The Analysis System within ECDA Software is designed to permit rapid effective analysis of information held in the Databases to determine and prioritise segments, subsectors and complete pipelines in a complex system and for an individual pipeline, problem areas, which need to be addressed as part of an Integrity maintenance program for the pipeline. ECDA Software selects data for presentation as reports in the form of Graphs, Tables or special types of Analyses.

The latter forms of analysis unique to DCVG Ltd, one of which permits the total contribution from all coating defects in segments of a pipeline to be assessed with the selection for repair being based upon those defects that consume the larger proportions of available CP current. Individual current consumption of coating faults can be calculated so that coating repair can be guided to those faults that consume the most CP current. Most pipelines are rehabilitated on the basis of a desire to improve the distribution of CP not the repair of Metal Loss areas.

Sections of the analysis consider the influence of soil composition and also the fact that different parameters contribute in different ways to the corrosion process. The severity of a parameter can be altered in the decision making process. Data for the whole pipeline or for short sections can be analysed and presented in detail; combinations of parameters can be viewed in the same presentation to assist the decision-making process.

DCVG Ltd, a high-technology market leading company, providing services to the pipeline and related industries, has many man-years of experience in the analysis of pipeline survey data to define suitability for use and cost-effective Maintenance programs. This is reflected in ECDA Software, which was developed by a close relationship between Software Engineers and Data gathering and Analysis Engineers from a Mechanical and Corrosion Engineering background. ECDA Software has been extensively tested over a 8 year period by our own and Client Engineers in the analysis of data from approximately 17,000 Km of pipeline (100,000 coating faults, with associated survey data). So often rehabilitation is over engineered, faults are repaired when there is no need.