Infrastructure

DOER is well know for developing innovative solutions for inspection of our aging infrastructure. Water filled tunnels, shafts, dams, aqueducts, and levees are some examples. As populations and sea levels rise, the demands on these systems is increasing. Many of these critical structures were built over 100 years ago with no consideration for inspection, repair or maintenance. Increased demand means less room, and less tolerance for down time. Dewatering tunnels can result in catastrophic failures. Yet cracking, spauling, and related deterioration can result in flooding, loss or contamination of water. Innovative solutions are key to cost effective predictive failure analysis, intervention, and repair. Contracts for repair and maintenance of these systems usually falls to large construction and diving firms. These are the firms that DOER supports with our specialized operational personnel. DOER can build or adapt equipment for extreme penetrations and harsh environments. Lateral distances in excess of eight miles and up to sixteen miles have been undertaken. Equipment designs range from free swimming to crawling to hybrid systems. Manned, unmanned and autonomous systems have all been employed for these projects. Explosion proof tooling, fiber optic rescue packs, underground communications, and insitu monitoring are all commonly provided by DOER for these uncommonly complex applications. DOER pioneered the development of ethernet equipped systems allowing us to utilize the Internet for consulting specialists and to allow real time monitoring of underground activities by topside personnel, home office and even the end user utility.