NDTScan surveys ports, jetties, piers, sheet piles, quay walls, sea defences and bridge piers above and below the waterline in one visit, from its own survey boat, and reports the lot on one drawing.
What NDTScan surveys
- Marine steel. Sheet and tubular piles, dolphins, jetty beams, lock gates, pontoons and hulls gauged for remaining thickness on a repeatable grid at low water, with the loss and the corrosion rate calculated. See thickness testing and corrosion mapping.
- Marine concrete. Quay walls, sea walls, breakwaters, pier decks and soffits, slipways and promenades scanned by GPR for reinforcement, cover and voids, assessed for carbonation and corrosion risk, and tested for strength where an assessment needs it.
- Below the waterline. Piles, walls, scour and the bed inspected by inspection-class ROV with video and imaging sonar. See underwater surveying and inspection.
- From the air. Decks, fenders, sea-defence faces and roofs recorded by drone where the harbour authority permits a flight.
- Buildings on the estate. Sheds, offices and terminals of the late 1950s to mid 1990s checked for RAAC.
The full scope, element by element, is set out under marine surveys, and the service is also described for Southampton, Portsmouth and the other ports on the regional pages.
How the visit runs
The survey is planned with the harbour master or asset owner around navigation, berth movements, tide and weather. NDTScan works from its own survey boat at the state of tide that exposes the splash zone, gauging the steel and scanning the soffits and faces on the way out, flying the ROV where the structure goes under, and recording from the air where that is permitted. Instruments are calibrated by UKAS-accredited laboratories where the work requires it, and the work follows the relevant ISO and BS EN standards with the standard stated in the report. Where a hand must touch the structure, for cleaning, close-up measurement or repair, commercial diving partners are arranged and the reporting coordinated by NDTScan.
What the engineer receives
One drawing of the structure with every element numbered and the findings against each: thickness readings tabulated by element and level against the original section, thinned zones dimensioned and photographed, scanned concrete with the indicated reinforcement and cover, sonar images of scour and the bed, stills and clips referenced to the element, the state of tide and visibility for each pass, and the confidence attached to each finding with what it must not be relied on for. A repeatable grid and route, so the next survey measures change. The interpreted report follows within an agreed number of working days.
Who instructs NDTScan
Harbour and port engineers, local authority coastal and bridge teams, marina and estate owners, insurers and their surveyors, and the contractors maintaining, strengthening or extending marine structures. NDTScan attends from Oxford anywhere on the UK coast and inland waterways, usually within one to two working days and same day where the diary allows, with the survey timed to the tide.
Do you survey below the waterline?
Yes. Inspection-class ROVs with 4K video and imaging sonar cover piles, walls, scour and the bed; thickness probes go below the tidal zone by ROV or by commercial diving partners where a project needs a hand on the steel.
Can you fly a drone over a port or coastal structure?
Where the harbour authority permits it and NDTScan's CAA authorisations cover the flight. The drone records deck, soffit, fenders and sea-defence faces that a boat cannot safely reach; where a flight is not permitted, those are surveyed from the boat or from access equipment.
What permits and safety rules apply?
Surveys are planned with the harbour master or asset owner around navigation, berth movements, tide and weather, under their permit and safety regime. NDTScan works from its own survey boat with the crew, lifejackets and communications that work on the water requires.
Questions we are asked
Can marine piles and quay walls be inspected for internal defects?
Steel piles are gauged for remaining wall thickness through sound coatings; the reading is the steel under the probe, taken on a grid from the splash zone down. Concrete quay walls and piers are scanned by GPR for reinforcement, cover and voids behind the face, and assessed for carbonation and corrosion risk. What a method cannot resolve is stated in the report.