Bureau Veritas is reporting a rise in the demand for remote inspection of offshore assets and equipment since the COVID-19 outbreak
Requests for remote inspection, which used to be considered desirable rather than essential, have grown this year, as businesses want to keep their employees safe.
A number of remote inspection solutions are already in progress for operators and oilfield service companies. In addition, there have been 20 more requests, since the beginning of this year.
Inspections and verification are vital for offshore companies to comply with the legislation, and ensure efficiency and performance of their assets and equipment.
Bureau Veritas employees can carry out theseservices by staying onshore themselves, and limiting close contact with the site by using mobile cameras for inspection.
It has in the past, risk-profiled activities and identified which inspections can be performed remotely to help operators and oilfield service companies plan for the year ahead.
This would result in direct and indirect savings, as well as reduction in creating carbon footprints, in the process. Whenever physical inspection becomes unavoidable, an up-front technical and safety assessment, underpins the reduction and elimination of risk at site.
Paul Shrieve, vice president, offshore & services explained, “Previously, the remote inspection of assets and equipment received a limited reception, and was usually considered a good idea, something that the industry should get around to.
“But customers these days want to use remote inspection as an alternative way to meet the requirements of the Offshore Safety Directive (OSD). Since the start of this year, the demand has greatly increased.”
A significant improvement in terms of health and safety, which remote inspection provides, is the reduced risk of exposure to COVID-19 virus, for clients and Bureau Veritas staff.
It saves time and money, while reducing staffing levels, by eliminating travel to client premises, and helicopter travel to offshore installations, which cuts back on onsite inspections and accommodation costs. This results in improved green credentials and accessibility to a range of subject matter experts qualified to perform the tasks.
The company’s remote inspection services are the first to have been reviewed by the United Kingdom Accreditation Service (UKAS). This provides an essential assurance for duty holders, in meeting the OSD requirements, regarding remotely inspected mobile equipment on-board an installation. These remote services are specially designed to meet the health and safety executive’s requirements and other initiatives during the pandemic.
Several major international companies, from both the operator and service sectors, are already using Bureau Veritas’s remote inspection services. A spokesperson for Shell UK explained, “An ongoing pilot with Shell UK is working towards establishing an end-to-end, remote-based verification process, which Bureau Veritas will use to give duty holders assured confidence in meeting regulatory requirements.”
“COVID-19 has revealed that working practices can be conducted in a much more eco-friendly manner, and with the help of technology, businesses can deliver much more effectively, and achieve a quick turnaround,” said Paul Shrieve. “The world will never be the same again. At Bureau Veritas we have been very quick to take the learnings from the pandemic and implement long-term changes that are both responsible and sustainable,” he added.
