Gas pipelines and infrastructure need constant inspection as the breakout or failure may lead to significant consequences for a wide range of people, especially in urban areas. However, manual inspections of these types of assets can be expensive and hard to perform. Luckily, with the digital age and improved infrastructure, doing constant inspection is not only easy but also effective. Still, some systematic Information Technological failures could lead to massive destruction and losses. This paper will provide strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges (SWOT) on the digital inspection of gas pipes and infrastructure.
Strengths. Digital inspections are more effective both in terms of costs and benefits as a means of inspection. The human error in the digital inspection is reduced, and the hard labor previously noticed when the inspection was manual is no longer needed. Digital inspections are also proactive, unlike when the inspection was done manually, and corrective measures were only taken after a loss.
Weakness. Digital inspections require highly qualified staff, preferably ones with engineering and computer knowledge. The inspections are also prone to technical errors, which lead to outages. Labor organizations have been against these inspections, arguing that they cause high unemployment rates. Digital inspections are also the subject of hackers who could access the Information and block and steal the connections and gas.
The opportunities that digital inspections have is that the information technology sector is rapidly improving, and some problems currently faced, such as system failure and hacking, are getting lower. This can be attributed to the constant digital audits done on these systems.
The biggest threat that digital systems face is SQL injection, where a cyber attacker inserts malicious code into the servers of the digital inspection systems, and the whole system crushes, especially where there is an over-reliance on the internet.