HITS JIP Meeting at the 40th FPSO Research Forum
April 27th, 2018
The HITS (Hull Inspection Techniques and Strategy) JIP (Joint Industry Project) entered its fifth year with its biggest ever attendance at the recent FPSO Research Forum in Cumbria, UK, which was hosted by EM&I.
The meeting took place on Thursday 12th April and began with a presentation of and discussion around achievements in the previous year. HITS 4 considered fundamentals required for eliminating man entry into confined spaces. This included methodologies and requirement for thickness gauging. Further consideration was given to cleanliness of tanks and their coating condition.
Two demonstrations of technology were made during the meeting in the EM&I Technology Centre allowing participants to examine close up the effectiveness of UAV’s (Unmanned Ariel Vehicles) and PEC (Pulsed Eddy Current) thickness measuring technique.
The results of the 2017 work are now allowing the HITS journey to enter an exciting new phase in HITS 5 with a thorough investigation of both inspection techniques and remote delivery techniques. A plan for the current year was approved at the meeting.
Current JIP members include: BV, ABS, DNV-GL, Lloyds Register, SBM, Shell, Total, Chevron and Exxon Mobil. However the HITS JIP is regularly attracting new interest with membership continuing to build and three new approaches made for membership in recent weeks, including BP.
