SPRINT Robotics Cleaning & Fabric Maintenance Challenge

SPRINT Robotics is seeking innovators to develop new robotic solutions for Cleaning & Fabric Maintenance of Capital-Intensive Infrastructure.

Cleaning & Fabric Maintenance can cause significant operational, economic and safety challenges. There is a strong drive within the oil and gas industry to replace traditional manual or man entry applications with new robotic tools that can streamline the workflow process, minimizing Confined Space Entries (CSEs), Scaffolding, and Rope Access activities. SPRINT Robotics is managing and executing a four to six month CFM (Cleaning & Fabric Maintenance) Challenge on behalf of several subject matter experts from major oil & gas and petrochemical companies that form the Task Force Cleaning & Fabric Maintenance. The main objective of the task force is to accelerate the development and utilization of Cleaning & Fabric Maintenance.

Members of the SPRINT Robotics Cleaning and Fabric Maintenance Task Force:

• BP
• Chevron
• Dow
• Equinor
• Saudi Aramco
• SBM Offshore
• Shell
• Total

 

CFM Challenge - Request for Proposal

Seeking adaptable and demonstrable robotic solutions that can be used for the Cleaning & Fabric Maintenance of capital-intensive infrastructure.

Request for Proposal Description
On behalf of the Task Force Cleaning & Fabric Maintenance, SPRINT Robotics is seeking proposals to find demonstrable robotic technologies that can be used for the cleaning & fabric maintenance of storage tanks, pressure vessels, process piping, and their associated supporting infrastructure. The focus is on existing and new robotic tools near commercialization that can eliminate Confined Space Entries (CSE), Scaffolding, or Rope Access (RA) while performing cleaning and/or fabric maintenance tasks.

The proposed solution should meet the following requirements:

Application:
• Ability to move and get into position without requiring a CSE/Rope Access/Scaffolding, adaptable to different size assets, locations and geometries
• Can traverse and move around (simple) obstacles
• Ideally achieve 100% coverage area on the asset (internal or external)
• Portable solutions that can be rapidly set-up and dismantled and are compliant with offshore and onshore Health, Safety, Environment and Quality (HSEQ) requirements
• Novel solutions – any contribution that brings us closer to the goal (e.g. faster than manual one person with nozzle)
• Technology Readiness Level (TRL) 4+ preferably near or close to market solutions, although novel prototype solutions will also be evaluated

Task Considerations:
• Ability to do dry blasting SSPC-SP-10 or slurry blasting SSPC-SP-10 or water jetting SSPC-SP-12 WJ2 according to the NACE/SSPC standards and at least faster than the average time when compared to the legacy manual method (e.g. one person with nozzle)
• Able to surface prep and apply coating to horizontal, vertical, and upside down/underside, e.g. magnetic or flying for inaccessible or difficult to reach areas such as in corners
• Airless spray robot that sprays a large area in one pass; or conventional spray robot with multiple nozzles that spray a large area in one pass that is faster than the legacy manual method
• Provide uniform coating film thickness consistently (i.e. dry film thickness or dft)
• Can set dimensions and the robot automatically surface preps and sprays the area
• It is also Ideal to have a vacuum for sediment and hazardous debris removal (e.g. hydrocarbon bearing product or lead paint)

Full or partial solutions are welcome from all industries and scientific areas.

In the oil and gas and petrochemical industry, a large number of critical assets such as storage tanks, pressure vessels, and process piping undergo routine out of service inspections. These regularly timed maintenance intervals begin with preparing the asset for a thorough examination. Often, due to the challenging geometries and hard to access areas of the asset, manual human operation of these cleaning and fabric maintenance tasks is carried out requiring some form of CSE’s, scaffolding, and rope access for entry. Manual water jetting and blasting at high pressure can be hazardous to the operator before adding the complexity of a CSE, for example.

In particular, the highest incidents of cleaning and fabric maintenance activities are caused by CSEs, as per industry statistics. Current cleaning and fabric maintenance tools available are being identified as candidates for robotization. One consideration is their ability to access susceptible locations quickly and routinely, with very limited to no manual human intervention. Additionally, there is a strong drive to replace traditional cleaning and fabric maintenance tasks to a more remotely performed operation, which eliminates manual labor-intensive tasks and results in a significant reduction of exposure hours while also improving the quality, speed, and overall safety of the maintenance activity workflow. The CFM Challenge focuses on demonstrable robotic solutions that can address cleaning and fabric maintenance activities on magnetic storage tanks, pressure vessels, and piping systems that can reduce the overall maintenance cost and safety risks associated.

Participants that have been shortlisted for the CFM Challenge will be invited to the Task Force Cleaning & Fabric Maintenance virtual meeting to demonstrate their technology. As a consortium of owner and operator Subject Matter Experts (SMEs), the Task Force Cleaning & Fabric Maintenance is responsible for the direct oversight of the CFM Challenge. From start-ups to leading oil & gas and petrochemical service providers, technology developers have the opportunity to work in consultation with the Task Force SMEs. SPRINT Robotics, a not-for-profit organization aimed at accelerating the utilization and development of robotics for inspection and maintenance of capital-intensive infrastructure, is the organizer of the CFM Challenge. Through innovation initiatives and domain knowledge, SPRINT Robotics is uniquely positioned to support the innovation process of robotics from concepts to solutions.

Awards:- €50.000

Deadline:- 01-09-2020

Take this challenge

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