This is a costly and time-consuming operation, which means it is important to make clear choices about which sections it would be best to replace within which period of time. In order to be able to make well-considered choices, it is critical to monitor the technical state of networks carefully over time and to draw the correct conclusions in this respect.

These choices are made by (asset) managers working for pipeline operators, such as (regional) network companies for gas, water and heating.

Making the right decisions for replacement and maintenance strategies requires knowledge, expertise and reliable data. Setting priorities exclusively on the basis of the age and material type of specific network sections is not a wise course of action. The reason for this is that it is quite feasible for (part of) a relatively young section to have a poorer residual quality than an older section. Besides residual quality, the location of a section is also included in assessing the risks and the costs, and therefore also in the prioritisation for replacement and/or maintenance.


Kiwa Technology offers a comprehensive range of services to assist you in devising maintenance and replacement strategies that include:

  • Determining the condition of networks, including connecting pipelines
  • Carrying out risk analyses
  • Carrying out exit assessments. This entails registering and measuring data from pipeline sections and components scheduled for replacement or restructuring. The information gathered for exit assessments provides an increasingly more accurate impression of the characteristics and the properties of pipeline systems and components over the course of time
  • Determining the effectiveness of renovation techniques under different circumstances
  • Providing advice about internal and external pipeline monitoring and inspection techniques
  • The classification of pipeline groups into homogeneous populations with comparable risks
  • Providing advice about data management and carrying out statistical analyses
  • Defining the circumstances where pipelines are laid and the way in which the location affects the useful economic life
  • The economic optimisation of replacement, taking local circumstances into account.

All the above lead to a higher level of knowledge about the condition of your network and the way in which to can replace different sections as optimally as possible operating within given technical and economic (safety) criteria.