Vallourec: Launches Automated and Digitalized Pipe Yard Competition – Join Now!

Pipe Yard is an intermediate outdoor storage facility, where Vallourec performs several operations during the supply chain. We need to constantly provide both total integrity and full traceability, pipe by pipe, to guarantee accuracy and reliability of the inventory, mitigating the risks of shortage or overstock.

To maintain these assets in prime conditions, some actions might be needed such as pipe counting, periodic inspections, pipe body preservation, pipe connections repairing, running preparation, slinging or bundling before dispatching in a truck or train.

Those actions are executed by operators and co-exist with stock maintenance, logistics and handling activities, done by forklifts, cranes and front loaders inside the yard.

All pipes are today identified individually by a QR-Code, barcode or data matrix and Radio-frequency identification (RFID) tag on a plastic thread protector.

We are looking for solutions that facilitate the work of operators, optimize the efficiency of operations and decrease safety and environmental risks.

Our expectations

We expect from the pipe yard automatization and digitalization to:

• Improve the safety of operators
• Reduce CO2 emissions by optimizing logistics equipment utilization
• Improve traceability and reliability of inventory data
• Optimize inventory accuracy during the full supply chain
• Increase performance in all activities done at the yard

Examples of targeted technologies are active inventory, IoT, drones, communication, active marking, virtual reality, augmented reality, machine learning, artificial intelligence, exoskeleton …

Specifications

• Portable or remote device/platform that could be easily installed worldwide
• Prototype to be tested in real conditions within 7 months
• Possibility to be scaled up to other regions/countries in short term
• Solutions with some track record is desirable
• Environmental friendly

Selection criteria

• Best Business value for Vallourec with the best cost/potential revenues or savings ratio
• Execution easiness
• Scale up easiness
• Safety and environment risks mitigator

Selection process

The list of pre-selected proposal will be defined on October 7th.

Applicants with pre-selected proposals will be invited to pitch their solutions to Vallourec teams and top management end of October.

Decisions on the final selection will be released in November.

Reward

The selected project(s) will have the opportunity to launch a POC in collaboration with Vallourec teams in one specific country.