02.02.2023

Fehmarnbelt tunnel contractor reaches 3 million working hours without serious accidents

The construction site of the Fehmarn Belt Tunnel is not only the largest in Denmark – it is also one of the safest. This January the tunnel consortium FBC achieved 3 million consecutive working hours without any accidents that resulted in serious injuries.  

02.02.2023

HS2 completes foundation work for longest railway bridge in UK

The 2.1 mile (3.4km) Colne Valley Viaduct will be 100m longer than Dundee’s Tay Bridge, which currently holds the title.

The last of 292 concrete piles that will form the foundations for the UK’s longest railway bridge were installed this week at the site of HS2’s Colne Valley Viaduct, marking a successful end to the first phase of the record-breaking project.  

01.02.2023

K+S tests electromobility underground

Test operations in a mine of the Werra plant

Fertilizer and salt producer K+S is testing the use of electromobility in its German mines. The suitability of the charging infrastructure and safety underground are currently being tested in addition to the everyday suitability and range of the vehicles in a mine at the Werra integrated plant. In the long term, electric vehicles are to replace diesel-powered vehicles in all K+S mines.  

Market-Place-4.0 Fugro N.V.

01.02.2023

Fugro provides uncrewed surface vessel for safer and more sustainable offshore inspections

Fugro provides uncrewed surface vessel for safer and more sustainable offshore inspections (Credits: Fugro)

Fugro has completed its first fully remote offshore survey inspection in the North Sea for energy company TAQA using one of its Blue Essence uncrewed surface vessels (USV) with Blue Volta electric remotely operated vehicle (eROV). The complex project, in Europe’s busiest part of the North Sea, involved the inspection of two platforms and over 40 kilometres of pipeline off the coast of the Netherlands.

The inspection investigated the mobility of the seabed, pipeline depth measurements, visual inspections and cathodic protection measurements within the 500-metre zone to ensure the integrity of TAQA’s assets. During operations, both Blue Essence USV and Blue Volta eROV were remotely controlled via satellite link by operatives at Fugro’s remote operations centres (ROC) in the Netherlands and Aberdeen. The acquired Geo-data was accessed in near real-time and used to inspect the offshore assets and surrounding seabed environment.

This project forms part of Fugro’s wider strategy towards more uncrewed operations for greater agility, sustainability and safer offshore inspections. Remote operations enable employees to work onshore in ROCs rather than in high-risk offshore environments, the carbon footprint of the USV is

up to 95 % less than conventional support vessels and the client has access to near real-time data resulting in faster and more informed decision making.

TAQA’s Netherlands Country Manager René Zwanepol: “We are very pleased to have been able to cooperate with Fugro on this innovative approach and gain experience with a new technology, and to unlock the potential it holds for us. This campaign has proven to bring many benefits, especially environmental, safety and cost savings. It is definitely the way forward for us for future campaigns.

Gordon Kennedy, Regional Director of Marine Asset Integrity at Fugro, said: “I’m so proud of the successful collaboration with TAQA and the Dutch authorities which made it possible to accomplish this survey. Fugro is committed to developing new remote and autonomous technologies that will accelerate the transition towards safer and cleaner inspections and more efficient Geo-data acquisition. In addition, USVs present an exciting solution for offshore wind farm monopile and cable inspections as well as quay walls and other underwater structures.”

Source: Fugro

#offshore #safety #inspection #remote monitoring #Netherlands (NL) #autonomous vehicles #Fugro N.V. #Geotechnics #Energy #hydraulic engineering #Monitoring #piping #safety equipment #autonomous driving

                     

01.02.2023

Normet opens new Centre of Excellence in India

Normet announces the official opening of its Centre of Excellence at Jaipur, Rajasthan in India. A global technology and production hub, the Centre of Excellence will be home to a global equipment production facility, global service rebuild centre, global R&D centre, data analytics hub and a technology training centre for operations and maintenance.