Benefits of industrial drone inspections
Most people call them drones. Technically, they are UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) or RPAS (remotely piloted aircraft system). No matter what you call them, these advanced technological flying camera and sensor holders are quickly becoming a valuable industrial inspection tool. Drone-based inspections are assisting companies limit down time, while maintaining quality data capture, increasing safety, and saving money. As an evolving technology, some people may not be aware of the potential benefits of industrial drone inspections.
Drone inspections can dramatically reduce the high costs, safety risks, and time involved with conventional inspection access methods.
To achieve this ability to conduct safe operations in these specialty areas, drone owners and operators invest large amounts of capital into constantly changing technologies and undertake a great deal of training to become proficient commercial drone pilots.
There are various safety regulations that must be adhered to and specific insurance requirements required to fly commercial operations. Drone service providers spend countless hours building safe operational plans for al manners of flight requirements so clients can achieve the safe inspections they desire at a reduced cost compared to previous conventional methods.
Using experienced and respectable drone companies for specialty job requirements results in more safe inspections being conducted every month than you can with conventional methods, without shutting down operations and affection production. In traditional methods, time is required to schedule a shutdown and assemble several workers, vehicles, and other inspection equipment, especially for the energy sector. Also, the mobility, speed, and efficiency of drones provides companies with the opportunity to collect data on a large scale. Since drones can be utilized by trained advanced pilots in even the most difficult to reach areas, it is possible to inspect an entire project and its surroundings without putting workers at risk of injury.
benefits of industrial drone inspections - added advantages
Drone-based field investigations provide invaluable information to operational and maintenance managers with the following added advantages:
- Timely reporting and investigation of damage/material loss when carried out under a defined schedule.
- Enhanced personnel safety by avoiding hazardous environments and dangerous locations to workers
- First-hand delivery of information to supervisors/managers without the need to visit a site.
- Cost-effective alternative to route reconnaissance and aerial-surveys.
- Inspectors can gain access for investigations without plant-shutdown requirements.
In addition to the above benefits, drones may be the only data-acquisition option in emergency/accident situations.
benefits of industrial drone inspections - Case Study
Here at Osprey Integrity Ltd, we work hard to identify ways our clients can reduce costs and improve efficiency. Here is one such example:
Osprey Integrity Ltd was tasked with the internal inspection of a Heat Medium Heater in accordance with ASME Section 1. The asset was 55m in height, and a full internal inspection was required.
We were able to deploy our Flyability Elios 2 for a comprehensive assessment of the Heater, in a fraction of the time. Let’s compare!
Traditional NB Inspection = 173 total working hours
- 4-day scaffold construction/teardown, 2-person crew at 40 hours
- Inspection of asset - 3 hours
- Confined space entry required
- Rescue personnel for 4 days. 2-person crew at 45 hours
- Individual photo captures of notable areas
Elios 2 Inspection = 11 total working hours
- No scaffold build required
- Internal flight 2-person crew at 3 hours
- Footage review and reporting - 2 hours
- No confined space entry required
- Confined space gas test monitor - 3 hours
- Full HD video recording of entire asset for permanent record
We were able to reduce our client’s total expense on this job by 94%.
Through our years of experience, we conduct various types of inspections using the most technologically advanced airframes. We invest heavily into the correct equipment for inspecting both internal and external locations, ranging from boilers and furnaces to turbine generators. If you don’t believe us, take a closer look at our visual inspections service.
Safety is our priority and through our relationship with the Alberta Association for Safety Partnerships, our safety program has been recognized as COR compliant. All our pilots are highly trained and adept in following strict safety procedures and continue to receive ongoing training throughout their careers.
At Osprey Integrity Ltd, we go above and beyond to complete each project on time and exceed our clients expectations. We have one of the most experienced teams working with us and are complimented by our core subject matter experts.
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