A robot which goes inside pipes to inspect the welds has won a Queen’s Award for a Stansted company.
A robot which goes inside pipes to inspect the welds,takes photographs and puts information on a cloud to be read anywhere in the world, has won a Queen’s Award for a Stansted company.
And this is the company’s THIRD Queen’s Award.
It’s a hat trick for Optical Metrology Services Ltd, known as OMS.
The robot device has won the innovation category. OMS also won the innovation category in 2007 and 2014. This time, it has won for its latest weld inspection system. Tim Clarke, OMS CEO, said: “Our third 2020 Queen’s Award is the culmination of 10 years of work.
“Our development process involves thinking ahead to work out what our clients may need, sometimes before they know it themselves.
“We hope to win a fourth award for our new system of repairing potholes more efficiently and cheaply.”
The system is used in the oil and gas industry to inspect the quality of welds before pipeline is laid.
Weld inspection is a vital stage in the laying of oil and gas pipelines because welds must meet strict criteria before they are passed for use.
Failed pipeline welds cause project delays, increased costs and can result in far more significant consequences such as environmental disaster.
The OMS pipe weld inspection system can drive itself to a weld, inspect it and send the resulting information to the cloud to be interrogated or stored anywhere in the world.
The technology operates in challenging offshore environments, inspecting pipes that may have multiple 90° bends and elbows.
It assesses welds in 30 seconds or less, providing more than 70 images and 2,000 laser scans for analysis and interpretation and allowing pipeline inspectors to make crucial decisions rapidly.
Oil and gas clients save money, up to $10m per project, because defective welds are spotted before pipeline is laid. Pipeline integrity and lifetime is improved and the risk of environmental damage reduced.
OMS was formed in 2004, originally working from premises in Bishop’s Stortford, moving to the M11 Business Link in Stansted in 2015.
It employs 26 people working in design, engineering, project management and fabrication.
The Queen’s Awards for Enterprise are awarded to businesses for outstanding achievement in four categories: international trade, sustainable development, innovation and promoting opportunity.
Only 7,000 businesses have won since the awards began in 1966. To win three Queen’s Awards is exceptional.
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