Enhancing digital pipeline monitoring with fibre optics
03/09/2019
Wabtec has announced that it is collaborating with Calgary-based Hifi Engineering to enhance digital technologies that monitor asset health to predict and prevent failures at mine sites. By incorporating Hifi’s fibre-optic sensing technologies with Wabtec’s Digital Mine solutions, mine operators can monitor the integrity of critical pipeline assets used to transport ore more efficiently, over long distances and through environmentally sensitive areas.This combined solution is currently being introduced at a mining site in Latin America across the most critical sections of pipeline that carry ore, in slurry form, from the mine to the export terminal.
As a vital artery for the operation, assuring pipeline availability while helping to prevent any major environmental impacts is essential. The unique synergy of Hifi’s high-fidelity optic sensing solution provides distributed sensing capabilities, while Digital Mine’s condition-based monitoring techniques allow for the early detection of abnormalities, such as ground movement, and compromised pipeline integrity issues, such as intrusions and leaks. These innovative monitoring technologies will allow mine operations to be more proactive around maintenance activities and provide increased visibility across this business-critical long-distance pipeline.“Our Digital Mine solutions leverage decades of mining experience, cutting-edge data science and analytics technology to help miners optimise cost per ton and improve availability and reliability,” said Doug Hanson, Vice President and General Manager, Digital Mine, Wabtec. “With the Hifi collaboration, mine operators will be able to use advanced analytics and artificial intelligence to monitor their pipeline systems and proactively identify threats and potential leaks throughout their operations.”
“Mine operators are invested in assets, processes and systems on a massive scale to meet business objectives, while managing risks around safety, financial and environmental events,” said Steven Koles, President and CEO, Hifi. “However, hundreds, sometimes thousands, of assets produce enormous amounts of data that can either keep the operator informed to make smarter decisions or leave the operator vulnerable to blind spots and risks within their mining operation. Our collaboration with Wabtec enables mining operators to increase their equipment piping uptime via proper alerts, notifications and visualisations based on the data coming from Hifi’s specialised fibre-optic sensors. By fusing the two technologies with real-time information from acoustics, vibration, strain and other critical factors, operators can increase their confidence with the production monitoring of their assets and overall operations.”
