Eyes Underground: Advances in Sewer Inspection Cameras, Software Help Us Know What’s Below

By Mike Kezdi

It goes without saying that the four steps to a successful trenchless rehabilitation project are clean, inspected, assessed, and repaired. Some may flip the cleaning and inspection component over, but that’s for another item.

The use of caterpillar robots with cameras is the leading method for assessing the underground systems – whether storms, plumbing or water. These underground eyes are an industry necessity as system owners – whether municipal, public, or private utilities – need to see what’s going on in the system before they can effectively repair or trenchlessly replace the pipe. And the systems are needed at the end of the project to verify that the work was done properly and according to industry standards.

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And it’s not just the great owners. There is such a variety of inspection equipment that small to large contractors and system owners can put together a package that suits their needs.

Manhole scan camera

Gone are the days when black and white systems rolled footage onto tape and even burning the data to DVD is on the way out. Today’s systems incorporate a range of color technologies that early inspection system designers could not even imagine. Over the past decade, the industry has emerged from panoramic camera systems, highly efficient LED lighting, laser profiles, and underground mapping functions, and side launches, to name a few.

“In general, the devices are lighter, more compact, easier to control, and have better image quality,” said Cloud Zhang, P.Eng., Andrews.engineer, an Ontario, Canada-based engineering company specializing in wastewater management Has. “The addition of pan, tilt and steer functions has greatly improved inspection quality and detail. Newer cameras with HD functionality capture more details than before. “

These and many other advances give property owners a better idea of ​​what is going on underground.

Improved Technologies

“Yes, the technology has changed, but so has the durability of the devices. The expectation is that the equipment will not only have to be better but also to last, ”says Kevin Kelly, regional sales representative for Jack Doheny Companies. “When this device was first used, it was almost expected that the device would experience some downtime from placing sensitive electronic equipment in a harsh environment.”

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Camera system on pontoons

Kelly, who has been in the sewer inspection industry for more than two decades – first on the contract side and now at Jack Doheny Companies – notes that one of the biggest drivers of technology shift in the past decade has come from German manufacturer IBAK. “The IBAK Panoramo was launched in Europe in 2000 and brought to North America in 2004. This is a paradigm shift in technology that can be compared to Google Streetview for the pipes,” he says. “The operator’s job switches to data collection. You control the camera through a pipe and it takes a series of pictures and sews them together. “

Bob Taylor, director of Mar-Tech Underground Services in Langley, British Columbia, Canada, agrees with Kelly. He notes that the addition of panoramic views, point cloud, and laser technology have been the greatest advances in sewer inspection over the past decade.

All of these changes, Taylor said, were driven by industry demand. Once the camera technology reached a certain point, contractors and system owners asked what else could be done. In some cases the technologies were migrated from other areas.

Another offshoot of these advances is that there are more products on the market offering contractors and system owners a wider choice of packages. Someone who may have stayed away from purchasing a system for reasons of cost can now find something that is the right size for their inspection needs.

“I think we are now seeing that there are more options for different needs. You can choose your packages, ”said Dave Glisic, SSMO supervisor for the Regional Sewer District (NEORSD) in northeast Ohio. “These changes have allowed smaller communities to acquire systems that meet their needs. In some cases they buy smaller camera systems to internally inspect the side panels. “

The NEORSD manages 318 miles of sewers – by 8 inches. up to 25 feet in diameter – in Cleveland and the surrounding suburbs. The district uses 66-inch camera systems mounted on caterpillars on its lines. and smaller. In the time since Glisic joined NEORSD, he has seen firsthand the shift in both the district and the smaller community he lives in. The latter has added its own CCTV truck to inspect the sewers.

The importance of inspection

“The whole goal of an inspection is to better allocate resources to the public. We’re no longer going to “poke and hope” or clean a basin just to clean it, “says Kelly. “We can stick our heads in the line, take a look, and see where and how we can best allocate our resources. By using these cameras, we can handle taxpayers’ money much more efficiently. “

While it’s great that the cameras traversing North American infrastructure define data that is more defined and gives a clearer picture of the following elements. However, that doesn’t mean much if the software hasn’t made comparable changes.

