GPS and barcode pipe data collection
Robert Pryor
President
Ellipse Spatial Services Ltd.
#409 918-16 th Ave N.W.
Calgary, AB
Abstract
Barcodes have been used in the retail industry for years for inventory control and to
identify products at the counter. Barcode technology has been used successfully on a
number of pipeline projects to track and identify pipe from the pipe mill to the ditch
during pipeline construction projects ranging in size from 10 to 42 inches. Not only is it
an efficient method of data collection, but also in conjunction with GPS it provides a
means of quality assured asbuilt data.
Barcodes are placed on the individual joints of pipe at the coating facility via label or ink
jetting the information onto the pipe’s surface. The barcode contains the identification
information for each joint of pipe that can be utilized at any point during construction
such as the stockpile yard, stringing, welding or lowering-in. The individual pipe
information is collected via barcodes and handheld computers, including weld numbers
and pertinent information that may want to be collected. Once the pipe data is collected,
GPS is used to collect positions of the pipes features in the ditch and other occurrences
such as crossings. Daily reporting of pipe data occurs for resolution of construction and
welding process problems with this quality assured digital information. The data is easily
uploaded to a GIS environment for use during the operation of the pipeline.
Introduction
Barcode technology has been used in many industries successfully for years for inventory
control and materials tracking. During the construction phase of a pipeline barcodes can
be used to identify individual joints of pipe, and allow for quick easy data collection in a
non-spatial or spatial setting. With the requirements for improved pipeline data for
pipeline integrity throughout the life cycle of pipeline, barcodes are able to provide a
simple, quality controlled and dependable method of pipe data collection in the field.
The use of barcodes to collect pipe data creates a seamless process of transferring data
from the field to an office setting. Not only is this process seamless, but it is also a means
of quick and accurate data collection by field crews equipped with GPS, barcode
scanning equipment and any other variety of conventional data collection tools. The field
crew is able to obtain a GPS position of pipe features that can be linked to or captured
with the scanned barcode data. The electronic pipe data captured in the field is then
quality assured against the digital mill manifests for abnormalities or identification
number errors. The mill manifests maybe used within a handheld computer for quality
assurance “on the fly” as pipe data is being collected or can quality assured when the data
is post processed. The data then is exported to a database, or GIS for asbuilt plan
generation.
Pipe indentification historically
Traditionally pipe joints are assigned unique identification numbers (pipe numbers, heat
or coil numbers) at manufacturing mill. They are manually issued at the start of the
milling process, and the numbers identify each joint of pipe from production at the mill to
the asbuilt survey on the right-of-way. In short each joint of pipe is unique identifier
numbers that are used throughout the pipelines life span.
At the end pipe mill process, the pipe identification numbers maybe placed on the inside
or the outside of the pipe joints. Upon arrival at the end of the coating process the pipe
numbers are recorded to a tally sheet, and reapplied manually to the outside or inside of
the pipe. Human transposition errors may occur during this process, of assigning and
transferring of pipe identification numbers.
The pipe joints are then transported to stockpile sites were a tally of the joints is
performed. This tally is based on the pipe identification numbers. The pipe is then strung
along the right-of-way for welding and placement into the ditch. After the joints of pipe
pass through the welding process the order and identification of each joint is collected
manually in field. Again human transposition errors may occur during this process, of
assigning and transferring of pipe identification numbers. This information is then later
converted to electronic format, for use in a database, electronic drawing generation and
GIS applications.
This process works well for the most part and the end result is acceptable, but there are
some areas in which this process can be improved. The first is the quality of the
information collected and the second is the cost of collecting this data. The present
quality of the information is not generally questioned, partly because it is not easy to do
so and perhaps because it may cause problems if the true accuracy of the data were
known. In discussions with various people who transfer and collect the pipe data, it is
suggested that the entire manual recording of the data create errors of 15- 20%. Although
not conclusive, a manual ad hoc test resulted in >20% error rate for pipe data collection.
If these errors were truly known, then new procedures and quality control checks would
be required, affecting pipeline integrity and operation issues. The second area that
barcode technology assists is in lowering costs then any savings in the process will
benefit the pipeline companies. These savings include the manufacturing, coating,
construction, and final preparation costs.
Dependability of barcodes for pipe data
The pipe-coating manufacturer applies the barcode label or inkjets the barcode directly
onto the surface of the pipe at the end of the coating process. If the barcode is to be
printed directly on to the surface of the pipe, the barcode will be less susceptible to
damage during transportation of the pipe to the right-of-way for construction. If the bar
code is printed onto a label, the barcode symbology must be able withstand damage
during handling and transportation. The resilient combination of barcode symbology and
labels has historically shown less than a 3% fatality rate. At this low fatality rate, even a
joint of pipe with a damaged label is not untraceable, as multiple labels and the
conventional stenciling can be utilized.
Barcodes on pipe must be able to survive handling from stock pipeline yards to trucks,
rail cars and stringing along the right of way, and thru the welding process. This
dependability of barcodes are based on three factors:
- Application of barcode to the pipes surface.
- The selection of barcode symbology.
- Placement of labels.
