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Quali sono i vantaggi di un sistema di monitoraggio remoto della protezione catodica

What are the benefits of a cathodic protection remote monitoring system?

Maintaining the integrity of gas, oil and water pipelines is in many ways a challenge. When infrastructure is located in remote areas that are difficult to reach, or urban but particularly congested, only a remote monitoring system can make realistic assessments of its health and intervene promptly when needed.

And if the area where the pipelines are located is affected by stray currents, the challenge becomes even more complex, making it essential to have an efficient remote monitoring system for cathodic protection.

However, the right remote cathodic protection monitoring system can allow you to work more accurately. Here are its benefits.

1) You can take measurements every second

A high-performance remote monitoring system gives the possibility to carry out an extremely detailed survey of cathodic protection: it makes it possible to obtain measurements every second throughout the day, every day.

This provides information that manual measurements in the field could not capture.

2) You can accurately identify the anomaly that occurred

The analysis of the data collected by the monitoring system allows you to trace the ‘problem’ that affected the infrastructure.

For example, the measurements obtained may suggest that the cathodic protection rectifier is not active or that the impressed current anode resistance is increased, or even that there has been damage to unidirectional drainage, which is unable to interrupt the flow of drained current when it reverses its direction.

Once the anomaly has been identified, taking action to resolve it is much easier and faster: you can program the intervention times and also, if necessary, evaluate how to reschedule periodic maintenance.

3) You can overcome the problems arising from stray currents

In areas with time-varying interfering currents, measurements taken on site for a short period (from a few minutes to a few hours) may have difficulty in grasping ‘out of protection’ conditions.

Remote monitoring, on the other hand, through a daily measurement per second during the 24 hours, offers a real possibility to correctly assess the effects of interfering currents.

In addition, in areas affected by stray currents, monitoring several signals at a time (On DC and AC potential, IR-free potential) becomes critical to check compliance with the thresholds indicated by the standards and to check the efficiency of all devices installed so as to reduce the effects of interference (DC and AC decouplers, drainage, etc.).

To measure the IR-free potential, for example, the Eoff can be measured on a coupon. To bring the IR component to zero and thus consider the Eoff a correct approximation of the IR-free potential, the coupon must be chosen with appropriate shape, size, type and material and installed correctly with respect to the reference electrode and pipe. The best choice for correctly measuring is a device with an integrated solid state switch to manage the connection between the pipe and the coupon.

Having a remote monitoring technology of cathodic protection allows you to view different data in detail, analyse daily measurements automatically and create alarms for anomalies. The more advanced the technology, the more complete the data it provides and the more it will be possible to optimise cathodic protection system management activities, limiting on-site inspections to only those that are really necessary.

For example, Automa devices record 86,400 data samples for each channel every day (1 measurement per second). Then they send the WebProCat software a daily statistical report and if a problem emerges from the daily report, a complete data log can be requested from the software to identify its source (e.g. AC interference, stray currents, telluric currents, rectifier failures, etc.).

The WebProCat software by Automa is specifically designed for cathodic protection analysis, such as battery-powered remote monitoring devices with ultra-low power technologies, which guarantee a minimum of 48 months of uninterrupted operation in the field.

Our company is today a leader in the design and production of innovative and Made in Italy hardware and software solutions for remote monitoring and control in the Oil, Gas and Water sectors.

Currently, over 50,000 Automa devices are installed in more than 40 countries.

Do you want to know what security benefits your networks could have with Automa monitoring system of cathodic protection?

Contact our team without obligation and we will tell you how we can optimise control of your infrastructure.

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3 elementi a cui prestare attenzione per scegliere un sistema di monitoraggio e controllo remoto delle reti

3 elements to pay attention to when choosing a network remote monitoring and control system

What are the variables to take into account when assessing the efficiency of a network cathodic protection system? There are certainly different types and they are all important. But it is equally important to ensure effective monitoring of the system, otherwise any malfunctions may not be communicated in time to be resolved without problems.

There are three elements that are essential to pay attention to if you want to be sure that you have a remote cathodic protection monitoring and control system that allows you to accurately assess the health of the pipeline and protect it effectively.

