Inspection without plant shutdown
A cooling water basin cannot simply be drained. Pipelines and intakes must not interrupt the process. ROV inspection runs in parallel with operations.
Sector · Industry & Energy
Industry & Energy
Operations-sensitive ROV underwater diagnostics for industrial and energy assets: cooling water basins, treatment basins, intake structures, pipelines and power plant structures — inspected without shutdown, with robust documentation for operators, maintenance and authorities.
For whom
Power plant operators, industrial plants with cooling and process water, treatment plants, district heating operators, chemical industry, paper and steel industry — wherever underwater infrastructure is part of operations.
Typical Problem Contexts
Turbid water and sediment
Treatment basins, industrial basins and process water facilities are typically turbid. Optical inspection alone is not enough — sonar becomes a required tool.
Compliance-driven inspection cycles
Many assets are subject to regular inspection and documentation obligations towards regulators, environmental permits or internal maintenance rules.
Object search in industrial environments
Lost tools, components or measurement equipment in a basin or intake are operational and safety risks that must be documented and located.
Engineering-grade data foundations
Maintenance and restoration decisions need engineering-grade data — not a dive log, but a reproducible, archive-ready dataset.
Matching ScanSustain Services
In industry ScanSustain typically combines ROV inspection, sonar and monitoring — depending on turbidity, geometry and regulatory context.
Typical Workflow
- Operational alignment
Coordination with plant management, shift and maintenance planning, safety concept, access routes and ATEX context if relevant. - Sensor selection by water quality
In turbid water sonar becomes the core tool, ROV camera supplements. In clear process water optical capture takes the lead. - Execution during ongoing operations
Systematic traversal of the target geometry. The plant stays in operation — no production interruption. - Structured analysis
Mapping to plant coordinates, comparison with as-built drawings, identification of safety-relevant findings. - Report for maintenance and oversight
Findings report in a format accepted by internal maintenance and the reviewing authority.
Typical Deliverables
- Position-referenced video and sonar dataset
- Findings report focused on operational and safety relevance
- Damage and observation classification by plant logic
- Action recommendations for maintenance cycle and inspection chain
- Compliance evidence for regulators or environmental permits
- Reproducibility memo as basis for the next inspection interval
Benefits for the Client
- Plant shutdown often avoidable or reducible — depending on safety clearance and facility
- Reduced personnel risk and elimination of diver safety overhead
- Compliance-ready documentation for regulators
- Engineering-grade foundations for restoration and maintenance planning
- Improved decision basis for maintenance and investment budgets
- Time-series data as early indicator for asset management
Typical Scenario
A power plant operator might wish to document the state of a cooling water intake structure before the next revision cycle. Operations often cannot be interrupted in such cases. Instead of a classic dewatering, a combined ROV and sonar mission would be a possible approach. Possible output: findings report on fouling, deposits and structural features, damage classification, action recommendation for the next shutdown — plus a possible baseline for an annual monitoring programme. Field duration: typically one working day, depending on geometry and access conditions. A production interruption is often avoidable or reducible, depending on safety clearance and facility.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a mission run during ongoing plant operations?
In most cases yes. Planning accounts for flow and safety conditions, and the mission is scheduled to fit seamlessly into ongoing operations.
Our process water is very turbid — can an inspection still deliver results?
Yes. In turbid-water situations sonar becomes the primary tool. Multibeam or side-scan capture geometry and foreign objects independently of optical visibility.
Is the documentation sufficient for our regulator?
Format and structure are tailored in the briefing to the requirements of the reviewing body. Our reports are usually directly usable.
Can lost tools or components be located?
Yes. This is our Search & Recovery service with raster-based, documented search strategy — including coverage evidence for documentation.
Can the inspection feed into our asset management system?
Yes. Results are delivered in structured, archive-ready formats and can be used as input for maintenance systems, digital-twin models or maintenance plans.
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