Enabling UK Gas Transmission Efficiency with National Grid and Beamex

National Grid, the owner and operator of the UK's gas National Transmission System (NTS), is transforming the way it manages the calibration of its essential assets through a long-term collaboration with Beamex. The partnership is helping to increase asset visibility, reduce manual procedures and save time and costs across the high-pressure gas network.

Natural gas remains vital to the UK energy mix, heating over 80% of households and supporting much of the country's industrial production. It travels from coastal terminals and storage facilities to large consumers via the NTS, propelled by 25 strategically placed gas compressor stations—most of which are powered by gas turbines.

Addressing Calibration Data Fragmentation

Each compressor station generates vast volumes of calibration data. From pressure and temperature switches right through to vibration sensors and flow transmitters, accurate and regular calibration is vital to maintaining operational integrity.

National Grid, however, was faced with some monumental challenges: data was dispersed across standalone systems with no standard method of recording or managing calibration records. Paper records and locally devised Excel databases were the norm.

“Without a centralised and standardised solution for capturing, recording, storing and analysing instrument calibration data it was nigh on impossible for us to gain a true picture of how our assets were performing…“
— Andy Barnwell, Asset Management Systems Owner, National Grid

“We also had no commonality with regards to hardware and software used to conduct calibrations… technicians had to adapt to ‘local' practices.”
— James Jepson, Control & Instrumentation Systems Officer, National Grid

Going Digital with Beamex

To overcome these challenges, National Grid turned to Beamex, a long-time partner whose automated calibration solutions were already partially installed in its network. Beamex recommended a system combining the MC6-Ex field calibrator—hazardous area safe and capable of handling pressure, temperature and electrical signal calibrations—with CMX Calibration Management Software.

“We knew we could offer a completely integrated and automated calibration solution that would improve both access to, and visibility of, asset data…“
— John Healy, UK & Ireland Sales Director, Beamex

Parallel field testing of the Beamex MC6 was conducted alongside other instruments. Feedback from technicians and actual operational benefits led National Grid to deploy the Beamex solution as a standard at compressor stations.

Remote Rollout During the Pandemic

Despite the impact of Covid-19, the implementation was successfully carried out using virtual workshops and remote support.

“This was a leap of faith… The Beamex team were very supportive and helpful from day one of the project.“
— Nikita Anosov, Project Manager & Scrum Master, National Grid

“We have had an open, honest dialogue and a collaborative way of working throughout…“
— Andy Barnwell

“We had detailed discussions with the systems team and end users… and tailored data integration to National Grid’s BI infrastructure.”
— Matthew Sanders, Calibration Solution Specialist, Beamex

Centralising Data to Maximise Value

The new system allows National Grid to centralise all calibration data, enabling more accurate decisions around maintenance intervals and investment.

“We’ve saved 15 minutes per calibration – that’s over 4,000 hours and millions of pounds annually.”
— James Jepson

The partnership continues to evolve with the addition of Beamex bMobile, an offline calibration execution software on a tablet. This allows technicians to run step-by-step scripts and guarantees adherence to company procedures.

“Commonality of scripts is important… everyone is following a standardised process… data is more reliable and decisions are better informed.”
— James Jepson

Futureproofing Calibration Management

Thanks to the intuitive nature of the Beamex solution, even experienced technicians have learned it easily. There was little uptake of web-based training simply because users were discovering the tools to be robust and intuitive from day one.

“Our technicians were teaching themselves and asking in-depth questions instead of basic ones.”
— James Jepson

The ease of use has proved vital for National Grid’s diverse workforce. Looking ahead, the team plans deeper integration with other asset systems and the exploration of further automation in calibration.

“It’s flexible and offers us a lot of options… We’ll look at simplifying ways of working and unlocking more asset management functionality.”
— Andy Barnwell

“The days of manual pumps for pressure calibration are numbered… I see a future where we do everything remotely with spot checks from highly accurate portable devices.”
— James Jepson

To learn more about Beamex calibration solutions for energy infrastructure and OEM applications, visit www.beamex.com.