CIPS (Close Interval Potential Survey)

A close interval potential survey measures pipe-to-soil potential at closely spaced intervals - often every one to two metres - along the entire route of a buried pipeline, producing a continuous profile of cathodic protection performance rather than the single-point readings taken at test posts. CIPS is the standard method for finding localised gaps in CP coverage that a sparse test-post survey would miss entirely, since protection can be adequate at a test post half a kilometre away while a specific short section sits unprotected. Its main cost is labour: walking a continuous survey over long transmission routes is slow and typically run on a periodic cycle rather than continuously.