How Could Your Business Benefit from Pig Tracking?

Pipeline pigging is sometimes a little more complex than it may seem! Pigging a pipeline is all about making sure that a pipe network is fully explored and cleaned for daily use. After all, a blocked or unexplored pipeline could provide serious issues for your business and for your customers.

Therefore, we always recommend using pig tracking services if you’re undertaking a pipeline inspection for the very first time. But why might you benefit from such a service?

Why Use Pipeline Pig Tracking?

Pig tracking can be extremely useful when it comes to fully investigating a pipeline. Previously, pipeline owners will have had to dig into the piping themselves or would have had to use less reliable methods for analyzing the interior of the inner network.

That could be timely, painstaking, and awkward. It could also be a health risk in some cases. Therefore, tracking and investigation pigs, as well as those which clean and clear inner walls of dirt and debris were created. Pig tracking is extremely useful in the everyday pursuit of efficient pipelines.

Tracking equipment can be used to ensure that pipeline pigs travel to where they are needed and that they do not get stuck along the way. Risking sending a pipeline pig down without a way to track it could mean you are left with a blockage that’s otherwise difficult to get moving again.

What’s more, tracking pigs can help you understand the general flow of your product through your pipelines a little easier. You may be able to see where certain blockages and slowdowns may be occurring and what can be done to remedy said situations.

Tracking your pig, ultimately, means you have eyes on the inside of your pipe at all times.

How Can Pigs Be Tracked?

Here at Pigtek, we primarily use two different types of pig tracking technology. These are acoustic monitoring and magnetic tracking.

• Acoustic geophone pig tracking allows us to detect the passage of pigs through vibrations in the ground. As a pig travels along a pipeline, it will generate rumbles as it brushes against walls, internal seams, and more.Our equipment will be able to translate such vibrations into signals via headphones. This method of pig tracking is useful for measuring the speed and progress of any pig, even at high speeds. It also means that we will be able to keep track of the pig location throughout the pigging operations.
• Magnetic pig tracking is a little different, though is just as reliable in keeping tabs on any pig travelling down the pipes. The tools we use for magnetic tracking allows us to note changes in the pipeline’s magnetic field.This means a pig is passing through. Most of our pigs are fitted with magnets, which means setting up for magnetic location is never difficult!

Need to Track Pigs?

If your solid pipework needs inspection and/or cleaning, you will likely benefit from tracking your pig’s progress as it progresses. Call us here at Pigtek Ltd today at 01246 850 220 to learn more about how we can help you keep track of everything that’s occurring deep within your pipes.