1) Flexibility

Full adaptability to different situations and needs is an essential requirement for evaluating the efficiency of a cathodic protection monitoring system.

The connectivity options offered must be comprehensive: an efficient system must support not only mobile communication, but also wired communication and satellite communication to operate even in areas with poor coverage, and must guarantee access to data and their management in total safety, as well as with maximum simplicity and speed. Integration with pre-existing information systems, such as ERP or GIS, is also essential to maintain smooth communication.

The best monitoring devices also offer additional channels to measure corrosion rates using standard ER probes, providing complete corrosion monitoring capabilities. And the most high-performance cathodic protection monitoring solutions can be equipped with various accessories such as synchronised ON-OFF switches, solar boxes and interfaces for remote control of rectifiers, which further enhance the system’s capabilities and flexibility.

2) Maintenance

A latest-generation cathodic protection monitoring system also allows for more efficient and timely maintenance.

An example of innovative technology in this sense is the Digital Twin, a digital representation of the structure to be protected: thanks to this virtual and real-time updated reproduction of the physical infrastructure, it is possible to carry out continuous monitoring and simulation of the pipeline performance, structural integrity and operating parameters.

By integrating remote monitoring data, weather forecasts and other relevant information, you can gain insights into potential issues that threaten your facility, enabling predictive maintenance and operational optimisation.

Improved analysis of collected data allows you to identify deviations from expected patterns, flagging error conditions before they become critical.

Additionally, continuously collecting data and using it to train algorithms enables early recognition of anomalies or potential problems. This allows you to plan maintenance activities more effectively.

This translates into important benefits, such as:

  • minimising downtime
  • optimising the allocation of maintenance resources
  • improving the overall safety and reliability of the monitored facility

3) Power supply

One of the greatest challenges in cathodic protection is to maintain the monitoring system in a continuously efficient condition. This translates not only into the need to not interrupt the collection and transmission of data in order to receive any alarm signals in real time, but also into the need to guarantee optimal data collection performance even in the event of an external power failure.

There are solutions that allow the operation of devices in the field to continue even in the event of a power failure, ensuring uninterrupted operation in the field in the absence of electrical power. This is what Automa’s G4C-PRO ensures, a remote cathodic protection monitoring device with ultra-low consumption technology that guarantees a minimum of 48 months of uninterrupted operation in the field with the integrated battery pack.

Furthermore, from a resource optimisation perspective, a notable benefit for the effectiveness of cathodic protection also comes from the use of Edge-computing, that is, the ability of devices to locally process information collected from the field to guarantee a first level of local intelligence that allows autonomous actions to be carried out even in the temporary absence of the remote communication channel.

In this way, it is possible to optimise data sending and ensure that the device transmits only the significant information, with an impact on the amount of energy used for communication.

Automa solutions for remote monitoring of cathodic protection are based on innovative ultra-low consumption technologies to ensure continuous and efficient communication. Our internal battery powered devices ensure a minimum battery life of four years even in adverse communication conditions. While under optimal signal conditions the lithium battery life of our G4C-PRO can easily reach five years.

Additionally, the G4C-PRO can also be powered by a small solar panel integrated with backup battery, with 10-12 year replacement time.

At Automa we develop hardware and software solutions for monitoring and remote control of pipeline integrity, in particular for the cathodic protection and the operational management of networks in the Oil, Gas and Water sectors. Our company was founded in 1987 in Italy, and today over 50,000 Automa devices made in Italy are installed in more than 40 countries worldwide.

Do you want to be sure that your monitoring system provides truly effective cathodic protection and monitors the integrity of your pipelines with maximum efficiency?

Contact our team without obligation and we will tell you how you can maintain maximum control over your structures!

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Come ridurre i costi operativi del sistema di controllo della protezione catodica delle reti

How to reduce the operating costs of network cathodic protection control system

Ensuring the integrity of pipelines (and thus their safety) has a price, like any job. But is it possible to contain operating costs and at the same time ensure extremely efficient monitoring of infrastructure and pipelines?

Fortunately, the answer is yes. Provided, however, that you equip yourself with high-performance technologies specifically designed to control the effectiveness of your cathodic protection system.

