Cyberhawk Innovations has completed an operation and maintenance inspection project on Forewind’s Dogger Bank meteorological masts using UAVs.
The project saw a team of three from Cyberhawk, including offshore UAV pilots and a mechanical engineer, mobilise to the Round 3 development site to undertake UAV inspections of the two meteorological masts. Dogger Bank is a particularly challenging offshore wind farm site, the furthest offshore wind project from UK shores at approximately 150 kilometres from the UK coast.
The inspections, which took place in April 2016, took just one day per met mast, which represents a dramatic time saving in comparison with traditional methods that could take at least double the time. The use of UAV also significantly improved safety levels by reducing the requirement for personnel to climb the towers and work at height.
Philip Buchan, commercial director at Cyberhawk said: “We were delighted with this contract award as it demonstrated Forewind’s confidence in our capabilities and experience, having successfully completed previous projects with the consortium.
“Once again, our inspection solution has proven that professionally operated UAV can capture equal, if not more detailed results than sending in personnel. The huge safety benefits on offer come hand-in-hand with reduced costs and quicker inspection time, all of which are being increasingly recognised by wind farm operators both onshore and offshore.”
Nachaat Tahmaz of Forewind said: “Cyberhawk continues to demonstrate how UAVs can be safely and effectively used to carry out inspection work in the offshore wind sector. We were extremely pleased with the inspection completed and in the quality of the detailed report provided.”
Source: Press Release