Assessing
Infrastructure Problems in Missouri - written by Phil Becker & Chris
Garrett
Posted:
February 2012
Technology gives Raymore,
Mo., officials a heads up as to the condition of its
pipe.
Raymore,
Mo., is a small suburb of 18,000 on the south side of
Kansas City, Mo. Small, but like all municipalities its
size, it has millions of dollars invested in the
infrastructure that serves its citizens. Part of this
infrastructure is the sanitary sewer force main that
pumps half the City’s sewage back up over a ridge to
where a gravity sewer carries it to a regional treatment
plant.
The force
main is 17,500 ft of 24-in., cement-lined, ductile iron
pipe that was installed in the early 1990s. The lift
station that serves this line was upgraded in 2007 and
currently pumps an average of 750,000 gals of sewage per
day, operating around 80 to 100 psi. Unfortunately and
unexpectedly, this force main has sprung three leaks in
the past few years. These leaks cost tens of thousands
of dollars to repair, spilled tens of thousands of
gallons of sewage into the local creek and left the City
wondering when the next shoe would drop.
PICA provides
measurements that tell the client the exact
condition of their assets. Our tools use a
patented remote field technology that can
determine actual wall thickness of metallic pipe
even with liners and coatings.
With our inspection results, clients have saved
extensive effort and cost by not replacing their
pipelines prematurely. We have also pinpointed
specific regions needing spot repair or isolated
rehabilitation to extend the life of the asset.
Have confidence in your pipeline management with
information from PICA. Good decisions start with
good information.
PICA is now a member of
the BBB (Better Business Bureau) Accredited Business.
The BBB accreditation is a reflection of PICA's
commitment to ethical business practices, who
consistently demonstrate trust in business and high
quality customer service.
Wachs Water Services
and PICA Form Strategic Alliance
Posted:
July 2011
Wachs Water Services and
Pipeline Inspection & Condition Analysis Corporation
(PICA) Form Strategic Alliance to Accelerate Deployment
of Metallic Water Pipeline Inspection Technologies.
PICA attends the
American Water Works Association ACE'11 Expo June 12-16.
Posted:
June 2011
The
American
Water Works Association ACE’11 Exposition is
half-way over and PICA has been busy building
relationships around the world! From Ecuador to South
Korea, and Nigeria to North America, guests have been
stopping by the PICA booth to learn more about the
HydraSnake and SeeSnake tools.
Ed
Brain and Chris Garrett are managing the booth, so
if you are in Washington D.C., stop by #126 and
introduce yourself. Check back here over the next few
days for pictures and updates; and don’t forget “Good
Decisions start with Good Information!”
Frost & Sullivan has
awarded Russell NDE Systems Inc. the "2011 Product
Leadership Award for Remote Field Testing".
Posted:
April 2011
Russell NDE
Systems Inc. has been honored by Frost & Sullivan with
its "2011 Global Product Leadership Award for Remote
Field Testing"
The independent, un-biased analysis performed by Frost &
Sullivan's PDF Report can be viewed by clicking
here.
Quote from President Dave Russell: It is great to be
recognized by an independent, highly reputable, firm
like Frost & Sullivan for the hard work of the R&D,
manufacturing, Sales and Support teams at Russell. We
have always known that our RFT instruments (FerroScope,
VertiScan, I-PIT, E-PIT, See Snake, HydraSnake and TT)
were "best in class"; but this award shows that our
customers think so too. We are grateful to Frost &
Sullivan and their analyst Nikhil Jain for selecting
Russell for this prestigious award.
Russell NDE purchases
See Snakes from PipeScope Inc., and takes over their
business of inspecting oil and gas lines.
Posted:
April 2011
Russell NDE Systems Inc. (RNDE) is pleased to announce
that it has acquired all of the in-line inspection tool
assets of PipeScope Inc.,(former licensee of RNDE’s for
western Canada oil and gas pipeline inspection
services).
RNDE will immediately begin to market in-line inspection
services to oil and gas pipeline owners in Canada and
internationally.
“This is a strategic move for RNDE as we consolidate our
pipeline condition analysis services for the O&G
marketplace. We have added See Snake Tools in 3”, 4” and
6” sizes to our Tool inventory as well as a large
compressor (used to push the Tools into the pipes) and a
Tracked Skid Steer unit, equipped with an Amsteel Rope
winch, (used to retrieve the Tools at constant speed).