On-site activities or remote monitoring

Verification of the functionality of cathodic protection installations according to the criteria outlined in ISO 15589-1 traditionally involves the implementation of on-site procedures, which require operators to visit test stations.

In the case of Water, Oil & Gas transport and distribution infrastructures, test posts may be located in remote areas, which entails a not insignificant set of risks for the personnel in charge of physical inspections: in addition to the possibility of accidents occurring during travel, the possible burnout of operators called upon to make frequent challenging journeys to hard-to-reach locations must also be taken into account. From a technical point of view, unfortunately there is also always the risk that cathodic protection systems fail immediately after the on-site inspection, requiring a new intervention.

Checks carried out in person by operators have a significant cost, which increases if they have to be repeated several times. And they cannot be carried out on a daily basis.

On the contrary, the use of remote monitoring devices enables daily checks to be carried out on all cathodic protection installations and real-time alarms to be received promptly in the event of faults, so that on-site interventions can be optimised and their costs reduced.

More accurate verification of the effectiveness of cathodic protection at a lower cost

Detailed evaluations of the effectiveness of cathodic protection require potential-off measurements, preferably at all test points. In cases where potential-off measurements on the pipe are not meaningful – such as in areas with stray currents – potential-off measurements can be performed on external test probes or coupons.

Normally, these assessments are carried out through on-site activities. However, due to the short duration of the measurements (on-site intervention may take from a few tens of minutes to a few hours), technicians may find it difficult to identify potential problems and possible unprotected conditions, particularly in areas with significant stray currents.

To overcome these problems, a more comprehensive monitoring approach is required.

Remote monitoring offers a solution by allowing daily measurements with high frequency sampling: data can be acquired at a rate of one measurement per second throughout the day. This continuous monitoring provides ample opportunity to effectively assess the impact of stray currents on structures. In addition, it facilitates the implementation of continuous instant-off measurements on selected coupons and test points, enabling detailed daily evaluations.

But that’s not all: by using remote monitoring technology and consequently having daily updates on the status of all installations, an optimised approach to maintenance is possible. In fact, thanks to this technology, on-site checks can be carried out every three years, mainly for a visual inspection of the test point.

Remote monitoring and consumption

In order for remote monitoring technologies for Water, Oil & Gas transport infrastructures to be able to reduce the need for on-site human intervention to only essential cases, it is obviously necessary that these technologies are reliable and able to maintain constant communication of the data they collect.

This is why Automa has designed and manufactured G4C-PRO: an innovative cathodic protection remote monitoring device based on ultra-low power technology. It is a compact data logger enclosed in a small housing with very small dimensions to fit the most common test points worldwide. Even in the absence of power, the G4C-PRO ensures a minimum of 30 days of uninterrupted operation in the field thanks to an integrated backup battery with a life of more than 10 years.

Reducing the operating costs of network’s cathodic protection control systemis possible with Automa’s solutions, which enable accurate, timely and constant remote monitoring of infrastructure.

Do you want to see for yourself how Automa’s solutions work and how easy they are to use? Ask us for a free demo without obligation!

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Sei sicuro che il tuo sistema di monitoraggio della protezione catodica ti stia dando TUTTE le informazioni che ti servono

Are you sure that your cathodic protection monitoring system is giving you ALL the information you need?

We are all well aware of the critical role cathodic protection plays in ensuring a long pipeline life cycle and pipeline integrity, mitigating risks such as structural failure, explosion or environmental contamination due to corrosion.

Therefore, it is very important to ensure that the cathodic protection system applied to the facilities works effectively and reliably. The fact that these infrastructures are often located in remote areas can complicate monitoring and control operations, unless highly performing systems are in place.

How can you assess whether you are getting all the information you actually need toensure that your pipelines are working with maximum efficiency?

Here are some questions you should ask yourself, and the answers you should give yourself in order to work with peace of mind.

1) Can you check the functionality of your cathodic protection system?

