Most pipeline companies use a variety of separate databases and applications from one department to the next for integrity, maintenance and safety activities. In many cases, one department will use certain programs and data to carry out its specific tasks, while other departments duplicate the same work with little or no data being shared. Integration of data into a single, coherent management system can provide significant benefits, but operators are often deterred from an upgrade because of the significant investment already made in their systems over many years.

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Our experience shows that with the right technology and understanding of the organisation's specific needs, a phased approach to integrated data management can be achieved at minimal initial cost. Once implemented it helps eliminate wasted effort and increase the level of cohesion among various decision-makers throughout an organisation. By exploiting legacy data instead of abandoning it, we can provide a low-cost, scalable solution that will grow with the changing needs of the business.

Limitations of un-integrated systems

Typically, the key barriers to efficient data flow and management in a pipeline organisation include:

• Multi-format data (paper records, digital spreadsheets, databases)
• Data distributed and managed in remote and often independent locations
• No means to align and compare related data
• No clear procedures for maintaining and controlling data
• No methods for communicating when data is updated
• Poor tools for sending data to and from the field
• Information held as knowledge with individuals
• No means for sharing data across the organisation

Unfortunately, these issues are quite common across the industry. Early applications were typically for landowner management - for generation of alignment sheets, as-built drawings and response planning. Investment costs at the time were high, yet software compatibility and flexibility were low, so the systems were rarely used in day-to-day operations. Such systems were not truly successful because they were not designed with a pipeline engineer's full needs in mind. They became little more than another source of data for interpretation and were not easily leveraged into a more in-depth integrity management process. And because of their significant initial costs, many operators are now reluctant to invest in newer systems because they fear the same outcome.

Improved operations

For a pipeline maintenance engineer, gathering data is only the first step in the entire process of maintaining the condition and integrity of the pipeline. It is relatively easy to identify where severe damage requires immediate repair. But it is significantly more difficult to find and assess the more numerous sub-critical anomalies - to identify, for example, corrosion causes and estimate growth rates, perform risk rankings, plan future re-assessment and/or repair schedules. Necessary data will come in forms such as performance of corrosion protection, soil data, product content, etc.

The integrated system must interpret all available multi-source data to create a single, cohesive impression of the net result. Another challenge, especially relevant to aging pipeline networks, is that a large proportion of existing data is held in a combination of hardcopy, analog and digital formats, often with missing datasets. All these mis-matching factors combine to give operators a very limited vision of the true quality and consistency of their facility, maintenance and inspection data.

To combat these challenges, software and database designers must have an in-depth understanding of how pipeline management and engineering staff use information. Only with this combined operational insight and technological capability can data integration be fully successful.

Regulatory compliance

Recognising the value of improved data management and control, regulators in the US and Europe are placing significant focus on initiatives and regulations that will guide operators to demonstrate effective and auditable management of their pipeline assets. While not yet prescribed, the direction of these emerging regulations strongly suggests that integrated data management will soon be a requisite for acceptable risk-based maintenance approaches.

Managing is more than just mapping and storing

Technological advances and the availability of GIS software have made it very simple to overlay almost any data in a geospatial reference frame for relation to other features and display on a map. However, visualising datasets is only part of a successful data management system. Without purpose-built tools to maintain large volumes of continually changing pipeline data, the system elements soon become unmanageable and most likely redundant. Alternatively their use becomes so restricted, that the real value of integrating data will never be realised.

Intelligent, automated procedures

In the event that risk-critical data changes, we need a means to ensure that risk calculations are always correct. To prevent significant errors, all data required in a risk equation must always be dynamically segmented prior to calculation in order to capture changes unknown by the engineer performing the risk analysis. If changes have been made to the linear reference system (e.g. insertion of 50 m of pipeline), then all other data downstream of the re-route will be affected. The data management system must to be able to automatically and seamlessly update all data affected by such a change. Otherwise, accurate alignment and efficient location of repair sites will be impossible.

Data alignment

To a pipeline integrity engineer, effective decision making is directly related to how well multi-year inspection, environmental, geographical, facility and operational data can be compared to identify potential threats, validate historical trends and establish mitigation measures.

Accurate alignment along the common linear reference is the only true way to align data for assessment. Inherent inaccuracies from various measurement methods make the matching of absolute positions (e.g. GPS co-ordinates) impractical and of little value when it comes to aligning multiple data sets. The challenge, therefore, for any data management system is to take multiple data types (e.g. point data, linear data, raster data and spatial data) and relate them to one another with a high degree of accuracy. Furthermore, data calibration techniques are essential to match facility location data from other more accurate data sources such as field surveys, sonar data, ROV data, etc. This ability to continuously improve data location accuracy will have an ongoing benefit throughout the asset life.

Exploiting existing data

For companies that have already invested large sums of money and resources in database and software systems, one of the main barriers to implementing a fully integrated data system has been the need to replace much of their existing IT infrastructure. But a properly designed Integrity Management System should not necessarily dictate such broad system replacement. Rather, it should draw from live and legacy data sources without data migration or changes in the organisation's established practices.

With a combination of proven approaches to handling and maintaining pipeline data and improved software and database technology, GE's solutions exploit existing company data and make smart business sense. Besides the obvious cost implications, the practical benefits include:

• Creation of a common linear referencing system
• Maintenance and management tools for that linear reference
• High accuracy in data alignment
• Dynamic segmentation for analysis such as risk assessment
• Additional reporting tools of aligned datasets
• Integration with pipeline focused engineering software and applications
• Centralised data for controlled and easy distribution throughout the organisation via secure internet/intranet interfaces

Centralisation improves decision making

If data is always pulled to and from a single location, all the organisation's decision makers can have access to the most current and accurate information. This is a key feature of our PipeView suite of software that provides a single information source for many challenges - from engineering and construction through to field maintenance and operations. With a highly flexible design, PipeView offers a scalable and cost-effective path to data organisation and sharing. It is also fully compatible with the internet and allows a variety of GPS-enabled handheld and laptop tools to take current data to and from the field.

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This instant access to data is invaluable for field verification work. Additionally, with comprehensive data maintenance tools, field records can be instantly entered and corrections to co-ordinate references can be logged for audit and permanent entry into the central database system.

Conclusion

GE's approach to integrated data management involves the creation of a software and database environment that is cost sensitive while meeting the increasingly rigorous needs of business managers, pipeline engineers and regulators alike.

We incorporate the organisation's existing data infrastructure and implement more advanced tools to enhance the flow and accuracy of information.

For more details on specific GE products and services that will help add value to your current pipeline data management system, please contact:

Stuart Clouston stuart.clouston@ge.com
Jay Smith jay.smith@ge.com
Dana Book dana.book@ge.com