Best Fit: match and fit
Best Fit is an innovative digital solution to save time and money during pipeline construction.
Gonzague Vollaire, Project Line Pipe Services Development Manager,and Nicolas Gotusso, Best Fit Product Developer, held a webcast presentation with Pipeline & Gas Journal to demonstrate the operational benefits of the Best Fit solution.
The problem
As we all know, pipes are not perfectly round, making it difficult to fit up pipe-ends that just don’t match and creating a major challenge for operators during pipeline construction. When the HiLo is too high, construction is stopped, whilst the un-matched pipe is taken off the firing line and quarantined, slowing down operations and costing time and money. That’s why Best Fit has been developed.
The solution
This solution is based on accurate pipe-end measurement and unique pipe-end identification. The data is then analyzed to predict the HiLo of all possible pipe-end combinations and to identify pipe-end compatibility – or incompatibility using an accurate deterministic approach. This enables operators to secure the production flow as per the specified HiLo or to reduce the HiLo which can lead to improved weld quality and other operational benefits.
With an easy-to-use mobile app – the “Best-Fit-Finder” – operators scan each pipe-end and the application indicates if pipes are compatible, allowing them to mark the area of compatibility on the pipe. This aims at facilitating welding on the firing-line, as well as identifying any incompatible pipe-ends before entering the firing line, preventing a potential bottleneck.
This can be done anywhere, on any pipe (seamless and welded). Recent projects on spool bases and offshore, for both welded and seamless pipes, have achieved savings up to 75,000 USD per kilometer, with no additional personnel on site.
