continuous improvement case
TRANSCRIPT
Continuous Improvement
Case of Inspection Robot for Steel Pipes
Disclosure
All the following information and their respective intellectual property belongs to the Chilean companies: Tecpipe S.A. and Revestec S.A.
The equipment in this case was used by a protected process by the patent: US 61/854,832.
The current presentation is only for educational purpose.
About the case
This real case was developed in 2013 by Tecpipe S.A., a Chilean company in the HDPE (High Density Polyethylene) industry.
CODELCO, one of the biggest mining companies in Chile, signed a contract with Tecpipe to lining steel pipes with HDPE. In order to certify the quality, Tecpipe developed an Inspection Robot.
This presentation will explain the process that allowed to achieve a highly technological inspection equipment under the logic of continuous improvements used by Tecpipe and Revestec.
Objective
To develop an equipment able to record the actual state inside of steel pipe.
The reason: when two pipes have joined, sometimes the weld is irregular and could damage the HDPE tubes. An early detection of these imperfections could reduce the probability of potential leaks in pipe welded points.
Innovation methodThe team developed the follow continuous improvement process:
1 2 3 4 5Understand Define Think Prototype Teste
Prototype #1
The first used prototype was a R/C toy car with a very big lamp over it.
This prototype worked very good in HDPE pipes. However, the prototype didn’t work with steel pipes because the radio frequency was too weak to control the vehicle.
It worked for only 2 meters. The challenge was to use the inspection robot in 400 meters.
We learned:• It is not necessary so much
light• The radio frequency has to be
stronger or find a manual method to move the device.
This was the first result.
The picture was unusable.
Prototype #2
The second prototype didn´t use a big lamp, because the pipe is dark enough to see inside with a little lamp.
This vehicle used a professional camera to record a video and see potential imperfections.
This device didn´t use the radio frequency, instead we preferred to add a plastic line to pull it.
We learned:• The plastic line is not a good
idea for 400 meters of pipe. • The professional camera is an
over dimensioned device.• However, it is necessary to
see what is happening inside the pipe in real time.
This was the second result.
The picture was unusable.
Prototype #3
The third prototype didn’t use radio frequency or a manual method to pull it, it used electric motors to move. The vehicle was able to move in one direction and back using a wire remote control.
We used a GoPRO camera with Wi-Fi broadcasting in order to receive the image in real time. This camera needed more light, so we decided to install a big photograph lamp in the front.
We learned:• GoPRO and the lamp worked
fine.• The vehicle didn´t move more
than 30 meters. The reason: the electric tension decreases gradually through the wire. It´s necessary to increase the power of the battery at least 10x.
The screen was a little tablet able to receive Wi-Fi.
We learned:• Under 50 meters, the Wi-Fi
signal works excellent but is not useful for 400 meters because the signal is too weak.
This was the third result.
The picture was absolutely useful.
Prototype #4: Back to the basic
Innovation methodBack to the basic….
1 2 3 4 5Understand Define Think Prototype Teste
The 3 first prototypes only demonstrated one thing: the camera was the correct one.
So, we decided to back to basic and tried again.
We built a new version without propulsion, lighter, and absolutely manual.
We learned:• The weight is important because
in the pipe the vehicle tent to roll over.
• It is possible to receive the Wi-Fi signal if the operator follows close the vehicle next to the pipe.
• However, the vehicle has to have propulsion in order to control its position inside the pipe.
Prototype #5: A big jump
The 3 first prototypes only demonstrated one think: the camera is the correct.
So, we decided to back to basic and tried again.
We build a new version without propulsion, lighter, and absolutely manual.
We learned:• The weight is important because
in the pipe the vehicle tent to roll over.
• Is possible to receive the Wi-Fi signal if the operator follow close the vehicle next to the pipe.
• Only is possible to achieve the point above if the vehicle has a propulsion in order to control its position inside the pipe.
With all the previous knowledge using prototypes, the engineers designed a new vehicle.
Vehicle features:• Able to drive through 250
meters of pipe. If you need to inspect 400, you insert the vehicle in both enters.
• Never roll over because its 6 wheels stabilize the vehicle and leave the gravity center far below.
• The radio frequency was increased in 100x in order to control the position of the vehicle in every single place inside the pipe.
Finally, this vehicle was an inspection robot, able to detect imperfections in the weld between pipes.
This continuous improvement process allowed to save thousand of dollars in supplies and delivered a highly quality service to the main mining company in Chile.
Final Version: New features
The continuous improvement process never ends.
After weeks of inspections, we discovered a new feature for the inspection robot: a cleaning function.
After some improvements the final version was this…
The 3 first prototypes only demonstrated one think: the camera is the correct.
So, we decided to back to basic and tried again.
We build a new version without propulsion, lighter, and absolutely manual.
We learned:• The weight is important because
in the pipe the vehicle tent to roll over.
• Is possible to receive the Wi-Fi signal if the operator follow close the vehicle next to the pipe.
• Only is possible to achieve the point above if the vehicle has a propulsion in order to control its position inside the pipe.
Results
Increase the inspection scope (mts)
200x
Decrease the inspection time (hours)
80%
From Asynchronous inspection to
Real time
Simple improvements can change everything…
innovation
business
Master in Innovation Adolfo Ibáñez University (2012)
Business Engineer Alberto Hurtado University (2012)
International Trade Engineer (c)Metropolitan Technological University (1998) Ed
uard
o Re
yes
entrepreneurship