From November through April, much of Canada experiences freezing temperatures. During that time, lows frequently reach subzero temperatures. Uni-Jet Industrial Pipe Service Ltd. conducts cleaning and inspections for 6-inch to more than 10-foot pipes. Much of this work is done in Winnipeg, but the company services a territory ranging from Nova Scotia to the Northern Rockies of British Columbia, meaning inspection teams need to be ready for anything. With over 40 years in operation, its crews have learned to navigate wet and icy conditions. And with WinCan VX to support the field work, it has developed a workflow designed to keep teams inspecting lines all year-round, in spite of the weather.

Uni-Jet conducts inspections at a variety of unique job sites, some with 100-foot deep manholes, and post-coding workflow ensures the effects of cold weather are addressed without putting crews at extended risk.

Post-coding workflows enable faster winter inspection

Post-coding is the key to year-round inspection productivity in cold climates, explains Ryan Slagerman, operations manager for Uni-Jet. This workflow breaks up the inspection process, allowing teams to complete data collection more quickly and work on coding when it’s convenient.

Slagerman and his team post-code all lines, first collecting CCTV footage and coding it at a later time. “Everything but new pipes is post-coded,” Slagerman says. “We just started this year with on-site coding because there are very few codes needed for a newly installed pipe.”

When pumps are at risk of freezing and trucks struggle to get from site to site, any amount of work that can be done off the roads should be done in the office. “Post-coding allows the job to run quicker,” Slagerman says. “And our guys can spend less time out in those freezing temperatures.”

Eliminating risks and increasing efficiency

Most of the contracts Uni-Jet receives come in between May and November, which lets operators focus on fewer on-site projects during winter months. Since investing in WinCan, Uni-Jet crews have been able to tailor their inspection workflow to seasonal challenges, relying on WinCan’s remote collaboration features and custom overlay tools to optimize field time and minimize downtime.

“All the guys are really supportive and really get to work with WinCan,” Slagerman says. “It’s very easy to import the videos, go in and edit or enter codes. The integrated text overlay has made things a lot simpler for us, so we can post-code and then post-overlay.”

Slagerman says high-speed fiber internet connections are being installed in Winnipeg and many of Uni-Jet’s other service areas. Once those installations have been completed, the Uni-Jet team is hoping to move to a cloud-based inspection solution like WinCan Web Flex, where inspections can be completed, shared and stored completely online. This would allow the team to tackle cold-weather projects more efficiently, further limiting time in subzero temperatures and effortlessly dropping all inspection footage onto the web at the end of the day. From there, it can be coded anywhere, anytime using any internet-enabled device.

Experience WinCan’s suite of inspection solutions for yourself with a free demo:

Request a demo