  
Environmental Damage ◽  
Hydrocarbon Detection ◽  
Spray System ◽  
Oil And Natural Gas ◽  
Unique Approach

Leakage in pipelines carrying oil and natural gas cause significant financial losses and extreme environmental damage and endanger public safety. This study describes the design and fabrication of a cost-effective in situ carbon nanotube (CNT) reinforced polymeric nanocomposite based sensor network system for direct hydrocarbon leak detection. CNT nanocomposites offer a unique approach to pipeline leak detection, where the sensing mechanism is attributed to the effect of physically absorbed hydrocarbon molecules between CNTs on the inter-CNT conductivity. A spray system was developed for atomizing the nanocomposite solution into microscopic droplets that produce an ultra-thin coating. The spray also keeps the sensor flexible and easy to implement on any surface, such as pipeline joints and weld sections. The proposed system provides direct hydrocarbon detection with high sensitivity for the gas and liquid hydrocarbon products that pipelines carry.

scholarly journals The impact of psychosocial factors on claims outcomes in the group income protection market: findings from a prospective pilot study

2014 ◽  
Vol 9 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carly Van Den Akker
Keyword(s):  
Return To Work ◽  
Psychosocial Factors ◽  
Normal Population ◽  
Management Strategies ◽  
Cost Effective ◽  
Income Insurance ◽  
Effective Manner ◽  
Disability Income ◽  
The Right ◽  
The Impact

Research suggests that psychosocial factors predict recovery better than biomedical factors alone in the normal population. However, no studies have been carried out in the disability income insurance setting, where the availability of financial cover is usually perceived as the main detractor of recovery and return to work.Swiss Re's clinical claims team in collaboration with the Research & Development team, conducted a 3 year prospective study to evaluate the role of psychosocial factors in recovery within a group income protection sample. Predictors of return to work were: beliefs about recovery and work, work ethic, coping, and self-efficacy. Interestingly, medical diagnosis alone and treatment did not predict recovery and return to work in this sample.Our objective was to conduct research to gain an understanding of psychosocial predictors in the insurance setting, and additionally to develop specific claims management strategies for our claims assessors to manage their claims more effectively through exploring the psychosocial barriers influencing on a claimant's absence, and providing adequate support at the right time, in a cost-effective manner.

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