Key Ways Drones Aid Splash Zone Operations
Working within splash zones provides plenty of serious challenges. Now, drones are saving operations time, money, and improving safety.
Have you ever seen pictures from space with all the artificial lights shining from Earth? Look closely, and you’ll notice the majority of the lights concentrated on or near, the coast.
Known as ‘littoral’ areas, an estimated 40% of the global population call these locations home. It’s no coincidence, either. There are excellent reasons why people find themselves anchored near water.
Littoral regions offer numerous benefits, including access to labor reserves and transportation options. Additionally, natural resources, like oil & wind often exist in these same areas.
While humans benefit from coastal locations for many reasons, the littoral region does have a downside.
Water, and in particular saltwater, is notoriously good at breaking down the things people build. Storms, crashing waves, high winds, and the ever-corrosive salt wreak havoc on concrete, steel, iron, and other common building materials.
The cost of living and working on the coast or tidal areas can be expensive.
Drones are a proven technology that can help make coastal operations safer and more cost-effective.
Let’s take a look at just a few of the common use cases that improve efficiencies, particularly in splash zones, where tides ebb and flow throughout the day.
Preventative Maintenance
Inevitably, structures within the splash zone break down.
Concrete sea walls crack and break off into the ocean, metal rusts, and other materials degrade as sun and salt slowly eat away at them. Meanwhile, tidal changes in the splash zone act like a chisel, slamming up and down on a structure’s surface.
Typically, these zones have the highest corrosion rates. That means preventative maintenance is vital to keeping structures safe and in usable condition.
Naturally, that means constant inspections, documentation, and tracking of corrosion/damage over time.
However, in many cases, that’s easier said than done, and not exactly safe, either. Whether it’s frigid water temperatures, dangerous currents, breaking waves, or any number of elements, it’s a dangerous job, to be sure.
But, it needs done. So, how should you go about it?
Well, rather than sending people out on boats or in dangerous positions like scaling buildings and oil rigs, drones provide an incredibly safe inspection method.
When equipped with visual and thermal cameras, drones can detect any number of problems, like structural fatigue, chipping, cracks, and more – before they become serious issues.
(Click image to learn more)
Drone Delivery in the Splash Zone
If you’ve ever worked on water before, you know how difficult it can be.
While a midshipman in the US Navy during the late 90s, I spent a month on a small ship off the Atlantic coast of the United States. During our cruise, a critical part of one of our engines broke.
Although small, the broken piece was necessary for us to operate under full power. And, though we were close to shore, the needed part couldn’t be delivered to our ship.
Instead, we had to slowly move back to a naval base – putting us a full day behind schedule.
I often imagine how much different things would have been if a drone had quickly flown us the small part we needed. Drones are excellent platforms for delivering small and even medium size parts. In fractions of the time and cost it would take for a ship to return to port, UAVs take care of the job in minutes.
Drone delivery in the splash zones isn’t just limited to parts.
While working on offshore wind turbines or oil rigs, the lack of a necessary tool can halt production, too. Drones can quickly scale heights and move to assist a worker without them needing to return to a workspace or ship.
As a result, this saves significant time in completing repairs, and your business saves the associated costs.
Drones Provide Safety in the Splash Zone
Working in the splash zone can be dangerous, to put it mildly.
Drowning always remains a serious concern, as is falling from height while working on turbines or offshore oil rigs. In addition to drones helping to replace people as inspection platforms, they can also help someone in their time of need.
Imagine falling into the water and having trouble staying afloat while waiting for assistance.
Sadly, even excellent swimmers are no match for the power of crashing waves or hypothermia-inducing frigid water.
Not only can drones help spot the distressed from the air, but can also quickly deliver a floatation device to a person in need.
In fact, there are actually drones designed for this exact purpose already in use, and have even already saved lives.
Weather Forecasting
If you’ve ever spent time around splash zones, you know how quickly weather conditions can change. This fact has become especially apparent in recent years, as global weather conditions have become more extreme.
Measuring weather conditions is an essential component of generating forecasting models.
UAVs can carry a wide range of atmospheric monitoring devices. Real-time data can be provided on wind speed, temperatures, water conditions, and humidity. With more accurate data, you can better prepare your team for what to expect during a shift.
Bringing it Together
Although operating in splash zones has its challenges, the advantages of working in coastal zones and offshore structures with splash zones typically outweigh them.
And, with the aid of drones, working in these regions becomes even more manageable.
The ability of UAVs to move quickly between points gives them an advantage over traditional methods, such as people or watercraft. Whether it’s saving time and money, making weather forecasts more accurate, or saving lives, UAVs are a proven technology that no one in the splash zone should be without.
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So, are you ready to take advantage of drones for your organization? If so, how do you get started? Do you hire out or bring your drone program in-house?
At Consortiq, we help you find a better way with drones, from consultation and program implementation to actually doing the work for you.
Ready to learn more? Just complete the form below to schedule a risk-free consultation!
David Daly - Contributing Author
David Daly, is an award-winning photographer/writer and licensed (FAA) Commercial sUAS pilot. A graduate of the United States Naval Academy, David is a former Marine Corps officer with a BS in Oceanography and has earned his MBA from the University of Redlands. David has worked for Fortune 100 companies and has a background in aerospace, construction, military/defense, real estate, and technology.
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