A METHOD FOR PLACING AND REMOVING PIPE FROM A FINGER RACK

A system for placing and removing pipe from a finger rack of a drilling rig, the system comprising a pipe handling apparatus (140) and a finger rack (139) having at least one finger board (102) having at least two fingers (103 to 106) defining a slot (107 to 109) and a multiplicity of latches (114) arranged therebetween defining a space for a pipe, each latch (114) of the multiplicity of latches selectively movable between an open position and a closed position, the system further comprising at least one camera (101) having said at least one latch (114) of said multiplicity of latches in a field of view, capturing an image of said latch and sending said image to a master control computer (12′), said master computer control computer (12′) programmed with a set of instructions to analyze said image for details indicative of the latch (114) being in an open position or closed position, concluding the latch (114) to be in an open position or closed position and allowing or disallowing a pipe handling apparatus to place or remove a pipe in the finger rack (139) based on said conclusion.