Seebird – a tool for the future remote inspection

Remote inspection

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2020 was the year when everyone had to start thinking differently. The world is changing fast and many companies had to turn around to adapt to the new everyday life.

For Odda Technology’s (hereafter OT) part, where most of the production is for the oil and gas industry, the biggest challenge was to carry out pressure testing and final inspections where the customer requires witness by an inspector.

Programs such as Microsoft Teams have gradually become good tools for conducting meetings and interactively working together, among other things by sharing screens and files. On the other hand, you have limitations with such tools in cases where you must see the critical details and get the feeling that you can inspect equipment and parts up close as if you were physically present.

This is where the Seebird tool comes in. With its high-resolution cameras, remote control, and the ability to connect a mobile camera and boroscope, it opens up the possibility of being able to carry out satisfactory external inspections.

Screenshot from Seebird: Inspection of pressure testing remotely through Seebird

Great benefits for all parties

Throughout the autumn of 2020, OT has had high activity and carried out many pressure tests and deliveries of advanced high-precision products to international customers. In periods there have been deliveries of several advanced and complex parts every week. After a number of rounds of optimization of the remote inspections, OT has through Seebird got a solution that customers have been well satisfied with.

We have received direct feedback that OT’s execution and handling of Seebird for remote inspection of pressure test has been performed in a very satisfactory manner.

In addition to providing a good solution for external inspection for our customers, the job itself also becomes more efficient as the work can continue while the customer is in control of the camera and can communicate directly with the person leading the inspection. In addition, the customer himself saves a lot of time and costs on performing inspections externally and being able to handle more inspections with fewer inspectors in less time.

The Seebird system

The main camera used for inspection can be easily controlled by the customer himself via the software, where you can turn it in all directions and zoom in and out as you want, regardless of ongoing activity.

The camera has a high resolution, which means that you can study details up close. In addition, you can inspect the inside of small tubes as there are possibilities for boroscope control with a camera with a diameter of 2.8mm.

A mobile phone can also be connected so that you can navigate around with live transmission while communicating, for example, via a headset or earplugs directly with the operator. Everything easily installed on PC with plug-and-play.

boroscope remote control snippet

Screenshot from the home page for Seebird – boroscope control

Additional benefits

In addition to the savings and effectiveness, the use of external inspection via the Seebird helps to reduce the need for business travel, which leads to lower greenhouse gas emissions and the industry’s carbon footprint. Businesses also have opportunities to reduce operating costs and can reduce the need for resources by avoiding waiting times and delaying planned activities

Market potential

The global market for digital inspection, including external visual inspection, is expected to reach $ 28.9 billion by 2025. In addition, the EU’s goal of becoming a climate-neutral economy by 2050 forces companies to find innovative ways to reduce their carbon footprint.

The people behind Seebird have extensive experience from relevant industries. The system was originally developed for use in the oil and gas industry, but Seebird is also suitable for the defense, automotive, aerospace and medical industries. The first-generation solution, released in February 2020, is currently used by customers in France, Italy, Norway, the United Kingdom and the United States. Among the first to use the system were Aker Solutions, Hitec Products and Odda Technology.

Summarized

To sum up, Seebird, with some optimization and fine-tuning, has become a very good tool for Odda Technology. We work continuously for improvement and work closely with Seebird on further development.

By being able to offer this type of service, OT can deliver complete and advanced products that the customer can monitor themselves without being physically present, which is highly relevant for the time we are in, but also for the future – and not least the environment when you can reduce the need for business travels and at the same time save costs.

Read more about the system on Seebird’s home page: https://www.Seebird.no/ and this article from The Explorer: https://www.theexplorer.no/solutions/remote-inspection-cuts-emissions-and-costs-for-industry

Hans Jakob Sekse

Odda Technology as

11.02.2021