Unlocking the Power of Advanced Inspection Techniques in the Oil & Gas Industry

Introduction 

The story of the inspection techniques in the oil and gas industry is full of twists and turns because the entire procedure is too vast to be a simple affair. The external regulation here is comparatively more stringent because it strives to keep the equipment running successfully and the workplace totally secure for workers. Thus, it requires the best internal audit software. Let me give you a brief idea of how the industry works. This will be an indicator of the seriousness of the issue. It involves drilling, reservoir maintenance, well servicing, refining, and transporting petroleum products over thousands of miles. Is it not really a serious matter? The scale and complexity of the processes make it really challenging to satisfy the industry standards for internal audits and inspections in the oil and gas industry. In this blog, what I am going to do is take you through six inspection techniques that are widely used in the Oil and Gas industry to be compliant with the standards. But let me tell you one thing: you always need to keep audit and inspection software, which can automate oil and gas internal audits, with you while you use these techniques. 

6 Smart Inspection Techniques 

1. Visual Inspection 

This is a simple and inexpensive method that doesn’t require any major equipment and can easily detect flaws and defects. A well-trained and experienced technician is likely to detect improper installations, structural defects, welding flaws, cracks, and corrosion by mere inspection of the equipment and structure. A cloud survey software makes the process free of manual error. 

2. Ultrasonic techniques 

This method of inspection utilizes sound waves whose frequencies are above the audible range of the human ear. The ultrasonic equipment used in the process has a piezo-electric effect, with the help of which one can transmit and receive from within the equipment. This technique helps to detect the internal structure of the equipment, as you can easily examine thickness changes, cracks, voids, delaminations, and other types of structural or material defects. A noticeable fault of this method is that the readings and observations are dependent on the gut of the technician, making it difficult to arrive at a non-subjective evaluation. Nevertheless, the use of the best survey software for the oil and gas industry standardizes the process. 

3. Testing with an X-Ray or Gamma Ray 

Radiography is the name of this method of inspection, which uses X-Rays or Gamma Rays (electromagnetic radiation) to test the internal structure and integrity of the material. The good point about this method is that these rays can travel even through concrete and ceramics, along with metals, because they have shorter wavelengths. In the Oil and Gas industry, this is a common method to inspect pipe joins and pressure vessels. Here again, internal audit software, which is the best in oil and gas surveying tools, will be helpful. 

4. Thermography 

This is also a very popular inspection technique in the Oil and Gas industry that is based on temperature readings. In this method, technicians measure the temperature difference between the pipeline and the surrounding environment to detect pipeline insulation defects and oil or gas leakage. Let me tell you one thing: this method of inspection is quite simple and cost-effective. Using internal audit and inspection software in the petroleum industry makes the process more effective, as you can automate the observation recording. 

5. Acoustic emissions 

Acoustic emissions are used to detect leakage in pipelines. The technique involves the detection of rarefaction waves, which are produced due to leakage in the pipeline. The theory is that when there is a leakage, negative pressure waves propagate in both directions in the pipeline, and this inspection technique senses these acoustic waves, thereby detecting the leakage. Here also, having a reliable Oil and Gas industry software solution helps in taking the readings and recording the observations. 

6. Eddy current testing 

Eddy current testing is the final inspection technique, which I am going to tell you about in this blog. This is used for doing welding inspections in this industry. In welding, it is used to detect surface-breaking defects. This method has certain inherent advantages. It doesn’t require any consumables or surface preparation. It offers improved sensitivity and can easily test areas with poor access. Take advantage of the best survey software for compliance audits while using this technique. 

WovVIA 

In the context of inspection techniques in the Oil and Gas industry, let me introduce you to WovVIA. This software application is making waves in this industry because of its usability in auditing and inspection. This cloud-based, unified software is lightweight and easily scalable, and it is the best audit and survey tool of 2021. At first, I will take you through the features of this software: 

• Create an audit and inspection form with the click of a button. Define different answer types, such as free text, radio buttons, and checkboxes. 
• It helps you plan and schedule audits and assign them to concerned employees. 
• You can record facts and findings using this application. 
• You can do a comparative evaluation of the audit results for two different locations and time periods. 
• You can easily identify non-compliance and log tickets. 
• Track what actions are being taken to close the ticket. 
• An intuitive, do-it-yourself A dashboard with interactive reports keeps you on top of the auditing. 
• Embedded analytics help you draw insights from the collected data. 

How WovVIA helps in inspection and audit 

This table summarizes how WovVIA can help with audits and inspections in this industry. 

ProcessesDescription
Audit and Inspection creation	This internal audit management software creates forms and audit questionnaires within minutes. You can easily scan the QR code to access the template. You can choose from hundreds of predefined templates or make your own.
Creating Questionnaires	You can create a questionnaire with text inputs, radio buttons, checkboxes, images, a list of values, files and attachments, comments, and other options.
Publish and share audit and inspection checklists.	Here you can preview audits, clone a survey and edit it, delete audits and publish audit links, do social sharing, generate QR codes, and consolidate audit groups.
Audit and inspection checklist validation	You can upload proof and attach files for survey completion; you can sign the survey and use digital signatures.
Offline mobility support:	You can do audits and inspections anytime and anywhere, with or without the internet.
Ticket management system	It helps you track log deviation, auto-ticket generation, assigning tasks to individuals, accepting tickets, tracking tasks’ progress, assigning SLAs and timelines, closing tickets, and highlighting ticket status.
Dashboard and reporting	Real-time reporting, user and profile management, trend analytics, pie charts, line and heat maps, exporting reports to jpeg, pdf, and excel, master filtering, summaries and data aggregates, sorting, grouping, conditional formatting, and pivot reports Survey analysis, response time summary, customizing chart types, and respondent-wise reporting

Conclusion 

If we have to summarize in one word where audit and inspection in the Oil and Gas industry are headed, it will be ‘automation’. Audit managers have access to cloud-based internal inspection platforms for businesses that are easy to onboard, scale, and affordable. The result is the widespread use of cloud-based auditing tools that support mobility and cutting-edge technologies. In this blog, after discussing the six smart inspection techniques, I have introduced you to WovVIA, an advanced audit and inspection software solution from WovVTech. Get on board today!