NoMan® – Remote Inspections for Confined Spaces
The challenges of confined space inspections
Traditional confined space inspections, involving man-entry, is a hazardous and costly activity.
These high-risk operations demand extensive man-hours and prolonged equipment downtime.
Key challenges include:
- Safety Risks: Potential fatalities and injuries in confined spaces;
- Costly Operations: Extensive preparation and decontamination procedures;
- Productivity Loss: Extended periods of asset unavailability;
- Regulatory Compliance: Meeting stringent safety regulations;
- Efficiency Concerns: Time-consuming entry and exit protocols.
The Solution: NoMan Remote Inspection
NoMan® revolutionises confined space inspections, offering a safer, more efficient alternative to traditional methods. This innovative system enables remote inspections of critical components such as cargo oil tanks, water ballast tanks, and pressure vessels.
Key Features
- Advanced optical and laser scanning systems
- Remote deployment into confined spaces
- Comprehensive structural integrity assessment
NoMan® provides detailed information without human entry, including:
- Deformation analysis
- Coating condition assessment
- General and close visual inspections
- Thickness measurements
- Pitting surveys
By eliminating the need for human entry, NoMan ensures complete robotic inspection of confined spaces, enhancing safety while reducing costs and downtime.
In which asset types can this inspection methodology be used?
This versatile remote inspection system can be applied to a wide range of offshore and onshore assets. It’s particularly useful for inspecting confined spaces and critical components without human entry.
The asset types that can benefit from NoMan include:
- Floating Production Storage and Offloading (FPSOs) vessels
- Mobile Offshore Drilling Units (MODUs)
- Fixed offshore installations
- Other floating offshore installations (both production and drilling)
How does this remote inspection work?
NoMan revolutionises remote inspections with its advanced optical and laser systems, designed for thorough assessments of confined spaces without human entry.
Optical System
- High-performance video and still camera with multi-angle lighting
- Captures detailed images meeting stringent class requirements
- Powerful optical/digital zoom, pan, and tilt capabilities
The optical camera is inserted through deck openings and positioned via a robotic manipulator. Its versatile features allow for both general and close visual inspections of critical components, with the robotic arm ensuring comprehensive coverage by eliminating shadow areas.
Laser Unit
- Inserted through deck openings
- Positioned on tank bottom or suspended under deck
- Gathers precise point-cloud data for structural analysis
The laser unit works in tandem with the optical system, using a robotic arm to place the scanner in predetermined locations for accurate data collection.
The benefits of NoMan remote inspection
The system improves safety and reduces the risks and costs associated with tank preparation for human-entry by operating a completely remote tank inspection.
NoMan® is quick and uses a two-person team, which reduces out-of-service time, offshore bedspace, costs, travel and carbon emissions.
Unlike crawlers, this system does not damage coatings, is far faster and with negligible risk of getting stuck or having to navigate complex structures.
NoMan is not restricted by battery life, with intrinsically safe optical scanners. It does not need human entry to pilot, and always knows exactly where it is and what it is ‘looking’ at.
Is it Proven?
The optical inspection element of NoMan® has already been proven. The system is class approved and has been used since 2016 on tanks, pressure vessels and turrets.
The laser technology is also proven, and we will be demonstrating it and the robotic deployment methods in early December 2020. So that class approvals can be sought soon afterwards.
Contact us to discover how NoMan® can transform your inspection processes.
Patents
Europe Patent No: EP3452795
Africa (ARIPO) App No: AP/P/2018/011168
USA Patent No: 10,871,455 B2
Please go to Patents and Trademarks section for further information.
