This month Drainage TV will be the first New Zealand company to roll out the NZ Pipe Inspection Manual Edition 4. This means that all their staff completed their full training in December, and new camera systems were rolled out to their team in February. The new edition has a more detailed code to analyse the pipe in more depth, providing greater information to clients, engineers and council representatives.
The Fourth Edition of the New Zealand Gravity Pipe Inspection Manual incorporates the evolution of pipeline inspection, and the changing requirements of the water industry since the publication of the Third Edition in 2006. The scope of the revision was identified in the report prepared for the ‘Evidence Based Investment Decision Making for 3 Waters Pipe Network Programme’, a joint initiative between Water New Zealand, IPWEA, University of Canterbury Quake Centre titled “Recommendations for the Revision of the New Zealand Pipe Inspection Manual, December 2016” by ProjectMax.
This included consideration of development of technology, increased sophistication of data analysis, increased emphasis on asset management as a key driver of service and efficiency and the creation of other guidelines such as the “Meta-data Standards”
Benchmarking, and desire to align more closely with other international standards and practices.
This edition observes a change in the title of the manual with the addition of ‘Gravity’ to differentiate this manual from pressure pipelines which are intended to be covered in separate publications such as “National Asbestos Cement Pressure Pipe Manual, February 2017”.
The Fourth Edition makes comprehensive changes, intended to improve the ability of the industry to scope the works required, undertake inspections to a consistent and high-quality standard and then interpret the outcomes in relation to the maintenance and/or renewal of the asset in accordance with best asset management practices. The manual has been completely revised and substantially extended to align with the industry’s desire to incorporate more guidance and specific requirements. For the first-time this edition includes a process for the inspection of manholes, laterals and acceptance of new and lined pipes.
The overarching intent of the manual remains, as it has since the first edition, to provide asset owners and contractors with a consistent and reliable basis for undertaking inspections of gravity pipeline and for assessing the condition of the pipe for good asset management and renewal planning purposes.
This edition has been produced with the input and collaboration of the New Zealand Water industry, through industry surveys, nationwide workshops, review and feedback from steering committees and feedback from individual councils and industry groups.
This updated manual will provide a powerful tool for the systematic and effective inspection and management of gravity pipelines, so for more information on smoke testing, private drainage and pre-construction inspections please go to www.drainage.co.nz .
