Gas Division Wins IGEM Product of the Year Award 2022

Posted on May 26, 2022

The gas division of FT Pipeline Systems was delighted to be named winner of the ‘Product of the Year 2022′ award at the recent IGEM gas awards. We worked in conjunction with Rosen UK and Cadent to develop a’ Pipeline Spacer for Dead Insertion of PE Pipe over Weko Seals’.

All of the winners were announced at a lunch event in London on May 11th. The details of our winning entry are as follows:

Team Members:

• Andy Fraser (FT Pipeline Systems), pictured right above
• Nick Cannon (Cadent), pictured centre
• Simon Daniels (Rosen)
• Ian Martin (Rosen), pictured left

Reasons for nomination:

The “Spacer” was developed by FTPS for Cadent, with guidance from ROSEN(UK). The Spacer is an encirclement band with wheeled ramps, for installation onto PE pipe in order for it to be inserted into a cast iron host pipe without the need to remove Weko seals from socket and spigot joints, with the spacers rolling over the seals and brackets holding them in place.

Weko seal removal requires specialist operatives to enter the cast iron pipes (24” diameter and above) and remove the seals by hand, which requires the operatives to be in the pipe for extended periods of time. There are significant risks associated with operatives working inside buried pipes, including ground failure and flooding from adjacent water mains. The Spacers mean that this removal step is not required, significantly reducing risk to health.

Excavations require significant planning and in addition to the environmental impacts of these activities, costs for road closures, soil removal, and reinstatement can total up to £60,000 per trench. Weko seal removal normally requires air flow trenches every 100m. By using Spacers, these trenches are no longer required, reducing the overall timescale, disruption to customers and general public, and eliminating this cost from the operation.

Criteria:

• Is well designed, easy to use and of genuine benefit to those planning, constructing, operating or maintaining a gas network
• Improves efficiency by saving time and/or reducing cost
• Reduces risk and/or contributes to the continued safety of those working in the gas sector, its customers and the general public.
• Reduces the disruption associated with maintenance and repair activities
• Contributes to the decarbonisation of a gas network by reducing the environmental impact of activities.

You can view the case study of the Cadent spacer trials here.

Watch a short video clip of the spacer going over the Weko seal here