We will now have the capability to offer inspection of
unlined oil and gas pipelines which complements the
services that we have been offering for lined pipelines”
Company President, Dave Russell said.
“This move comes at a time when RNDE has just been
awarded a “best in class” award for its equipment that
uses RFT technology by the prestigious Frost and
Sullivan Group, and its subsidiary, PICA Corp. is moving
towards dominance of the pipeline condition analysis
business for water and wastewater networks”
www.russelltech.com
and
www.picacorp.com.
For more info. Please call Dave Russell at (780)
468-6800
PICA announces the
opening of its new office in Charlotte, North Carolina
Posted:
April 2011
PICA:
Pipeline Inspection and Condition Analysis Corporation
(USA) Corp., is pleased to announce the opening of its
new office in Charlotte, North Carolina. The office
opened on April 1st and will be serving the water,
wastewater and energy sectors throughout the US. The
Charlotte office will be headed by
Chris Garrett, General
Manager of PICA USA operations.
“The water and wastewater industries have made great
strides with respect to managing its infrastructure.
More and more utilities are taking proactive measures to
ensure the long-term sustainability of their assets, and
PICA is excited to offer a proven solution to asset
managers,” said Garrett. “It really is an exciting time
as technological progress has made pipeline inspections
affordable for both small towns and big cities.”
PICA USA along with its Canadian counterpart, PICA Corp
Canada, provide direct condition assessment “DCA” of
pipelines through the use of in-line inspection (ILI)
tools (also known as “smart pigs”). The information is
then used to help pipeline owner-operators make more
informed decisions regarding replacement, repair and
rehabilitation. This concept is echoed by the company’s
motto: “Good Decisions start with Good Information".
To learn more about PICA USA, visit
www.picacorp.com or
call the new office at 704.236.3771.
Deep care for aging
waterworks - Edmonton company’s technology gets inside
underground pipes to prevent main breaks
Posted:
April 2011
PICA company
president Dave Russell stands in a two-metre pipe from
Bearspaw Dam, Calgary's main water supply. The firm has
earned an international name in water-main corrosion
detection.
Russell NDE
president, Dave Russell and Dacon President Martin
Stuvik have inked an agreement to share their technology
within their market areas. The agreement allows Russell
and its sister company PICA to market Dacon’s UT PIG (an
ultrasonic, high precision, in-line inspection tool for
pipeline inspections) within Canada and the USA. It also
allows Dacon to market Russell and/or PICA’s
electromagnetic tools for pipeline inspection in
Thailand and surrounding areas. Read more
PICA has been
appointed by SewerVue as a representative and service
provider
Posted:
December 2010
PICA has
been appointed by SewerVue as a representative and
service provider. Please click on the link below to
learn more about this exciting new technology.
http://www.picacorp.com/SewerVue.html
PICA attends the
Western Canada Water Conference and Trade Show in
Calgary
Posted:
September 2010
Chris
Garrett and Paul Ryhanen represented PICA at the Western
Canada Water Conference and Trade Show in Calgary on
September 21st and 22nd. PICA’s brand new display offers
an educational overview of the capabilities and
advantages to condition assessment using RFT. Please
contact Chris for more information about PICA’s services
via email:
cgarrett@picacorp.com or phone: 800.661.0127. Visit
the Media page for access to
the brochures from the conference.
PICA kicks off a two-week program
of water main testing for the City of Calgary
Posted:
August 20, 2010
PICA kicks off a two-week program of
water main testing for
the City of Calgary. The City are old hands at using the
HydroScope technology, and the new HydraSnake Tools are
even easier to use.
In the first photo, Calgary Engineer Charles Pullan
opens the valve to push the HydraSnake into the Hydrant
adapter. In the other photo, Field Engineer Supervisor
Paul Ryhanen prepares the HydraSnake for deployment.
PICA attends the Singapore
International Water Week
Posted:
August 2010
Vincent Shen
attended the Singapore International Water Week in June
28 - July 2. Our booth featured the See-snake tool
technology which drew much interest. For more
information on our services and technology please
contact Vincent Shen who manages PICA's Asia division,
email
vshen@picacorp.com. Picture above from left to
right Vincent Shen, Michael Redenbach (Trade
Commissioner), Low Pee Hong (Trade Commissioner
Assistant), helpers.
