TPI Tuesday – Ground works and support site detected

Today in TPI Tuesday we want to highlight a case where we detected a support site on top of the pipeline, close to ground works. In this case, the groundworks themselves were detected to be at a safe distance from the pipeline, but the support site poses a threat to the pipeline.

As explained in a TPI Tuesday of a few weeks back, companies and individuals in many countries are required to ask for a permit to conduct groundworks. Pipeline operators have access to the data about permits that have been given out, so they are aware of when groundworks close to their pipeline will take place.

It is not required to register support sites, sites where all the necessary material to conduct the groundworks are stored. However, the heavy machinery and containers that are often part of the support site, can still pose a threat to the pipeline as this causes an increased stress on the pipeline.

So, although the pipeline operator assumed in this case that the registered ground works would not be relevant to check, we still reported this location to the operator, which enabled them to take the necessary intervention.