■ Game changing robots have given 5km of ageing gas mains in Kensington and Chelsea a new lease of life
■ Disruption slashed with project taking seven months instead of three years
■ The robots are also ideal for social distancing as they can be deployed with minimal human contact
Robots are continuing to play an increasing role in keeping Londoners connected to safe and reliable gas supplies and dramatically cutting work times when doing so.
CISBOT (Cast Iron Sealing Bot) has been hard at work beneath the streets of the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, where it has given 5km of gas mains a new lease of life by remediating ageing pipe joints, which had started to leak,
The project achieved:
- Approximately three-years of work in just seven months
- Remediating 1300 pipe joints with just 20 excavations
Supplied by contractor ULC Pipeline Robotics, CISBOT enters the gas mains through a special insertion tube. Once inside the gas mains it is remotely operated by highly trained human operators working in an above ground vehicle. The robot travels along the still live gas pipe and injects a special sealant into ageing pipe joints, extending the life of the asset by a minimum of 50 years.
Cadent Network Supervisor, Stuart Cull, said: “CISBOT has enabled us to carry out three years of work in just seven months with a lot less disruption as we only need a small number of excavations.
“Working in very busy areas we’ve been able to proceed almost unnoticed and with a lot less disruption than we would have had, had we been using conventional methods.”
CISBOT also requires minimal human contact with public which makes it ideal for use during the current times of social distancing and lockdowns.
Phil Pearson, ULC Robotics Project Manager, said: “As far as social distancing goes, CISBOT is an ideal technology to use as the technology involves minimal contact with the public.
“We operate the robots from inside an eco-cabin or vehicle located in a compound and we were able to continue our work during the recent lockdown, completing it 8 weeks ahead of schedule.”
Tony Pegrum, Network Manager for the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea said: “When Cadent Gas first approached the Council with the idea of using their CISBOT technology on Sloane Street we fully embraced the opportunity. We had seen the success of the technology being used in other parts of London and we wanted to be part of that.
“Not only did the project save days of extra disruption, it also cut down on the number of excavations which would typically be needed for a project of this nature.”
“This is unprecedented and is one of our biggest successes so far in terms of positive network management.”
Though its currently not suitable for every type of gas maintenance or repair job, CISBOT is being increasingly deployed by Cadent, across its networks.
In London it has gone onto be used elsewhere including Chelsea Bridge Road and Regent Street.
To watch a video about how CISBOT works go to: https://cadentgas.com/about-us/innovation/cisbot
CISBOT is just one example of Cadent’s innovative approach to delivering its
work to keep people connected to safe and reliable gas supplies, with as little disruption as possible.
For non-emergency enquiries about Cadent’s work call 0345 835 1111 (8am to 8pm Monday to Friday) or email wecare@cadentgas.com
ENDS