Top 10 List Series – The Top 10 Reasons You Aren’t Using Pipe Spring™ – Debunked

Over the next few weeks, Pipe Spring LLC will be revealing several “Top 10” lists. We decided to start with a bang and reveal the top 10 excuses people give us for not using the Pipe Spring™ system and respond. What’s your excuse?

10) I’m retiring soon.

PS Response: Pipeline stakeholders deserve the very best integrity regardless of who is at the helm of the decision-making process. While evaluating new technology is always more effort than sticking to what has always been done, it shouldn’t be an excuse to deprive your stakeholders of the best technology and more attractive economics.

9) I don’t see the advantages of steel material properties and the advantages of composite style installation methods. I see “new technology” and that requires processes, approvals, and politics. 

PS Response: While “new technology” always requires an internal champion and navigating challenges, Pipe Spring LLC is here to partner with you and work through internal roadblocks every step of the way. We are here to provide documentation, support, and decades of industry know how. It is also important to remember steel isn’t a new material on pipelines.

8) This product isn’t approved by PHMSA.

PS Response: PHMSA does not approve individual products. It is up to each operator to ensure they repair their pipe by a method that reliable engineering tests and analyses show can permanently restore the serviceability of the pipe. The full-scale validation test of the Pipe Spring system was completed by ADV Integrity. Additional test and analyses for all components of the system are also available. Engineering critical assessments for metal loss defects and pipe augmentation have been reviewed by Dr. Keith Leewis of Leewis and Associates. Furthermore, there is decades of research on steel! It is simply the gold standard material in transmission pipelines.

7) Good luck with ASME B31-4 and ASME B31-8/8S.

PS Response: These committees are industry consensus committees. If the industry wants something included, it can be done. The codes were not created to prohibit new technology from ever being developed. These codes often leave room for new technology as long as an engineering critical assessment is completed. ECA’s for Pipe Spring™ are readily available.

6) My company already spent a lot of money testing various composite repair systems.

PS Response: We recognize this product is newer than composites currently on the market; therefore, it may not be in your latest test program. However, when better integrity products are available, they need to be considered regardless of what has been done in the past. Pipeline stakeholders, including the public, deserve the best in pipeline integrity.

5) PRCI didn’t test this.

PS Response: It is true PRCI has not tested this product. However, it is important to note several of PRCI’s pipeline repair programs in the last decade focused on identifying degradation of material properties of composites, inspection issues with composites, or the long-term performance of repairs. Pipe Spring took these issues into consideration when developing our system with a thin-layer steel coil and a state-of-the-art adhesive system.

4)  This isn’t a composite repair. I am only familiar with ASME PCC-2 for composites.

PS Response: Pipe Spring™ does not meet the definition of a composite repair, but we fall under a different category of repair that is covered in the code. Pipe Spring™ fully complies with ASME PCC-2 and we have compliance documents readily available.

3) I don’t know how to change my own O&M language.

PS Response: It is possible that your specific O&M language may allow for a category of repair that Pipe Spring™ fits into. For example, several operators have stated they are declaring Pipe Spring is a variation of a “type A” sleeve therefore able to address the issues “type a” sleeves are approved for at their company. Expanded capabilities may require O&M language changes but we are here to assist in those situations.

2) We don’t want to be first ones using this product.

PS Response: You are not first. There are multiple Pipe Spring™ units in the ground on transmission pipeline in North America right now.

1) Who else is using this product?

PS Response: Pipe Spring™ has a duty of care and confidentiality to our customers. As we all know, it can be unwise for a manufacturer or vendor to speak publicly about who is using a new technology. We will respect your privacy just like we respect our current clients.