‘Smart Pigs': Leading the Way in Pipeline Safety and Innovation

As one of Enbridge’s core values, safety is woven into every aspect of our operations. This entails a commitment to continuous improvement and research and development to constantly upgrade the vital monitoring technologies that ensure our vast pipeline networks operate safely and reliably.

Our Texas Eastern natural gas pipeline has played host to, and been a leader in, the development of cutting-edge in-line inspection tools for over 35 years. With a segment of the line running through Ohio, an innovative partnership between Enbridge and the Battelle Research Institute in Columbus proved a natural fit. One of the pipeline integrity solutions resulting from this work is one of the first in-line Inspection tools, or “Smart Pigs.”

“Smart Pigs” in the context of pipelines refer to sophisticated tools used for inspecting and maintaining the integrity of pipelines. Despite the whimsical name, the devices play a crucial role in ensuring the safety and efficiency of pipeline systems.

Andy Drake, formerly the vice president of asset integrity of Enbridge’s Gas Transmission & Midstream business unit, has been associated with several ongoing technology-related projects to enhance pipeline integrity.

“The project with Battelle in the 1960s resulted in the first inline inspection tool that was used in the gas pipeline industry,” he says. “Smart pigs inspect pipe looking for metal loss, cracks, dents, other imperfections and even strain in the pipe. It’s a key step on the ongoing journey of maximizing pipeline safety.”

These tools are constantly evolving, and innovation is ongoing. “The change is not just from events that happened 70 or 80 years ago or lessons that happened 30 years ago. We’re learning from things that happened yesterday and are happening right now,” adds Drake.

To this end, we work with vendors and suppliers to advance their capabilities. One current example is a partnership between Enbridge and NDT Global, which is working on a next-generation in-line inspection tool that will help to advance crack assessment in pipelines.

“It’s about doing our job and managing these assets to make sure they're safe,” says Drake. “This means constantly asking ‘how sure are we?’ and ‘what can we do to improve?’ as well as researching and reassessing to upgrade our assessment capabilities continuously.”