Authors
David Price is Chief Technology Officer and Associate Vice
President, Business and Technology Architecture in Black &
Veatch Management Consulting LLC. Nathan Ives is a Managing
Director, Business and Technology Architecture in Black &
Veatch Management Consulting LLC. Caitlin Frank is a Consultant of Business and Technology Architecture in Black &
Veatch Management Consulting LLC.
These are the types of scenarios that utilities will begin
to face as they embrace these
new technologies, and while
these may seem like daunting
questions to face, embracing
the changes to make a utility
UAV-capable will bring great
benefits.
MEETING ASSET
INSPECTION
CHALLENGES
HEAD-ON
Performing complex asset
inspections is a difficult,
assets such as transmission
towers -not only accelerates
the inspection process; it
eliminates safety hazards for
utility employees and
standardizes how data is
collected and recorded.
Utilities deploying a UAS
have seen considerable improvements in inspection time.
Field tests with a leading electric transmission and distribution provider in Ontario, Canada, found that using a UAS
allowed them to inspect 20 or
more 500 kV transmission
towers per day; reducing inspection times by over 50 percent, while simultaneously
moving personnel away from
the high energy system.
Improved asset inspection
efficiency enables utilities to
realize reduced costs and/or
more frequent data collection.
More frequent inspections
drive better intelligence on
asset performance trends over
time. Furthermore, the use of
UAV governed by automated
flight scripting heightens data
collection consistency and
quality needed for bulk and
over-time analyses.
Utilities employing
standardized asset models outlining critical facilities and com-
ponents, as well as their required attributes further improve
field data collection by ensuring the right data is captured
during each flight. When integrated with the utility’s asset and
work management systems, the ability to generate immediate
follow-up repair and maintenance work orders, as well as
perform bulk and over-time asset performance analysis, is
gained. Integrating a UAS solution into a utility’s enterprise
asset management system enables the organization to gain a
clear, full lifecycle view of asset conditions and performance;
informing decisions for overall operations improvements,
extending asset life and determining future capital
investments.
IMPLEMENTING A UAS PROGRAM
Planning the successful deployment of a UAV-based enterprise
asset management program can be thought of in three main
components: people, process, and technology.
ENGAGING THE RIGHT PROFESSIONALS
Engaging the right personnel within an organization is an
integral part of creating a holistic UAS program. Clearly defined
roles and responsibilities help establish a comprehensive process
that will touch many aspects of the utility’s business. Operations
professionals within a utility organization, from the C-suite to
the shop floor, should be involved when developing this new
asset management program to ensure that aspects of business
strategy (capital investment planning, and risk management)
as well as day-to-day operations (maintenance, safety, analytics,
and aviation) are taken into account and incorporated into the
standardized inspection process.
Developing a holistic asset management culture, despite
what technologies are being used, can be a daunting task.
Gaining this level of collaboration often requires the assistance
of a third-party expert that can help bring these diverse functions
together to best determine how to optimally integrate business
operations with an end-to-end UAS solution.
An asset management partner with deep technical and in-
dustry knowledge and world-class engineering expertise can
help evaluate foundational program components such as:
• Identifying the body of use cases for which the UAS will
support
“Utilities deploying a UAS have seen considerable
improvements in inspection time. Field tests... found that
using a UAS allowed them to inspect 20 or more 500 kV
transmission towers per day.”