The Challenge
Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. required an experienced firm that could assist with the 3-dimensional as-built documentation of a 16” pipeline traversing 140 miles from Sherman, TX to Longview, TX.
The Solution
TBS implemented state-of-the art software that links the barcodes of each individual pipe joint to the manifest spreadsheet supplied by the client. When pipe was strung out in the right of way, it was assigned a unique Joint ID and was immediately tallied with the manifest; the crew only needed to check that the manifest matched the inside stencil of the pipe. The crew would then come back a second time once the weld was made and x-rays were performed to complete the attribute assignments. With the bulk of the attributes obtained before the pipe was placed in the trench, the only thing left to record was the centimeter level accuracy xyz position of each pipe weld along with the depth of cover of the pipe. By simply entering in the unique X-ray number into the data collector, all other fields auto-populated and significantly increased the speed of the main line crew, allowing for no construction delays in the backfilling process. The data was then handed over to Plains in the specified format for implementation into their overall GIS database in the exact standard requested.