HITS JIP Bottom Plating Inspection Development

HITS has been instrumental in encouraging the development of innovative methods such as diverless hull inspections and remote confined space inspections over the last 6 years. HITS is now keen to encourage methods for inspecting hull bottom plating inspection methods where the bottom plating is in various degrees of cleanliness.

Trial and demonstration
To this end a representative test piece has been manufactured and a facility provided where interested parties can trial and demonstrate any inspection techniques they feel might meet the inspection requirements. For details can be downloaden here*.

The longer term objective is to encourage further development of promising techniques so that a robotic system could be used to deploy the inspection methods.

Participation
The benefits to those wishing to participate are that:
a) clear requirements are defined
b) successful systems will be included in the report on the trials to the influential organisations represented by HITS.

Access to the test piece and facility will be provided at no cost during the 6-month period (1st January 2020 to June 30th 2020)

Contact
If you want to know more of the project or want to participate contact Andrew Shepherd (participation) andrew.shepherd@emialliance.com
Ray Caldwell (technical aspects) raycaldwell@marineintegrity.com

*In the details you can find the typical conditions on FPSO assets, to give interested parties some background to the kind of conditions under which these systems will need to operate.