The pipelines, tanks, and structural assets of industrial facilities in Malaysia, such as oil and gas refineries, petrochemical plants, and power stations, need to be inspected regularly. Conventional methods of inspection, which usually require scaffolding or ropes, are unsafe, time consuming, and expensive.
The services are the drone inspection (UTM & CVI) services, which is a high-accuracy, no-man-entry services that use the UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) technology to measure ultrasonic thickness (UTM) and closely inspect (CVI). The services guarantee the integrity of assets and minimize the time of maintenance, and comply with the regulations of CAAM (Civil Aviation Authority of Malaysia).
What Are Drone Inspection (UTM & CVI) Services?
Drones can be used in conjunction with Non-Destructive Testing (NDT) payloads within advanced UAV flight techniques.
- UTM (Ultrasonic Thickness Measurement) Drones: This type of UAVs has special probes, which physically touch a surface to measure the wall thickness, find corrosion, and identify structural thinning in inaccessible areas such as a flare stack or tank shell.
- CVI (Close Visual Inspection) Drones: CVI drones are used to inspect the welds, joints, and surfaces of structures using ultra-high-definition cameras and strong zoom lenses in order to identify cracks, leaks, and failures of coating.
Critical Scope Clarification: Our drone services will be strictly ground-based and topside. Underwater or subsea drone/ROV inspection services are not offered by us.
Core Drone Inspection Capabilities
Our Core Drone Inspection Capabilities is an alliance of high-resolution optical sensors and special purpose contact probes to change the method of monitoring industrial assets. Through a combination of cutting-edge UAV technology and a certified NDT-approach, we will deliver a technical analysis of the structural integrity of your facility, a millimeter resolution data range, safely positioned in the air and at a level of hardly dangerous proximity.
1. UAV Ultrasonic Testing (UTM)
Our UTM drone services operate on millimeter precision of thickness measurements with the help of touch-and-go.
- Corrosion Mapping: Determining internal erosion in pipelines that are on high elevations.
- In-Service Inspection: Measuring tank walls during the operating time of the asset, which does not incur expensive shutdowns.
- Structural Defect Detection: Locating thinning areas in pressure vessels and storage silos.
2. Drone Close Visual Inspection (CVI)
CVI drone surveys give a view of the same detail as that of a human-inspector a few inches off the asset.
- High-Res Imagery: Determining the fine stress cracks and weld faults.
- Thermal Imaging: Identification of thermal leakage or hot spots of the electrical systems in power and plant structures.
- Flare Stack Inspection: This involves inspection of live flare tips without interrupting production.
Why Choose Drone Inspection Services in Malaysia?
The industrial belts in Malaysia, including Pengerang and Bintulu, require serious safety and compliance. By collaborating with an expert UAV provider, it guarantees:
- Safety First: You do away with the necessity of having personnel go into confined areas or work at extreme heights, virtually eliminating the possibility of accidents happening at work.
- Time Efficiency/Cost Efficiency: UAV inspections will be able to decrease the time taken to complete a survey by up to 70 per cent, since no scaffolding is to be set up, which is costly.
- CAAM Compliance: Our services are provided by certified pilots according to the Malaysian civil aviation guidelines.
- Asset Integrity Checking: Each flight creates an elaborate report in digital format with geo-tagged photos and thickness information to trace the audit.
Drones Inspection (UTM & CVI) Frequently asked questions:
Q1: Does the drone have the capability of measuring UTM through paint/coatings?
Ans: Yes. UTM drones of modern varieties have sensors that operate utilizing the Echo-Echo mode, which are able to measure the thickness of metals covering the surface with several millimeters without the paint being removed.
Q2: Do drone inspections work in explosive (ATEX) locations?
Ans: The drones that we use are specialized and confined space-rated, and are programmed to work in complex internal environments and have sophisticated collision-avoidance systems.
Q3: UTM, does the drone have to touch the surface?
Ans: Yes. In the case of UAV inspection of UTM drones, an initial contact of the probe with the surface should be made in dry or liquid-coupled mode in order to transmit ultrasonic waves.
Q4: Do you offer underwater or subsea drone inspection?
Ans: No. We do drone inspections topside and on land only. We are not offering subsea ROV services.
Conclusion: Transforming Industrial Asset Management
Malaysia has seen the revolution of industrial maintenance through drone inspection (UTM & CVI) services. Using high-resolution UAV cameras with ultrasonic testing, organizations will be able to operate at a higher level of safety, cut down turnaround times, and preserve world-class asset integrity.
Drones can be used in the refinery turnaround of a pipeline or during routine pipeline monitoring to ensure that the information is of a high level in order to make smarter decisions.
Call A-Star Testing & Inspection to have your next UAV inspection of pipelines, tanks, or industrial structures today.