Pipeline companies have to fulfil manifold tasks for the operation of a pipeline network. Those activities include planned repair or replacement of equipment, recurring time-triggered or wear-driven pipeline maintenance, unplanned emergency repairs or just answering dig requests. All these activities are driven by the need ensuring the integrity of the network.

It is possible to identify needs of operational action by looking at technical data using a technical condition analysis or by fulfilling the legally binding maintenance requirements. Technical indicators can be deduced from a variety of data like basic technical data (age, material, casing, etc.), inspections (CP data, records on maintenance and repair, etc.), incidences (leak, third-party damage, etc.) and operating data (stress, wear, operation mode, etc.).

Most pipeline operators have stored large amounts of the necessary data in geographic information systems (GIS) or ERP-systems e.g. SAP. Furthermore the condition of the pipeline network is measured via regular inspections. The data to support operational tasks could be accessed via one, highly integrated application. This leads to following advantages:

• High flexibility in accessing the data distributed in different systems and in the development of applications.

• Presentation of geographical information and technical data with cost parameters

The solution from GEOMAGIC has several essential advantages.

• The data from the GIS will be connected to the corresponding operational processes. This is a way to produce much more efficient results and to use data stored in different systems like a GIS.

• The application as such is a web application. There is no big installation effort on client side because the access is possible over the web browser.

• To estimate the repair budget for the coming years, maintenance and repair costs can be calculated in advance.

An integrity tracking report covering all captured equipment states can be created about the entire pipeline network at any time.

Currently the solution is in pilot testing with a focus on one-time repair strategies and time-triggered maintenance strategies. But the underlying data model is designed to support all kind of initially mentioned operational duties of a pipeline operator. Only the pipeline operator specific processes and web appearance have to be developed for a low budget on top of the data model.