“Software offers features that save operators time and improve the quality of the data collected,” says Zhang. “For example, pipe attribute data can be preinstalled so operators don’t have to enter everything. Inspection standards have been adopted and integrated into various software platforms to reduce errors. GIS integration and cloud technology have also been incorporated into some inspection software. “

For Michael Zapior, SSMO manager for NEORSD, this means more user-friendly software that is integrated with GIS. With the software built into GIS, the operator can view additional infrastructure details that may be included in the inspection videos and reports. At NEORSD, these inspection videos and reports are now available through the Enterprise GIS applications, which are accessible to stakeholders. As recently as 10 years ago, those reviewing the inspections had to manually pull reports and videos from multiple storage directories and devices.

“Ten years ago, an operator burned the video and reported it on a data disk. It stayed in a filing cabinet somewhere until someone had to check it. Today, videos and reports are integrated into our corporate GIS system within a few days or sooner, ”says Zapior. “With LTE, we can display data in real time [wireless broadband] Services and share it with our technical department and other stakeholders. “

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Thanks to advances in technology, the reports are more thorough thanks to more accurate and detailed images. “All of these improvements have resulted in more data being available,” says Taylor. “The more data an engineer has, the better the finished product will be.”

Software and certification

And in North America. Many of these people and engineers who review the data use NASSCO’s Pipeline Assessment Certification Program (PACP), Manhole Assessment Certification Program (MACP), and Lateral Assessment Certification Program (LACP) standards.

“There are at least five local providers that offer PACP training, and with that many providers offering training, there is a clear interest in the region,” says Zapior. “Inspection observations at NEORSD must be coded with NASSCO PACP, MACP or LACP. We want the operators doing the on-site observations to be consistent. When our employees complete the NASSCO training, they receive a certification that is valid for three years. I want to make sure we are all talking about apples when I say apples.
The introduction of NASSCO PACP provides a universal language between system owners, contractors, engineers and other agencies. Everyone agrees that the entire industry has benefited from this common language. The standards are also integrated into all common inspection software in North America.

“PACP is able to implement more rules at the software level, which significantly reduces the number of human errors,” says Zhang. “The standardized database format also helps with data transfer. Regardless of the software used, the test results are generated in the same format, as the protocol is PACP-certified. “

Taylor wholeheartedly agrees that the key to a quality project is when everyone speaks the same language. On top of that, he’s found some holdouts in British Columbia who haven’t gone through PACP training and certification, but often these communities hire engineers with certification. From what he’s seen, Taylor believes that those who use PACP in sewer assessment will design better, more accurate projects.

“If the system owner can put this stuff in the camera and start categorizing their own line, the software will give them grades for as long as they are doing a PACP health assessment. The software gives the pipe a design and a maintenance class, ”says Kelly. “This allows system owners to focus their money on the pipes that need it most. This data helps us to do this. That’s what this whole inspection thing is about. “

Is there room for growth in this sector of the trenchless market? Everyone agrees that there is room for growth. Particularly given the aging and failing infrastructure in North America and owners looking past the pipelines to the side panels to address influx and infiltration concerns.

“The sewer inspection industry has been slow to adopt new technology. In recent years, however, there has been a rapid development due to the increased demand for sewer inspections, ”says Zhang. “We’re sure there will be more excitement in this industry in the near future.”

Because of this growth potential, the days of the latest technology starting in Europe and enrolling in Canada and the United States over a period of two to three years have declined sharply.

“This gap between Europe and North America has pretty much closed. We [North America] have become a large part of the sales of European manufacturers, ”says Kelly. “They brought what works well there to us much faster. The new technologies come here in real time. “

Mike Kezdi is Associate Editor of Trenchless Technology and Managing Editor of Trenchless Technology Canada, sister publications of Water Finance & Management.

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