Overview

Overcoming the Data Impasse

A basic prerequisite for the quick and reliable assessment of an asset’s integrity is the availability of consistent and fully aligned datasets. Additionally, many regulators now require that all pipeline records be traceable, verifiable and complete.

However, with exponential increases in field-collected pipeline data, the establishment of a system of record, where all available data is readily accessible, is becoming an increasingly complex achievement for pipeline operators.

NIMA DM (Data Management) provides functionality for uploading and aligning inspection data along the pipeline route by extending the capabilities of ArcGIS Pipeline Referencing (APR) extension for ArcGIS Pro.

NIMA DM’s integration into ArcGIS Pipeline Referencing provides operators with intuitive, auditable, and repeatable steps for ILI and survey alignment and subsequent data uploads to an operators system of record. NIMA writes data results directly to a UPDM modelled geodatabase, ensuring the right data is loaded to the right tables. NIMA DM maintains and promotes temporality and will help operators achieve consistency in their integrity management program’s data management efforts.

General overview of NIMA DM Architecture

NIMA DM is provided to the user as an Add-in for ArcGIS Pipeline Referencing. In the ArcGIS Pro ribbon, the user will see two tabs, ETL and Alignment, grouped under ROSEN | NIMA DM.

NIMA DM contains panes and views that allow the user to perform necessary activities of ETL (extract, transform, and load) and alignment workflows. The content of the NIMA DM view, for instance, is updated based on the selected/active step in the Process Steps pane.

Available panes and views in Alignment

The purpose of the alignment is to bring ILI and survey data into a common linear reference system (defined by a route).

In Alignment, the following panes and views are available.

• Visualization Control pane
• Tabular Alignment view
• Visual Alignment view
• Map view
• Quality Analysis pane

Benefits

NIMA DM assists in keeping pipeline records traceable, verifiable and complete by providing a structured workflow, which guides users through the alignment and integration of large and complex inline inspection and survey data, from different vendors or formats.

NIMA DM’s most compelling benefits are:

• True synchronization between GIS-managed Pipeline Assets and Inspection and Survey Data: NIMA DM provides a more efficient and auditable process to align inspection data, ensuring new survey data aligns with changes in your asset baseline over time (e.g.: re-routes, cut-outs, or other asset location updates).
• Compliance with standards and regulations: NIMA DM enables you to prove your records are traceable, verifiable and complete during system audits. It provides a comprehensive data log, including versioning, timestamp and user identity – including information that is added during inline inspection or survey data loads.
•  Efficient data handling: NIMA DM supports fast integration and processing of huge amounts of data. Our experts constantly work on improving the NIMA framework and processes to handle the ever increasing data streams hitting operators today and in the future.

The NIMA Framework

Together with NIMA IM (Integrity Management), NIMA DM is part of a more holistic pipeline data and integrity management framework. While NIMA DM offers an intuitive and reliable way for the template-based upload, transformation and alignment of pipeline inspection and survey data, NIMA IM is a platform that allows for the autonomous definition and modification of integrity management processes and integrated algorithms as needed. Not restricted to a set of predefined functionalities, it offers unlimited options in terms of adaptation to individual requirements as new process templates can be created and existing ones altered at any point in time.