On-stream robotic welding and repair

Effee OSR brings welding and surface treatment to the asset rather than taking the component off the asset for repair. Its robot-controlled system performs weld build-ups, cladding, and repairs in place, in many cases on-stream while the asset keeps running. It is supported by induction heating for preheat and post-weld treatment and by laser cleaning that strips corrosion without abrasive blasting.

Track record and clients

Effee has carried out on-stream welding and remote repairs for Shell, and it repaired a heat exchanger on an Equinor platform, rewelding two 20-inch flanges with worn internal cladding to a golden weld standard, with the robots performing the work. It completed its first robotic welding project in 2020, its first pressure-vessel weld in 2021, and its first offshore operation using 3D laser the following year. The welding engineering behind the robotics draws on a group background in foundry work and induction heating.

The commercial case

The cost of a weld repair on a live asset is rarely the weld. It is the shutdown, the scaffold, and the access around it, or the cost of removing the component and sending it off site. Doing the repair on-stream removes the outage, which is where the real cost sits, and keeps a long-lead component in service rather than replacing it.

Why it is in the Hub

Pulse represents Effee OSR in Australia because the repair-versus-shutdown decision is a constant on WA's producing assets, and the long lead times on replacement components here make in-place repair more valuable, not less. A robot that can weld a live asset turns an outage into a planned intervention.