Marine infrastructure background
Asset Owners invest about 1B AUD to construct a bulk
materials handling berth/wharf
● Most existing infrastructure was built for a 35 year useful
build life
● Over the build life, port engineering teams need to
periodically inspect the infrastructure for possible failure
points or needed repairs
The problem with traditional manual inspection
● Inspections are conducted by industrial divers and ropes
crews using hand-held ultrasonic inspection devices to
take readings at about 5 cubic metre intervals along the
length of each piling.
● Engineers take that data and typically add 30-50% to the
estimated structural age with the goal of reducing their
exposure to a false positive assessment — meaning that the
piling may be deemed safe when in reality it has a major
defect.
Considering each pile can cost tens millions of dollars to replace, a false positive will
result in high remediation costs for the port.