PICA sees opportunities in oil and
gas and water companies in Brunei
Posted:
August 2010
Article taken from the Brunei Times -
"PICA, which specializes in pipeline inspection, with
a technology that detects where the faults are in a
pipeline and determines how to repair the pipe, also
sees opportunities in the Brunei market, particularly
with BSP.
The company's technology is currently being used in
Singapore and by Shell Canada and the company hopes that
its work for Shell Canada will provide reference for BSP,
should the company have similar needs.
"We have to learn the local market, meet local people
and if we manage to meet the right person to partner
with, then it would mean that we are halfway to
success," said Vincent Shen, marketing director of
PICA."
PICA attends the EPRI Buried
Pipeline Integrity Group Conference in Atlanta
Posted:
July 2010
PICA sent a
representative to Atlanta for the Electrical Power
Research Institute’s (EPRI) Buried Pipeline Integrity
Group Conference. PICA set up a demonstration booth to
show the accuracy of the remote field eddy current
(RFEC) technology and its applicability for inspecting
water pipelines within electrical power facilities. The
live demo was very popular with event attendees as they
were able to observe RFEC in real time as it inspected a
sample six inch tube. For more information about how
PICA can help with pipeline inspection, continue
browsing our website, email
info@picacorp.com
or call 1.800.661.0127.
NRC - IRAP projects, key to
technology success
Posted:
April 2010
PICA (Russell NDE)
would like to acknowledge the invaluable assistance that
the Canadian National Research Centre and its Industrial
Research Assistance Program (IRAP) have provided to the
firm. As early as the late 1980’s Russell NDE Systems
(then Russell Technologies) partnered with NRC to
develop the key technologies that underlie the modern
in-line inspection Tools that Russell now makes, and
PICA now uses. This assistance has led to the completion
of dozens of small to medium development projects with
almost 100% success rate. Products such as the Radalarm,
Radiation Dosemeter, Ferroscope, I-PIT, E-PIT, WellCAT,
HydroScope and See Snake Tools would not have been
possible without NRC’s participation.
For more information about NRC’s initiative for
sustainable infrastructure developments, visit:
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/eng/ibp/irc/csir/index.html
City of Calgary hires PICA again
to inspect their water mains
Posted:
April 2010
PICA Canada will be inspecting water mains again this summer under a two-week project scope for the City of Calgary. City water department managers have been long time supporters of the HydroScope technology which inspects water mains with access through fire hydrants. The City is also considering the See Snake for inspection of several waste water lines this year.
PICA to inspect two sub-marine drinking water pipelines in Hong
Kong
Posted:
March 2010
PICA to inspect two
sub-marine drinking water pipelines in Hong Kong: Pica
has been awarded a contract to inspect two 12” steel water mains that connect Hong Kong to an offshore island. The 3.5km long lines have never leaked; however, the Water Board of Hong Kong is proactively evaluating the condition of their pipelines in order to avoid future failures.
PICA USA to inspect 12" waste
water line in Milwaukee
Posted:
March 2010
PICA has been awarded a
contract to inspect a 12” waste water pipeline through
Corrosion Control Technologies. The line segment will be
out of service during the test and a wireline technique
will be employed.
PICA USA and AECOM team up to
inspect waste water lines for the City of Virginia Beach
Posted:
March 2010
PICA USA and AECOM team
up to inspect waste water lines for the City of Virginia
Beach: AECOM has been awarded a multi-year contract to
assess the condition of waste water lines in the City of
Virginia Beach. PICA will provide See Snake inspection
Tools for the condition assessments.
Archive: Hydroscope signs
multi-year agreement to inspect City of Edmonton water
mains
President Dave Russell
seals the deal with Aqualta water branch manager Alan
Davies, with the HydroScope development team in the
background looking on.
Archive: Hydroscope draws a crowd
in Scotland
The HydroScope Tool was
demonstrated to Scottish Water (1999) in a 6" water
main.
Archive: Hydroscope in Australia
TYCO personnel operate
the HydroScope from a small van, inspecting 6" water
mains.
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