According to ISO 15589-1, which outlines the criteria for assessing whether the cathodic protection system applied to a facility is functioning properly, you should carry out functionality inspections of all equipment, such as: impressed current stations, one-way drain stations, connections to external facilities (both direct and resistive bonding), AC and DC decoupling devices, galvanic anodes and test stations. For each of these equipment, maximum time intervals between inspections are defined, which differ depending on the device.

An on-site inspection not only requires frequent and exhausting travel, but also does not protect you from the risk of a device failing immediately after the inspection, forcing you to return to the site. All this can be avoided with remote monitoring, provided, however, that your system is able to give you real-time data on the performance of different equipment, also helping you to manage maintenance more efficiently.

2) Can you make accurate and precise measurements of ON potential and OFF potential at all measurement points?

Also according to ISO 15589-1, the verification of the effectiveness of cathodic protection can be carried out at two levels: the general evaluation is mainly based on measurements of the ON potential on all measurement points or only on representative ones, while the detailed evaluation also requires measurements of the OFF potential, preferably on all test posts.

Due to the short duration of on-site measurements (varying from minutes to hours), however, technicians may find it difficult to identify potential problems and possible unprotected conditions, particularly in areas with significant stray currents. For this reason, measurements can be performed on external test probes or coupons.

3) Is your measurement system adequate for the effect of high stray currents?

In the case of high stray currents, the potential analysis Eon may not be sufficient because it provides incomplete or sometimes misleading information.

Therefore, it becomes necessary to measure the IR-free potential, e.g. by measuring the Eoff on a coupon, which must be of a specific type and made of an appropriate shape, size and material, as well as correctly installed with respect to the reference electrode and the pipe.

Only under these conditions can the Eoff measure on the coupon bring the IR component to zero and thus Eoff can be considered a correct approximation of the IR-free potential.

The best choice for coupon measurements is a monitoring device with an integrated solid-state switch to handle remote communication.

4) Have the measurement points been selected to ensure the best monitoring coverage?

If the distribution of measurement points has not been made with the specificities of the facility in mind, the monitoring system may not perform as well as it could in detecting faults and verifying the effectiveness of cathodic protection.

The measurement points selected for monitoring can be of different types:

  • points at the boundaries of the cathodic protection system, e.g. at insulation joints
  • points where the least negative potentials were measured during commissioning
  • critical or representative points of the cathodic protection system
  • points associated with foreign facilities, so that changes can be detected.

A monitoring system that takes data from inadequate measurement points cannot give you all the information you need to ensure effective cathodic protection of the facility.

5) What happens to your monitoring system in case of power failure?

Risking being without data can be very dangerous when it comes to pipelines. Therefore, it is essential that your system transmits alarm signals in real time in the event of an external power supply failure.

But obviously receiving the warning is not enough. That is why it is essential to equip oneself with devices capable of guaranteeing optimal performance for long periods even in the event of an external power failure, calculating also that reaching them for the eventual replacement of the batteries could take a long time in which the facility would in fact be unmonitored.

It is therefore better to select a solution with ultra low power consumption technology. Automa’s G4C-PRO, for example, is a remote cathodic protection monitoring device that guarantees a minimum of 30 days of uninterrupted operation in the field, even in the absence of electricity, thanks to an integrated backup battery with a service life of more than 10 years.

6) How often do you have to replace batteries in the field?

Today there are high-performance solutions in terms of consumption. At Automa, we are experts in low power consumption technologies, such that our internal battery-powered devices have autonomies of at least four years even in adverse communication conditions. Under optimal signal conditions, the lithium battery life of our G4C-PRO can even extend up to five years without any problems. And G4C-PRO can also be powered by a small integrated solar panel with battery backup, with a replacement time of 10-12 years.

Founded in 1987 in Italy, over the years our company has established itself as a leader in the design and production of innovative Made in Italy technologies for remote monitoring and control in the Oil, Gas and Water sectors.

We develop hardware and software solutions for remote monitoring and control of pipeline integrity, in particular for cathodic protection and network operation.

Currently, more than 50,000 Automa devices are installed in about 40 countries.

Do you want to know whether your current monitoring system really provides you with effective cathodic protection and efficiently monitors pipeline integrity?

Contact our team without obligation and we will tell you how you can maintain maximum control over your facilities!

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