Introduction
The health and safety executive states, following in relation to working at height
"Working at height remains one of the biggest causes of fatalities and major injuries. Common cases include falls from ladders and through fragile surfaces. ‘Work at height’ means work in any place where, if there were no precautions in place, a person could fall a distance liable to cause personal injury (for example a fall through a fragile roof).”
HSE: An easy guide to Health & Safety. (2016)
The recommended number one control measure
"The underlying principle of the Work at Height Regulations is that working at height should be avoided wherever possible. This essentially means doing as much work as possible from the ground, using extending tools instead of a ladder, or lowering something to ground level before repairing it. Avoiding work at height also means avoiding work on fragile surfaces, which may be enclosed, but still liable to cause a fall through them rather than off them."
How drones can make industrial inspections safer.
The use of remotely piloted aircraft systems for site inspection and aerial surveys is gaining momentum. The truth is industrial inspections such as power line inspections, flare stack inspections and roof inspections can be time consuming, dangerous and difficult to complete at times. Such risks can be minimised, through the use of drone technology. Workers do not have to expose themselves to high risk areas to carry out inspections. With drone technology, it is possible to fly unmanned aerial vehicles to assess the areas that need inspection and provide real-time video and imagery to qualified personnel who need to conduct the inspection. This data can also be shared over networks negating the need for the subject matter experts to be on site.
High Risk Areas
In the gas and oil sector as well as industrial sites, complex and tall structures like platforms, oil rigs, flare stacks roofs, all pose a danger for the personnel involved. The personnel are even at a higher risk, if the operations are to be undertaken at heights where there are environmental conditions such as wind, low temperatures , waves and water. Such high risk environments can place a further danger, on the individuals or personnel required to carry out the inspections. However, workers do not have to expose themselves to such risks that involve working at height, thanks to our UAV ,drones.
We are a leading pioneer in the UK when it comes to using drones to undertake topographical land surveys, industrial inspections, and aerial photography. We first undertake a specific risk assessment on the facility, before committing our drones. This is meant to safeguard the drones and the site being surveyed for optimum success. Additionally, our drones use batteries. With that in mind, there is no use of liquid fuel. All our pilots have amassed high amount of commercial UAV flying in real word conditions. We fully understand what it takes to work safely in high risk industrial areas and have experience of working on COMH sites in the UK.
Precision flying
Our pilots are some of the best at flying precision flying with drone systems, we have some of the most reliable and safest UAVs. We use the most advanced sensors while our operators and pilots are trained to the highest international standards.
Our ability to deliver timely results, together with our professionalism has always placed us ahead of our competitors. We have completed some of the largest and most successful aerial inspections in the UK.
Operating with UAVs can reduce your operating costs, increase your productivity and most importantly, help reduce risk and make any industrial inspections safer.
Bottom Line
Drones provide effective, environmentally friendly and safe method of inspection where height is involved. Whether it is petroleum and gas, electro optical, thermal or any industrial survey, we will provide precise data in the safest means possible.