Abstract
Personal inspections, such as “crawl throughs” or “walk-throughs,” of buried pipelines need standardized terminology for describing the interior condition of a pipe. In many cases, personal inspection is less expensive and more effective than a closed circuit television inspection. Remote video inspection of a pipeline interior is a valuable method of inspecting pipeline interiors. However, when accessible, a personal inspection can provide quantitative data not available from video inspection. The Pipeline Assessment and Certification Program (PACP) of the National Association of Sewer Service Companies promotes a uniform system of describing conditions encountered during video inspections of pipe. However, there are no national standards, programs, or instructions for terminology of observations made during a personal inspection. A condition assessment protocol, such as the PACP system, would also be useful. The descriptive terms and nomenclature of the PACP is generally recommended for use in personal pipeline inspections, modified for the means and methods available during “crawl-through” and “walk-through” investigations.
