INTRODUCING - MAVERICK™
          "Submarine that goes in Gasoline"™

                    The Next Generation
                         of Inspection Technologies

SAFETY FIRST
CERTIFIED
for
Class I Division 1 Group D
Environments

Meeting the needs for API 653


System Description
Maverick is a rugged inspection system for service in aboveground storage tanks.  The system performs floor inspections from inside the tank while submerged in refined petroleum and chemical products.  The robot is a remote-controlled, purged and pressurized, submersible inspection platform.  Maverick travels on the interior tank floors using traction wheels.  The instrumentation payload includes a multi-channel ultrasonic sensor system to map and correlate metal thickness data, an onboard video system to record inspections, and position tracking sensors.


API 653 Surveys
The American Petroleum Institute Standard 653 establishes that aboveground storage tanks used by the petroleum and chemical industry should be inspected on a periodic basis for corrosion and structural flaws.  The API has endorsed the use of robotics as a means to provide a 653 tank floor inspection survey. To meet this need by industry, the ultrasonic inspection system onboard Maverick provides the tank owner with a detailed view of the tank bottom.  The thickness data can be presented in A, B or C-Scan formats and is summarized in a final report.

Operations
Setup at the job site is quick.  The equipment is deployed from a control trailer by skilled technicians by raising the robot to the top of the tank and lowering it through the open manway.  An umbilical cable connects the robot to the computers in the trailer where all functions of the robot are controlled in comfort.

Operational Safety
Maverick is CERTIFIED to meet National Fire Protection Association, National Electrical Code, Underwriters Laboratory, Factory Mutual, CSA and DEMCO regulations for operation in Class I Division 1 Group D environments - hazardous and potentially explosive conditions.  This multi-agency safety certification for Maverick, awarded August 31, 1998, is now recognized in the United States, Canada, and European nations.  With Maverick, there is no need to compromise the safety of personnel or the operations of facilities.  Maverick needs no waiver by health and safety departments to operate in diesel, gasoline, jet fuel, kerosene, fuel oil and other middle distillates. 

"IS IT SAFE?"
With Maverick, the answer is a certified YES.


Bottom Line - Savings
Maverick reduces the direct and indirect costs of API 653 compliance by inspecting in-service tanks.  This saves the operator the expensive costs of draining and cleaning the tank and lost revenues from down time, that can add up to $50,000 to $500,000 per tank.  The major costs and liabilities of disposing of the heavy metal sludge and cleaning agents are also eliminated.  By allowing inspection during tank operations, scheduling conflicts, the need to shift product to other tanks, or shutdowns because of a lack of standby tanks are no longer necessary.