Construction defects account for a significant proportion of pipeline incidents, underlining the need for greater confidence, precision and traceability in how networks are laid. Quality assurance during jointing and pressure testing forms the backbone of leak prevention, making installation practices essential to both network performance and long-term resilience. Here, Ben Crabtree, global product line director at Ovarro, the remote telemetry specialist, explains why construction defects remain a leading cause of pipeline failure and why data-driven quality assurance is now central to preventing leaks before they occur.
Errors in jointing, manual testing and inconsistent quality assurance processes can reduce pipeline quality, leading to leaks, rework and increased costs. Left unresolved, these issues become far harder and more costly to fix once a pipe is buried and under pressure. That is why, as utilities progress mains replacement programmes, installation quality is increasingly being treated as a frontline part of leak reduction.
Preventing leaks at the point of installation
In a report by the Climate Change Committee, the UK’s independent climate advisors, eight key areas for government action were set out to address the growing impacts of climate change. Accelerated leakage reduction was identified as one way to tackle water shortages, with technology to provide up-to-date and real-time information on the system, highlighted as an enabler.
While real-time network monitoring is already well established in helping utilities pinpoint leaks, technology is increasingly being used to prevent leaks before they occur through improved pipeline management. Leading the way is digital quality assurance supplier ControlPoint, which integrated with Ovarro five years ago. ControlPoint provides technical services to ensure correct installation of a range of pipe jointing methods, including electrofusion and flanged connections.
Completion of new water main installations is dependent on a pressure test to prove the pipe is watertight. However, a significant number of new pipelines fail their first pressure test, mostly due to weeps and leaks on joints and flanges. ControlPoint’s data-led tools remotely monitor new pipe installations to demonstrate compliance, providing a quality control check on installations to ensure pipelines are leak free from the point of installation.
Moving from reactive to proactive quality assurance
Data-driven quality assurance can also help change workforce behaviour. One example is TorqueAssist, a quality assurance app that demonstrates how data capture can support practical, on-the-ground tasks - in this case, flange and mechanical joint assemblies using a torque wrench. The app captures installation data from bluetooth-enabled torques, including gasket and bolt types, along with inputs on location and weather.
Using a mobile device, operatives are asked a series of questions to guide them through the tightening process, providing instant records of activity and evidence of compliance, while driving best practice. The data can also be used to monitor the future needs of the infrastructure. A similar mobile app exists for electrofusion joint assemblies. JointAssist ensures fusion welds are completed ‘right first time’ - alerting the user to ensure critical non-conformities are not present when pipes are commissioned.
Building resilience from the ground up
As companies move away from reactive network management, improving visibility at the point of installation will play an increasingly important role in building more resilient networks. Preventing failures before pipes are buried and brought into service can reduce the risk of leaks, avoid unnecessary rework and provide greater confidence that new infrastructure has been installed correctly.
For utilities facing increasing pressure to reduce leakage and make better use of network data, quality assurance is therefore becoming more than a final check. It is an important part of preventing failures before they happen.
To find out more about how ControlPoint, TorqueAssist and JointAssist can help prevent leaks at the point of installation, get in touch with Ovarro’s sales team.
