Wood launches AI software system for offshore asset inspections

Wood has released an artificial intelligence (AI) real-time inspection solution capable of autonomously detecting and categorizing equipment anomalies in offshore assets.

The Augmented Machine Vision Solution (AMVS) has been developed through a 12-month, $288,600 partnership between Wood and NERA (National Energy Resources Australia) – the independent, federally funded Industry Growth Centre established to drive growth in the energy resources sector – to develop and deliver a system for the inspection of critical industrial equipment, particularly for subsea oil and gas infrastructure.

“By combining Wood’s deep domain knowledge with cutting-edge AI technology, the AMVS will deliver a safer and faster inspection approach which can provide operators with more accurate and up-to-date information to help maximize the output of their assets. It’s a game-changer for inspections that we know are susceptible to human error and inconsistencies,” said Azad Hessamodini, President of Growth & Development at Wood. “This project is a perfect fit with our focus to develop innovative solutions that enable more connected operations for our clients. We’re delighted to have successfully partnered once again with NERA.”

Besides oil and gas, the system could potentially be implemented across a range of other process-intensive and manufacturing industries, increasing the speed and accuracy of issue detection, response and resolution.

Historically, inspections have required technicians to travel offshore to manually review numerous hours of footage recorded by inspection devices. The new solution uses an AI engine to ‘watch’ the footage, searching for potential faults and flaws that need to be further inspected or have repairs undertaken. Not only does the new technology flag up any anomalies but it also eliminates removes the need for technicians to travel to hazardous, offshore sites and is faster and more accurate.

With the reduction in safety risks and the associated process improvements, the solution has the potential to create savings of AUD $2.8 billion per year for the offshore energy industry. Improvements from better-connected operations can also be realized through faster turnaround times and reduced costs for crew and vessels.

NERA Chief Executive Miranda Taylor said she’s delighted NERA is part of this exciting and revolutionary project, developing new skills and solutions in Australia that are already being used around the world to improve safety and reduce costs.

“This project is improving the inspection of infrastructure that’s long been a highly labour intensive and dangerous activity. Through this project we’re helping to reduce the need for technicians to spend long hours offshore examining footage of equipment by using software developed by Wood to examine the footage under the control of technicians who can remain safely onshore.

This is the latest collaboration between Wood and NERA who have previously worked together on the Transforming Australia Subsea Equipment Reliability (TASER) project, which aims to improve subsea equipment design and reduce the requirement for costly and time-consuming interventions in Australia’s challenging offshore warm water environment. As part of the project, ‘living laboratories’ were created to assess the effectiveness of innovative coatings, materials and technologies against calcareous deposition and marine organism growth on subsea equipment.