Equipment for construction and repair of pipework

More stringent requirements on the integrity of safety-related components in power plants with a view to ensuring the availability of these installations and to rationalizing in-service inspections and repairs have resulted in rapid enhancement of the inspection and repair methods used. Piping systems are increasingly being visually inspected, tested and possibly subjected to remote-control repair from the interior using remotely controlled inspection vehicles. This calls for machines with high levels of reliability which may be operated by means of remote control. Technical developments make it possible nowadays to perform operations that were largely out of the question a decade ago. (orig.)