The changing market landscape

The non-destructive test (NDT) service market for pipelines is at a crossroads, with an inevitable need for transformation looming on the horizon. On the one hand, the market is poised for unprecedented growth. According to Fortune Business Insights, the global NDT market size is expected to reach US$16.66 billion by 2029, with a CAGR of 13.66% during the forecast period. Demand has been galvanised by governments around the world, tightening safety and environmental regulations.

In addition, an unprecedentedly high level of ageing infrastructure will require massive investments and monitoring to maintain operational capacities. For example, the American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) Report Card for America’s Infrastructure gave a blistering C- for the US’ infrastructure. While the score was bumped up from the D to D+ range for over 20 years, it still shows general signs of massive deterioration, which increase the likelihood of functional and performance deficiencies, and increase vulnerability to risk.

ASCE estimates that investments of US$281 billion/yr are needed to reverse the impact of infrastructure failure. If investments are not made, the report indicates it will cost America US$10 trillion in GDP by 2039. The need for NDT services is definitely set to skyrocket.

However, challenges are rampant despite robust demand for NDT services, whether in-house or by third-party businesses. The main hurdle? Workplace demographics. Based on statistics by Zippia, a major career site, the average age of NDT technicians, which comprise 66% of the workforce, is 45 years. As many NDT managers know, these professionals are prone to retire early. What’s more, only 12% of NDT technicians are under the age of 30. With unemployment rates in the profession hovering at 2 - 3%, the ripple effects of a crippling labour shortage become blatantly clear.

Indeed, a perfect storm is brewing for the NDT industry, compromising demand fulfilment.

Modern challenges require modern technology

To successfully weather this storm, NDT companies and teams must adopt a proactive approach to their service management. This includes investing in training and development programmes to attract and retain skilled workers, and implementing new technologies to improve NDT efficiency and boost service capacity.

The World Corrosion Organisation claims that infrastructure by corrosion damage alone is estimated to cost US$2.2 trillion worldwide each year. The organisation says that between 20% and 25% of corrosion costs could be mitigated by using new technologies and innovative maintenance programmes. In order words, investing in new technologies and developing a proactive maintenance programme could not only help reduce the impact of the aforementioned challenges but also generate a high return on investment (ROI). One such technology investment is through better instrumentation, such as 3D scanning, to elevate and accelerate decision-making.

In the past, NDT businesses were often hesitant to adopt new technologies and make investments to implement new inspection methodologies. But with the new demand and technician shortage imperatives, 3D scanners can unlock impressive operational opportunities that counter-balance the investment.

Scanner benefits

For one, metrology-grade 3D scanners, like Creaform’s HandySCAN 3D or Go!SCAN 3D, are user-independent. That means that the 3D scanner can generate repeatable and accurate results of up to 0.0009 in., regardless of the operator’s skill level or experience. 3D scanning is the most accurate technique to measure surface damage, which gives asset owners peace of mind knowing they are making decisions based on unequalled inspection accuracy.

3D scanning is also a simple technique. It requires no lengthy training or extensive certification process. Offering short learning curves and quick set up times, 3D scanners can easily be deployed inside any organisation. Besides their simplicity, 3D scanners’ portability enables inspection teams to transport them to any site and reach constrained areas that were either too cumbersome or dangerous to attain with conventional methods.

Some 80 times faster than the traditional pit gauge method, 3D scanners drastically improve the productivity of NDT teams and avoid unnecessary infrastructure downtimes, staving off costs and ensuring asset owners preserve their service line agreements.

The future of 3D scanning NDT software

To help inspection teams address market and labour challenges, Creaform has developed a 3D scanning software platform, VXintegrity, based on Pipecheck software and designed specifically for surface damage assessments conducted by NDT teams that cater to the pipeline industry.

Creaform 3D scanners bundled with VXintegrity offer metrology-grade accuracy, traceable data over time and human-independent results that eliminate measurement variations and ambiguity in the interpretation of inspection data.

VXintegrity features several software modules that enable inspection teams to dive deeper into their assessments. The Pipeline Inspection module, formerly known as Creaform’s Pipecheck software, has become the industry reference for assessing mechanical damage on pipelines. Over the years, by integrating automatic defect pattern recognition, interaction parameter and ASME B31.G pass or fail criteria, Pipecheck has greatly reduced the latency time between digging a pipe and re-burying it because inspectors can generate reports onsite. This massive increase in productivity has generated millions of savings for the pipeline owner.

The surface damage module provides users with tools to analyse absolute measurements of..

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