IPCE 2026 Insights: Pig Tracking Is Becoming More Connected
The Propipe North America team recently returned from the International Pipeline Conference & Expo (IPCE) in Calgary, where we had the opportunity to meet with pipeline professionals, demonstrate our technology and, most importantly, hear directly from the people working with pig tracking and pipeline integrity every day.
One theme came through clearly in many of those conversations: pipeline teams want reliable field equipment, but they also want easier access to the information that equipment collects.
Remote Pig Tracking Is Solving Practical Field Challenges
Remote access was one of the recurring topics at our booth. For some pipeline teams, the value is straightforward: reducing the number of times personnel need to physically travel to a tracking location. For others, access itself can be a challenge. Equipment may need to be deployed on privately owned land or in locations where repeated site visits are difficult or undesirable.
This is where connected pig tracking can make a practical difference. With the APEX web-based pig tracking system, equipment can be deployed in the field while authorized team members access pig passage information remotely. Instead of treating every piece of tracking information as something that has to be collected manually in the field, teams can stay connected to the run from wherever the job takes them.
Pig tracking equipment is used in real operating environments and by field personnel with different levels of experience. That means equipment has to be straightforward to deploy and capable of standing up to demanding field conditions.
Field Equipment Has to Be Built for the Field
Connectivity doesn’t replace the need for robust hardware. Pig tracking equipment is used in real operating environments and by field personnel with different levels of experience. That means equipment has to be straightforward to deploy and capable of standing up to demanding field conditions.
That combination — field-proven hardware and connected access to data — was an important part of our conversations at IPCE.
Visitors who had the opportunity to see the equipment firsthand could get a better sense of how the technology fits into an actual field workflow.
More Than Knowing That the Pig Passed
The conversations weren’t limited to tracking hardware. Visitors were also interested in the additional information available from Propipe’s transmitters and in how that data can be used alongside other information from a pig run.
That’s an important shift. A modern pig tracking system can provide more than confirmation that a pig passed a particular location. Different sources of run data can help create a more complete picture of what happened throughout the run.
Turning Pig Run Data Into Something Teams Can Use
Collecting data is only part of the job. The next challenge is bringing that information together in a way that makes it easier to understand and review.
That’s where the PigView Software Suite became an important part of our conversations at IPCE. We demonstrated a live system with geophone data coming into PigView and a transmitter operating at the booth. Rather than simply describing the software, we could show visitors how information is captured and presented.
One area that generated interest was the ability to record and play back a pig run with different data overlays.nThis gives teams a way to go back and review what happened during the run instead of treating each reading or event as an isolated piece of information.
For pipeline integrity teams, the goal isn’t simply to collect more data. It’s to make that data easier to review, understand and use.
What We Took Away From IPCE 2026
For us, the value of IPCE wasn’t simply showing our technology. It was hearing what pipeline professionals are asking about and what matters when they evaluate pig tracking solutions.
- Remote access.
- Fewer unnecessary trips to the field.
- Reliable equipment.
- Better access to run data.
- And software that helps turn that data into information a team can use.
Those conversations help us continue improving not only our technology, but also how we explain it.
Thank you to everyone who stopped by the Propipe North America booth in Calgary, asked questions, shared field experiences and took the time to learn more about AGMs and PigView Software.
Didn’t get a chance to meet us at IPCE?
Contact the Propipe North America team to learn more about APEX, APEX Vector, PigView and our pig tracking solutions.
