When steel never sleeps

How does the system decide which method to use?

“The inspector does not choose the inspection methods. They are autogenerated in MIPS (Method Integrated Project System) based on rules configured within the system – such as weld thickness, material type, inspection category, and requirements in the design drawings. For example, an A-category weld automatically triggers 100% NDT, and the system creates the correct work order for VT, MT, UT, or RT.

When a new weld number is entered into MIPS, all required methods appear immediately because the settings are already defined. PAUT (phased array UT) is included in these autogenerated rules for advanced UT tasks.”

Can you describe the role of MIPS in your daily work?

“MIPS stands for Method Integrated Project System, and it’s an extensive system used across Aker Solutions in Norway – not only at the Verdal site. It’s the central system for material acceptance, tracking, documentation, and inspection workflows. Every department uses it to register equipment, components, and work progress, so nothing moves without being logged in MIPS.

For the NDT department, there is a dedicated part of MIPS that handles all welds and inspection tasks. Every workplace at Aker Verdal – A1, A2, the jacket area, the piping hall, and the store is defined in the system. Each weld is assigned a unique weld number. When production finishes a weld, they mark it ‘RI – Ready for Inspection’ in MIPS. If I’m responsible for an area like A1, I start every morning by checking what was completed the previous day. The VT inspectors conduct the visual inspection first, and afterward, the system shows which NDT methods are needed: MT, UT, and sometimes RT.

From MIPS, I get a complete list of welds, and I can pull up the drawings directly. We also use a feature called EasyView, which was introduced two or three years ago. EasyView gives a 3D visual representation of the weld, including thickness, length, material, inspection category, and other key parameters. It is directly linked to MIPS and makes it much easier for inspectors to understand precisely what they are looking at, especially on steel structures. So, MIPS provides weld data, drawings, inspection status, and the entire workflow. It is basically the backbone of how we handle NDT work at Aker.”

How is reporting handled?

“Most of the large projects we handle use negative reporting. That means we only create a formal report when we find a flaw or when a weld needs repair. If everything is OK, we don’t write a repor, the system already shows that the weld has passed all inspections. But now we are getting new work where the customer wants something different. For example, on subsea projects, the customer requires a physical report for every weld, whether it is OK or not. That is what we call positive reporting. In positive reporting, we complete a full report for each weld: the method used, what we inspected, and the result.”

What happens if a weld fails?

“If a weld must be repaired, that goes into the negative reporting stream. We create a full report showing exactly where the defect is. For example, if a weld is 2,800 mm long and the repair area is between 1,000 mm and 1,020 mm, we mark the precise location on the sketch and include it in the report. The report is then emailed to the foreman and the customer.

If something happens once, it’s usually fine – a 20 mm repair today and nothing for a week is no problem. But if the same type of flaw keeps appearing day after day, they act.”