Project Summary
The project looks to strengthen the UK's energy system robustness by supportingthe integration, adoption and deployment of Internet-of-things (IoT) technology
within the gas network supply chain by addressing specific challengesexperienced during network upgrades and new network construction.
The level of digitisation is extremely low in the gas sector, and the construction ofnetwork assets is still largely paper-based. To enable the efficient construction ofmajor capital projects such as HyNet in the north-west, critical path activities, suchas welding and its associated activities, need to be digitised and intelligentlylinked.
Whilst this program will provide immediate safety and quality improvements, whichinevitably lower costs, it also lowers construction costs by providing real-time 'costof delivery' metrics enabling project teams to laser focus on escalating expensesas they happen and mitigate immediately rather than retrospectively, which onlarge capital projects is often the case.
Partner 1
-- Triton electronics is a leader in the development, manufacture andsupply of welding monitors and software, with deployments in APAC, EMEA andThe Americas in Aerospace, Oil & Gas, Nuclear, Research and other demandingengineering sectors. They are providing the hardware expertise and overall designarchitecture for the solution.
Partner 2
--TWI is a technology and research organisation that is a leadingengineering institution supporting welding and joining professionals with welding,joining and allied technologies. They are providing access to their weldingsoftware platform and assisting in its integration with the hardware.
Partner 3
- United Living is a supply chain partner within the gas network and firstidentified the need for such a technology to enable the efficient build of largenetwork assets such as HyNet. Fully conversant in the construction of high-pressure gas networks, they will test and integrate the solution into theiroperations and provide the welding equipment and staff.
Partner 4
-- Cadent Gas are supporting this initiative looking to develop thetechnology for use by its supply chain network. If successful, they will allow theenvironmental test phase of the project to take place on several sites ensuringoutput is accurate and as described.
Innovation Justification
Digital Inspector YouTube Video
Project Benefits
Digital Inspector will improve fabrication productivity and quality.
Digital Inspector will collect, aggregate and process all welding data from initiation,through procedure qualification and welder qualification and finally to theproduction welds. Previous site-side software deployment in vehicle tracking, fuelusage and temporary works control for example has shown an increase of over66% in efficiency and precision. Similar improvements in documentation.
Poor documentation is a source of weld defects, an unqualified welder or use ofincorrect consumables for instance. Having welder sign ins and consumablescanning, using a welder and consumable credential system will guard againstthese. Providing these assurances automatically and in real time means noproduction hold ups that are caused by staff looking for paperwork or an inspectormanually corresponding procedure documentation to welder qualifications.
Production defects can be introduced by welders using incorrect weldingparameters. Heat input affects weld pool solidification and the weld properties.Automatic data recording not only reduces out of tolerance occurrence by givingwelders instant feedback, but also flags anomalies so defects can be removedearly in the procedure.
Weld values are recorded accurately in real time so productivity rates can becompared within a site, and to greater benefit across multiple applications,simplifying the adoption of best practices. Further, new processes and practicescan be documented and systematically compared, inherent defect ratesestablished. Once the base lines are determined, problem areas and bottle necksare spotted early and alleviated.
Automatically storing weld fabrication data in TWI management software will allowthe easy reuse of welding procedures. New projects can use historicalprocedures, only running new procedure trials when necessary. Similarly storingwelder credentials and their qualification history seamlessly in TWIs managementsoftware means welders only need to requalify when necessary. Even allowingwelders to "carry" qualifications from one site to another, one job to another. Thisis a novel idea that could easily revolutionise the industry, allowing welders tomove between contractors without the need to be re-qualified.
A reduction in "cost of poor quality" is a big benefit for Cadent Gas. This is clearfrom recent incidents in North America and Asia, the issues that can arise frompoor weld quality, so prevention of construction incidents is a significant benefit.
Significant project costs are associated with countering fabrication risks, DigitalInspector will reduce both production overrun and quality risks. Reducing riskreduces project cost and delivery time.
Learnings
Impacts And Benefits
Benefits Part 1
The project is expected to generate the following benefits:
The overall cost of constructing assets is reduced, and streamlined, by live tracking of costs, a reduction of site personnel and a lower likelihood of project delays due to welding. This means RIIO2 funding will go further than originally predicted, potentially enabling more of the network to be upgraded and replaced within this funding period. This also applies to new assets outside of RIIO2, such as the HyNet program in the northwest.
There are several carbon reduction benefits from this program:
Direct emissions (Scope 1 & 2) -- Lower site power usage, diesel usage in construction equipment, construction reworking, and project delays.
Indirect emissions (Scope 3) -- Lower travel to and from the site from grey fleet vehicles, delays and part deliveries of materials and goods to the site, onsite paper usage, site waste, and supplier emissions across all four partners.
The project will help Triton move from supplying monitoring equipment to a monitoring service company by developing new offerings, aligned to future industrial digitalisation requirements. Income streams will come from the dashboard as well as low cost monitors. TWI gain access to data directly from the fabrication site enabling it to adapt its existing software products to be suitable for new market sectors, offering the opportunity for increased sales. Both weld monitoring and management are used by high quality welding fabricators, by making the interface between the two seamless they are more attractive to the general fabrication market.
Using the most productive tools keeps United Living at the front of industry innovation and high-quality fabrication, helping to win new projects and drive-up productivity while reducing risk and providing a more competitive service offering.
Further as the product is developed, real weld data is collected. This opens up the possibility for statistical process control to analyse trends in data and see if there is correlation to reject rates. AI models can be generated to try and reduce defects in real time.
A monitoring mechanism shall be developed to assess the carbon reduction during the project lifecycle and the embedded carbon shall be calculated against current practice.
How will your project deliver net benefits to consumers?
Digital Inspector will improve fabrication productivity and quality.
Digital Inspector will collect, aggregate and process all welding data from initiation, through procedure qualification and welder qualification and finally to the production welds. Previous site-side software deployment in vehicle tracking, fuel usage and temporary works control for example has shown an increase of over 66% in efficiency and precision. Similar improvements in documentation.
Poor documentation is a source of weld defects, an unqualified welder or use of incorrect consumables for instance. Having welder sign ins and consumable scanning, using a welder and consumable credential system will guard against these. Providing these assurances automatically and in real time means no production hold ups that are caused by staff looking for paperwork or an inspector manually corresponding procedure documentation to welder qualifications.
Production defects can be introduced by welders using incorrect welding parameters. Heat input affects weld pool solidification and the weld properties. Automatic data recording not only reduces out of tolerance occurrence by giving welders instant feedback, but also flags anomalies so defects can be removed early in the procedure.
Weld values are recorded accurately in real time so productivity rates can be compared within a site, and to greater benefit across multiple applications, simplifying the adoption of best practices. Further, new processes and practices can be documented and systematically compared, inherent defect rates established. Once the base lines are determined, problem areas and bottle necks are spotted early and alleviated.
Automatically storing weld fabrication data in TWI management software will allow the easy reuse of welding procedures. New projects can use historical procedures, only running new procedure trials when necessary. Similarly storing welder credentials and their qualification history seamlessly in TWIs management software means welders only need to requalify when necessary. Even allowing welders to "carry" qualifications from one site to another, one job to another. This is a novel idea that could easily revolutionise the industry, allowing welders to move between contractors without the need to be re-qualified.
A reduction in "cost of poor quality" is a big benefit for Cadent Gas. This is clear from recent incidents in North America and Asia, the issues that can arise from poor weld quality, so prevention of construction incidents is a significant benefit.
Significant project costs are associated with countering fabrication risks, Digital Inspector will reduce both production overrun and quality risks. Reducing risk reduces project cost and delivery time.
