Pipeline As-Built, Or, There and Back Again

In years of working closely with pipeline operators a common challenge has been echoed – the journey from As-Built to operations. Today’s regulatory environment has posed significant challenges to the traditional approach to pipeline As-Built surveys. These increasing demands apply to the operations & maintenance of the pipeline as well. Today As-Builts require highly accurate positioning of the pipeline, weld locations, coating changes, material changes, joint locations, valve locations, etc. This information is critical for regulatory compliance, safe operation and cost-effective maintenance. It is essential that the operator as well as logistics, construction, inspection and survey service providers understand these stringent requirements set forth by the regulators.

In this article we’ll cover some of the requirements and challenges of handling as-built data, as well as the top technologies that companies have found success with.

What are As-builts?

For those not familiar, As-Builts serve as the final location of record for an asset as it is set into operation. At a minimum, the As-Built is a physical survey of the pipeline prior to being buried. This data is incredibly important.

It’s All About Data

In today’s world of reduced manpower, and more intense regulations, managing data efficiently is a basic requirement. Gone are the days of gathering information from paper documents. Present day pipeline construction requires a new level of data management that leverages advanced survey, GIS and mobile data capture technologies.

These processes introduce materials tracking from the mill and throughout pipe handling to provide a comprehensive dataset for project materials. Integral to any As-Built survey is a QA/QC process to ensure that the pipeline is being constructed according to the engineered design. Construction quality management systems ingest inspection and survey to analyze data against design, engineering specifications and regulatory requirements. These systems must provide robust real-time reporting to project management so that issues may be investigated and remedied quickly.

Technology that can help

Material Tracking: PipeTrak IT

PipeTrak IT is a software from PetroIT that has been used on some of the biggest pipeline projects in the world. PipeTrak involves bar coding materials as they leave the mill or pipeyard. These materials are then scanned and tracked at every stage of a project. This prevents loss, mishandling, unreported damage, etc.

As-Built Survey QA/QC: DASH

DASH is a tool designed for Survey Data Techs as well as anyone at the pipeline operator who is checking data. This tool has dozens of validations that can be run against a dataset. The validations make sure that the data is correct, well formatted, and has been collected in the right location.

Construction Management: Orbital Projects

Orbital Projects is a tool that helps you execute your project well. It includes project management reporting tools, mapping tools and data management tools. These combine to give you an accurate picture of where your project is today, and what needs to be done next.

Beyond Drawings

The As-Built is no longer just drawings, but rather a data deliverable compatible with industry standard data models. As a result, the pipeline operator has a Traceable, Verified & Complete (TVC) set of the data they need to operate the system safely and in compliance with the regulations shortly after construction is complete.

When you produce as-built drawings with the Skyline or Lightning alignment sheet tools, they automatically process data into a database. This database can be delivered to the operator which they can then load into their systems. The database is an incredibly valuable asset!

Sounds Easy!

Many service providers are challenged with the increased data rigor that we are faced with today. They end up providing deliverables that the operator won’t accept, and end up going back and forth in a cycle where nobody wins. Meanwhile the operators are faced with a backlog of projects and are challenged with timely responses to information requests, hand offs between internal departments, lack of automation in QA/QC & GIS data loading, etc. The result is a dramatic delay from As-Built to operation’s GIS import, risking regulatory compliance that could entail litigation, financial penalties or worse.

Don’t worry! You are not alone.

Every company in the industry faces these challenges, and many have found solutions that work for them. Operators who took years to load projects into a system, have been able to trim their loading time down to days. And contractors who struggled with small projects, have taken on some of the world’s largest with success. These are great strides!

A common theme for success has been clearly defining, documenting and communicating the process to all stakeholders – operators and service providers. Often this requires walking through their respective roles, steps, deliverables and communication points. Equally important is establishing each deliverable requirement with data maturity expectations at each step. The process can then be codified into a workflow of a project information management system. These platforms facilitate, report, alert and identify issues for the process.

The first step therefore, is defining and documenting your process and your requirements for your projects. There are a lot of ways to do this. The most basic is to create a Delivery Specification Document that outlines what data needs to be collected and how. Beyond this, many operators have embedded the requirements from this Delivery Specification Document into a Blue Sky Seed File database. This database can be distributed to your contractors, and plugged into any Blue Sky tool. This is an effective way of distributing your standards, and provides the contractors with an effective guardrail to help them stay within your requirements.

If any of these issues are plaguing your organization and you want more insights into how we have helped others overcome As-Built challenges, give us a call. We can talk about workflow processes that have been used throughout the industry, and cover what’s worked for some and what hasn’t worked for others.