RedZone® Robotics | Wastewater & Sewer Inspection Tools, Robots & Software | 412-476-8980

EPA Field Demonstration of Condition Assessment Technologies for Wastewater Collection Systems

Kelsey — Fri, 27 Apr 2012 17:54:21 +0000

“The laser data revealed and quantified corrosion above the water line that the conventional CCTV did not. Seven of the eighteen segments had maximum corrosion depths of greater than 1.0-in. For areas below the water surface, the sonar data provided additional information on changes in the wall material (i.e., gain or loss) resulting from corrosion, siltation, or deformation (ovality and deflection). Evaluation of pipe below the water surface was not possible by CCTV or the other technologies evaluated.”

Robots Explore City Sewers

Kelsey — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:59:14 +0000

Municipalities save time, money and create new jobs.

Water officials work to keep overall quality

Kelsey — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 15:54:47 +0000

Neighborhoodnewspapers.com

By Mary Hood
mhood@neighbornewspapers.com

When it comes to water quality, being proactive in monitoring and maintenance is crucial.

Both Fayette and Henry counties have protocol, policies and initiatives that keep crews working each day to save the county and the customer money in the long run.

Peachtree City Water and Sewer Authority has recently contracted with Redzone Robotics, a wastewater and sewer inspection company, to conduct a comprehensive review of the authority’s 883,000 feet of pipes, authority General Manager Stephen Hogan said.

“We’re proactively seeking out any issue we have with our collection,” he said. “Our major goal is to evaluate the collection system.”

He said the $1.2 million inspection is unprecedented, and this 15-month process will help the authority form long-term plans for capital improvements, which will save the taxpayers money in the grander scheme.

“The reason being we can manage and plan for our rehabilitation projects in an orderly and logical manner, as opposed to having something fail and have to work under emergency circumstances,” Hogan said.

The authority has worked with Redzone Robotics to establish a seven-year, zero percent interest financing plan.

“We were quite amazed at the financial terms,” he said of the plan that will pay roughly $175,000 each year.

In Henry County, crews work constantly monitoring and maintaining the 1,400 miles of water line, Henry County Water and Sewer Authority Division Manager of Engineering Tony Carnell said.

He said the authority has a service-line replacement program that routinely replaces aging lines, while regularly consulting a streamlined database that tracks the age of pipes in order to determine leakage.

A geographical information system maps all waterlines, Carnell said, and includes not only the age of the pipe but when it was installed, the type of pipe, while also flagging areas that have had leaks and repairs.

“We’re very proactive in doing preventative maintenance on water distribution and waste water collection system,” he said.

The 442 miles of wastewater pipeline are monitored regularly using cameras that are snaked through the pipes to detect irregularities, clogs or degradation.

“One of the things we’ve seen in overtime and emergency costs is they’ve dropped dramatically. I know that’s directly related to preventative maintenance,” Carnell said.

“We don’t take it lightly.”

http://www.neighbornewspapers.com/stories/Water-officials-work-to-keep-overall-quality,183031

Robot Sewer Inspectors to Start April 9

Kelsey — Mon, 26 Mar 2012 14:11:33 +0000

In several weeks, camera-armed robots will begin methodically working their way through Peachtree City sewer pipes, providing video evidence of each pipe’s status.

Laser Technologies: Taking the Guesswork Out of Pipeline Condition Assessment

Kelsey — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 19:10:07 +0000

Trenchless Technology – February 2012

RedZone Robotics closes on $8.5M

Kelsey — Fri, 24 Feb 2012 16:55:33 +0000

February 23, 2012 – Pittsburgh Business Times highlights RedZone’s latest investments from Waste Resources Management Fund, L.P. and Smithfield Trust Company.

RedZone Robotics, Inc. Announces $8.5M in New Investments

Kelsey — Thu, 23 Feb 2012 11:53:30 +0000

Press Release –

Waste Resources Fund L.P. and Smithfield Trust Company Attracted to Combination of World-Class Robotic Inspection Technologies and Sophisticated Data-Analysis Software Enabling Customers to Make Better Decisions

PITTSBURGH, PENNSYLVANIA – February 23, 2012 – RedZone Robotics, Inc. (“RedZone” or the “Company”), a designer and manufacturer of wastewater inspection technologies and related analytical solutions for municipalities, contractors and engineering companies, today announced (i) a $6.5 million investment by Waste Resources Fund L.P. (“WRF”), a fund managed by FourWinds Capital Management (“FourWinds”), a privately owned investment manager advising primarily on investments in natural resources and commodities markets across the globe, and (ii) a $2 million investment by Smithfield Trust Company (“Smithfield Trust”), a privately owned financial institution chartered and regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking. RedZone will use the funds to continue to expand its product offering and geographic reach. As a result of the financing, FourWinds’ Valérie Daoud Henderson will join the Company’s board of directors.

“We are delighted to welcome WRF as a partner. Its and FourWinds’ industry knowledge and worldwide presence will further help us to expand our footprint, and deliver on our goals.” Remarked RedZone CFO Chris Dunkerley, “This, coupled with the follow on investment of Smithfield Trust, who have long been a partner with RedZone, is further vindication of the unique solution and value proposition we offer to our customers.”

