Underground Asset Inspection – techniques, benefits and limitations

Abstract

Underground asset inspections are a fundamental part of the asset management journey, that falls within the Data Collection and Management component, and allows for a myriad of data to be able to be captured and used for asset custodians. This phase is generally utilised near the start of the AM journey and is the foundation for many critical work elements including spatial (register development, data confidence), engineering (asset condition, renewal requirements, priority models), and financial (valuation, depreciation). The technology available for physical underground asset inspections is generally in the form of either leak detection on pressure pipes, or from utilising camera systems on non-pressure pipe applications, being either a fixed zoom, or CCTV. However, the technology associated with these inspection systems is growing exponentially, both in hardware and software, but also in the developing AI field. This presentation will look into the different techniques currently being deployed for underground asset inspections where we will explore the benefits and limitations from each technique. We will look into this aspect in terms of the asset custodian and how their financial sustainability and successful management of public infrastructure can be improved from utilising these technologies.