Shell is one of the companies that uses the joint solution for remote CP monitoring from Gemba and Merrem & la Porte. The company has 900 kilometers of underground pipelines running from the Maasvlakte to the port of Antwerp. With cathodic protection, Merrem & la Porte helps Shell to prevent corrosion of the pipelines. The Gemba partner remotely monitors the operation of the cathodic protection via sensors that measure various parameters. The measurements are continuously visible in a dashboard for remote CP monitoring developed by Gemba. This dashboard has now been renewed for Shell and other customers. This has made monitoring and combating corrosion on pipelines easier, faster and safer.

The appearance of the dashboard for remote CP monitoring has in fact remained the same. It still provides a user-friendly way to gain detailed insight into the effectiveness of the cathodic protection. From a total overview, you can zoom in further and further on installations, pipelines and sensors to check their condition. This is also possible from a geographical map. A major difference, however, is that Merrem & la Porte no longer has to check customers’ dashboards for malfunctions on a daily basis. If a sensor takes a measurement that falls below a certain threshold value, an e-mail is automatically sent to the administrator of Merrem & la Porte (and possibly also to the customer). This means that malfunctions are signaled more quickly and can be resolved more quickly.

An important change is also that IBM MAS is now under the hood of the dashboard for remote CP monitoring. In the course of the next quarter, the powerful coupling functionality of IBM MAS will be further utilized. Then there will be a new sensor for rectifiers: external DC power sources that can protect kilometers of pipeline against corrosion in one go. Via this new type of sensor, it is not only possible to monitor the effectiveness of rectifiers, but also to control the CP equipment behind it from IBM MAS. A prototype of the sensor for rectifiers is expected to be available at the beginning of April.

The data that the sensors collect with the renewed CP measuring system no longer goes via a LoRa connection, but via 5G. The advantage of 5G networks is their high speed. Moreover, 5G in combination with IBM MAS offers the possibility to communicate in two directions. On the one hand, the sensors can forward measurement data to IBM MAS via 5G, while on the other hand you can, for example, perform a firmware update of CP equipment or adjust the frequency of measurements. Last but not least, the renewed CP measuring system complies with the globally recognized standard for information security ISO 27001 when collecting and sending data.

Remotely monitoring the cathodic protection of pipelines offers many advantages. Malfunctions do not go unnoticed for months. By keeping an eye on things 24/7 instead of, for example, doing a check in the field twice a year, problems are signaled immediately and resolved quickly. In addition, pipelines in difficult to reach places are also clearly visible. Moreover, far fewer (already scarce) technicians need to go out to take measurements. This saves hours and labor costs. The number of journeys also decreases, which reduces CO₂ emissions and wear and tear on the vehicle fleet and is a lot more sustainable. With the renewed IBM MAS-based CP measuring system from Gemba and Merrem & la Porte, remote CP monitoring is now even more powerful, so that you benefit even more from it.