Today’s wastewater managers are tasked with making critical decisions about their valuable collection system assets while being limited by insufficient information, technologies, time, funding, and resources. The U.S. Congressional Budget Office has estimated that between the years 2000 and 2019, the investment for wastewater systems would have to be between $13 and $20.9 billion annually, which according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA )would require a $150 billion increase in current funding, a shortfall that is not likely to be covered without new spending and operations practices. Communities need useful information that is accurate, complete, centralized, and standardized to enable them to use their limited funding where it is critically needed. Now with the increase in EPA compliance enforcement, cities are under even more pressure to have a complete understanding of their system with time constraints impossible to meet without upgraded practices. RedZone’s solutions provide the actionable information required to make better decisions while reducing spending and negative environmental impact. RedZone accomplishes these results by providing a suite of world-class robotic sewer inspection technologies and sophisticated data-analysis software that are more accurate, cost-effective and efficient than conventional means.

“New technology has clearly shown to be vital to advancements in every industry throughout the world, unfortunately the extent of technological innovation seen in other industries has bypassed our aging wastewater industry, which has for too long remained out of sight and therefore out of mind.” Said Valérie Daoud Henderson of FourWinds, “With innovative robotic inspection technology and asset management services, RedZone fills this innovation gap, allowing wastewater managers to fully understand their system in the most cost-effective and efficient way. We are excited to now be a part of the continued growth and success of RedZone.”
Today, RedZone serves customers globally spanning large and small municipalities and wastewater agencies, as well as regional and national engineering firms.

About RedZone Robotics, Inc.
RedZone Robotics provides a wastewater infrastructure asset management platform that helps municipalities globally manage their valuable and abundant wastewater assets. Using RedZone’s proprietary data acquisition robotics and industry leading ICOM3 wastewater asset management software, RedZone provides municipalities and engineers’ tools that provide better information that can be used to comply with regulatory requirements, spend limited financial resources smartly, and save the environment. For more information please visit www.redzone.com.

About Waste Resources Fund L.P. and FourWinds Capital Management

Waste Resources Fund L.P., a fund managed by FourWinds Capital Management, targets investments in high growth opportunities in liquid and solid waste processing opportunities across industrial, urban and rural waste. It aims to provide capital appreciation through diversified exposure to a global portfolio of water and waste-related investments.

FourWinds Capital Management, the manager of WRF, is a specialist in global commodities and natural resources with products investing across energy, metals, agriculture, timber, water, waste, and alternative energy. The FourWinds’ teams have extensive experience across natural resources and investment management.

About Smithfield Trust Company

Smithfield Trust Company is a privately owned financial institution chartered and regulated by the Pennsylvania Department of Banking. Smithfield received its charter on November 26, 1996, and withstood the challenges of the bear markets of the early 2000‘s by continuously adding new customer relationships and assets under administration. By its 10th anniversary in November, 2006, Smithfield was administering $640,000,000 in assets. Consistent growth continues today with asset levels at $875,000,000.

Smithfield Trust Company offers a full range of trust, custody, and investment management services to individuals, their families, foundations, endowment funds, and employee benefit plans. Smithfield provides the highest levels of personal service, the utmost in confidentiality, and a variety of investment managers and styles, including venture capital and private equity opportunities. Smithfield’s constant focus on its customers and their needs has led it to be considered one of the premier providers of trust and investment management services in Western Pennsylvania.

Anchorage Sewer Robots Deliver Data to Utility Officials

Kelsey — Mon, 31 Oct 2011 20:11:53 +0000

By Jason Lamb
Channel 2 News
1:09 p.m. AKDT, October 27, 2011

ANCHORAGE, Alaska—
Anchorage sewer robots are showing officials with the city’s water and wastewater utility many examples of sewer lines badly in need of repair.

AWWU unveiled a new robot today from the company RedZone Robotics that will be going up and down the larger sewer lines in the city.

A smaller robot has been making its way along the smaller lines — and the city says it’s found examples of damaged pipes and caked-on fats oils and greases along the inner walls.

There’s no estimate how much it will cost to repair the damage they’re finding, but AWWU says this advance notice will save them money in the long run.

“Once we understand what condition it’s in, we can go in and evaluate whats the most cost effective way to keep the line in service for many years to come,” said Craig Wollard with AWWU.

The new, bigger robot already spotted one problem in a sewer line Thursday — a small leak sending groundwater into the sewer line near Spenard.

Contact Jason Lamb at jlamb@ktuu.com

High Tech Sewer Survey Spots Problems Early

Kelsey — Mon, 10 Oct 2011 13:26:53 +0000

September 22, 2011|By Ted Land | Channel 2 News

ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A fleet of sophisticated sewer robots is crawling under the streets of Anchorage this month.

The city thinks the technology might help cut down costs in a system where even the slightest weakness, could quickly turn into an expensive repair.

Overall, the Anchorage Water and Wastewater Utility said its 1500 mile system is in good to fair condition.

But they don’t really know for sure, until they get down there for a close-up look.

So the city hired a company called Red Zone Robotics to deploy sewer robots over the next few weeks.

The remote-controlled, battery-powered vehicles are equipped with cameras and lights and give crews a 360 degree perspective.

“It’s like a Google Earth for pipes. It’s like you’re actually inside the pipe looking around,” said Michelle Beason, Business Development Manager for Red Zone Robotics.

“This is really the first time we’ve captured this in this manner and what we’ve seen is eye opening, it’s good,” said Mark Corsentino, a Civil Engineer with AWWU.

Video: Sewer Robots Look for Pipe Problems under Anchorage

Kelsey — Tue, 27 Sep 2011 12:32:40 +0000

KTUU News, Anchorage

SOLO is highlighted on the KTUU news in Anchorage, Alaska.