Long Range Sewer Influent Tunnel with Shotcrete Liner

In this case, a metropolitan sewer department had an influent tunnel that had a distance of approximately 8,000 feet between available access points. The tunnel had a poured in place concrete liner for the first 50 feet with shotcrete lining the rock cut tunnel for the remainder of the distance. The tunnel was expected to be 60% full and flowing during the inspection. The customer wanted to assess the tunnel lining condition above the waterline and to assess debris or sedimentation below the waterline. The customer also wanted to look through the lining if possible to detect the presence of any support structures or voids behind the liner.

Float In Flowing Tunnel

Hibbard Inshore has vehicles for fully flooded, partially flooded, and dry scenarios, and in this case chose to use a large floating vehicle due to its ability as a platform for inspection both above and below the waterline. The float was outfitted with 8,000 feet of umbilical tether in order to provide real time data during the inspection along with multiple cameras, lighting, sonar to dimension debris below the water’s surface, and two ground penetrating radar antennas on masts to roll along the tunnel liner. The GPR antennas were of different frequencies to look through the liner to different depths. The inspection showed that the liner was present and still bonded to the rock but had some signs of deterioration while the tunnel was relatively free from major debris or sedimentation.

Pipelines 2016

Exhibition | July 17-20, 2016
Kansas City, Missouri

HydroVision 2016

Exhibition | July 26-29, 2016
Minneapolis, Minnesota

Hydro 2016

Exhibition | October 10-12, 2016
Montreux, Switzerland

Jay K. Hibbard

President and Chief Engineer of Vehicle Systems

With 22 years of ROV experience, Jay Hibbard is an ADCI certified ROV supervisor has been a lead pilot for 16 years and a project manager for 13 years. His ROV operation/supervision experience ranges from open water live boating structural inspection in the ocean to long tunnel internal inspections in power tunnels, penstocks, aqueducts, and outfalls with zero visibility. Mr. Hibbard is a graduate of the College of Engineering, Automotive Engineering Technology at Western Michigan University.

Bradley L. Hibbard

President and Chief Applications Engineer

With 22 years of ROV experience, Brad Hibbard is an ADCI certified ROV Supervisor, has been a lead pilot for 16 years and a project manager for 13 years. The majority of that time he spent on inshore structural inspection including hydroelectric plants, nuclear plants, large water intake systems, large sewers, treatment plants, and ocean outfalls. He is a graduate of the College of Engineering, Dept. of Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering at the University of Michigan. Brad Hibbard is 40 hour Hazwoper and Confined Entry trained.

Jim L. Hibbard

Director – Business Development and Senior Project Manager

Jim Hibbard is an ADCI certified ROV Supervisor with 32 years of experience in the underwater industry with ROV systems. The majority of that time he spent on inshore structural inspection and maintenance, including hydroelectric plants, nuclear plants, large water intake systems, oxygen diffuser systems, large sewers, treatment plants, and ocean outfalls. He has completed certificated ASNT instruction, FAA repairman certification, and is a graduate of Western Michigan University. Jim Hibbard founded the company in 1984.

Hibbard Inshore-Scanning Sonar Service

Scanning Sonar and Multibeam Image Surveys

Hibbard Inshore extends vehicle fleet with SAAB Seaeye Hybrid Vehicle “Sabertooth”

Auburn Hills, MI, April 10, 2013:
Leading underwater service provider, Hibbard Inshore has recently deployed their newest hybrid vehicle from SAAB Seaeye. The “Sabertooth” is a hybrid ROV/AUV that is able to travel up to 20 km+ (tethered) and operates with up to 12 hours of battery life (untethered). Whether the vehicle is in AUV or ROV mode, it is capable of holding station and altitude while maintaining stability. Because of this ability, it allows for a single vehicle platform to perform advanced survey, inspection, and light intervention tasks. With its excursion range of 20 km+ and depth rating to 1200 meters, it can embark on either long range programmable missions, or under operator control around set targets. It can perform obstacle avoidance while surveyieg in autonomous mode, can perform sonar target tracking and has precise maneuverability while under pilot control, allowing it to perform survey functions as well as the inspection of complex structures.

The Hibbard Inshore Saab Vehicle also can be fit with sensing packages to make it extremely well suited as a long distance, tunnel inspection vehicle. In these scenarios, the vehicle can use its resident Phins inertial system along with both forward looking and profiling sonar to collect high density data in fully flooded tunnels while moving at speed. The data can be used to detect features of interest such as open cracks, loss of tunnel material, sediment or debris build up, and issues with tunnel liners. 3D maps can also be created to show changes in sediment levels and changes in tunnel dimensions when compared to as-built drawings or previous survey data. The vehicle also has the advantage that where operating space is tight, the Sabertooth’s 360 degree maneuverability and six degrees of freedom control means that it can orient itself and maintain stability in any position including completely vertical allowing it to move through shafts or over grades while attending to its light intervention work, survey or inspection task.

By combining the abilities and technologies of both AUV and ROV vehicles into a single unified resource, the Sabertooth is a versatile tool allowing survey, verification, and intervention projects to be completed quickly and efficiently.

About Hibbard Inshore
Headquartered in Auburn Hills MI, Hibbard Inshore is a global engineering services company specializing in the use of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs). With a premier fleet of ROVs and experienced staff, Hibbard Inshore is able to provide the expertise and technology necessary to solve the challenges of both the inshore and offshore industries.

Meet the Mojave – Hibbard Inshore’s newest addition to its ROV fleet

Auburn Hills, MI, December 19, 2012:
Earlier this year, leading underwater service provider, Hibbard Inshore announces the newest addition to its Remotely Operated Vehicle (ROV) fleet – the Mojave. Purchased from Sub-AtlanticTM, the Mojave sets new standards for compact ROVs due to its small size and powerful, vectoring thrusters.

Hibbard Inshore is enthusiastic about their new addition. “With the success of the other vehicles we have purchased through Sub-AtlanticTM, such as the Mohican and Navajo, we were confident in purchasing the Mojave. Its capabilities fit in nicely with our current Sub-Atlantic vehicles as well as our Seabotix ROVs and Saab AUV/ROV vehicles broadening our abilities to serve the inspection and specialty construction markets. We’re excited about utilizing this vehicle in conditions where currents could be a factor such as in outfall inspections or the survey or inspection of nearshore cables.” said senior project engineer Dave Malak.

The vehicle’s vectoring thrusters allow the Mojave to remain stationary in changing current conditions, increasing productivity during inspections.

In March the Mojave successfully debuted in the field by plugging leaks in the bottom of a 180m surge shaft using its manipulator and other specialty tooling to insert plugs into the existing holes to stop the leaks. The project went smoothly and reduced leaking in the shaft by more than 60%. The vehicle will be returning to that site in 2013 to perform further repairs. “We’re looking forward to using the Mojave for this project because we need a small, powerful vehicle with good control to make the repairs” said ROV supervisor Chester Schultz.

The Mojave joins Hibbard Inshore’s diverse fleet of ROVs, offering clients an even wider array of solutions for their specialty underwater projects.

About Hibbard Inshore
Headquartered in Auburn Hills MI, Hibbard Inshore is a global engineering services company
specializing in the use of Remotely Operated Vehicles (ROVs). With a premier fleet of ROVs and experienced staff, Hibbard Inshore is able to provide the expertise and technology necessary to solve
the complex challenges of the inshore and offshore industry.