Black & Veatch and Aeryon Labs have collaborated to launch an end-to-end asset management inspection system that uses UAS technology for global energy clients.

Using Aeryon’s commercial UAS hardware, software and services, crucial infrastructure condition data can be captured, and that data is integrated by Black & Veatch into the existing enterprise asset management (EAM) systems of a utility.

This streamlined system by Black & Veatch and Aeryon Labs expedites inspection times, lowers inspection costs, and speeds up the integration of data into EAM systems.

“Utility leaders want to move beyond reactive maintenance and need to acquire the condition and performance data necessary to improve overall operations and extend asset life,” says David Price, Associate Vice President and Chief Technology Officer for Black & Veatch Management Consulting.

“With our refined UAS inspection solution, clients can complete 20 or more tower inspections per person, per day - a 50 percent improvement in efficiency over current methods. Collaborating with Aeryon allows us to deliver these results consistently and at scale​.”

Mark Davis, Vice President of Commercial Enterprise Solutions, Aeryon Labs, comments, “we are thrilled to be working with Black & Veatch to bring the next generation of holistic drone-based inspection solutions to our global utility service providers and customers.”

To address needs identified by the sector, Black & Veatch and Aeryon have spent the last year working with utilities across North America to develop an “efficient, comprehensive drone inspection solution.”

Testing showed that utilities could really use a system that quickly delivers detailed condition reports by collecting, processing and analyzing high resolution photographic data, which is then integrated with the existing EAM systems of a utility.

In an effort to provide secure, structured data to a client’s EAM system, the two companies combine all important workflow steps from initiation to report completion, which allows utilities to “proactively identify risks while improving safety and lowering costs.”