Page 84 - Pipeline Pigging Technology

Pre-inspection-survey activities

discussed may encourage pig users to handle what may have become familiar
problems in a different and more efficient manner.
The levels of inspection confidence and accuracy demanded by today's
pipeline operators require the advanced inspection equipment to check
every square centimetre of the pipe wall. Multi-million dollar maintenance
programmes are based on the information thus gathered.
It is clear, therefore, that only the best results are acceptable, and pre-
survey cleaning is an important link in the chain leading to achievement of this
aim.
Finally, it is worth noting, for the benefit of all concerned, that the
unexplored condition of the pipe wall does not lend itself to lump-sum-type
contracts for cleaning.
The author welcomes comments on the topics discussed here, in the hope
that shared experience may one day lead pigging from being considered an
art to being accepted as a science.

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