NEWS
THAMES WATER : DRONES ARE A ‘ GAMECHANGER ’ FOR HEALTH AND SAFETY
• Drones reduce need for working at height
• Savings could be as much as £ 95k each time they are used
• New innovation satisfies demands of safety inspectors
For Thames Water ’ s health and safety team , their new fleet of drones represents nothing less than a ‘ gamechanger ’.
That ’ s the view of Carol Moore , the company ’ s head of safety , health and wellbeing training and statutory compliance .
“ The great benefit they bring is that they enable us to inspect cranes and other equipment at height without putting people into potentially hazardous situations ,” she said .
And there ’ s a cost benefit too . “ To get scaffolding around a crane so it can be inspected costs between £ 10k and £ 12k every year ,” she said . “ For a digester it can be as high as between £ 75k and £ 90k every time it needs inspecting .”
In the summer , the drone was used in a trial at Abbey Mills pumping station to see if the images it produced were of sufficient quality to satisfy insurance inspectors and the Health and Safety Executive . “ We found that the HSE was satisfied ,” said Carol . “ It means we can ’ t rule out human inspections totally but they can be used in three out of every four years , for example .”
And with around 100 cranes that need inspecting every year , it ’ s clear her hopes of a whole fleet of drones are fully justified .
“ Cranes are just the start ,” she said . “ We want the thermal imaging cameras we can attach to the drones to test for leakage in the trunk mains and our Infrastructure Alliance will find it useful for reservoir inspections , leaks , bursts , roof inspections and aerators – if you see bubbles from the air , that means diffused aeration . In slow sand filter beds , you ’ re looking for discolouration .”
In an online interview , John Lorimer , a security specialist with Thames Water said :
“ I have done numerous aerial inspections of water storages , reservoirs and catchments , water and wastewater treatment facilities and other infrastructure , which have provided excellent results , identifying any potential issues regarding the processes involved . In addition , I have also carried out numerous roof inspections .
“ The applications for technology such as this is limitless and we are getting regular requests asking for us to fly down shafts and tunnels for inspection purposes . The information gained from aerial surveys can prove useful for planning upgrades and troubleshooting treatment issues on both clean and waste sites .
“ By entirely removing the operator from hazardous work situations , the use of UAVs ( unmanned aerial vehicles ) has reduced health and safety risks and in particular , risks associated with working at heights and above water . The operations side of the company as well as the health and safety department are keen to utilise this technology .”
Thames Water ’ s trials with the drones have started to pique the interest of other water companies .
“ We are definitely setting a trend in the UK ,” John Lorimer added .
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HSE INTERNATIONAL