Efficient Plant September 2021 - 4

column | editorial
Add a
Drone
To Your
Toolbox?
Gary L. Parr
Editorial Director
T
WO YEARS AGO, I would have
argued that drones are a fun, advanced
toy with a lot of potential for manufacturing
maintenance. The technology has
advanced so fast (not really a surprise), particularly
in the past year, that today I would
argue that a drone could be justified as standard
equipment for just about anyone charged with
maintaining plant operations.
All of the obvious advances have been and are
being made: better, lighter batteries; improved flight
controls; safe out-of-sight flight; and better cameras.
On top of that, drones can now be fitted with a
variety of sensors, which add significantly to asset
inspection/monitoring capabilities.
How do you convince the less-enlightened
holders of purse strings that you want to purchase
a legitimate tool rather than a toy to play with on
your lunch hour?
Some insight was provided by Marla Keene,
Will a drone save you a
trip to the parts room
the next time you need
to repair an asset?
who writes for AX Control, Raleigh, NC (axcontrol.
com), in an article that appeared on the website
dronelife.com in January 2020. In technology
terms, that's an old article so use your imagination
to conjure how much better things are 20 months
later.
In her article, she discusses the power of being
able to provide aerial inspections of facilities/assets,
particularly in inclement weather. It doesn't take a
lot of thought to conclude that advantages include
speed, access to areas that would be difficult for
humans, photos/videos from as many angles and
distances desired and, above all, safety, i.e., if a
drone crashes, it's a cheap fix compared with the
ramifications of a worker slipping off a ladder.
Keene also describes use of sensors. In addition
to IR/thermal devices, these include, " RFID
scanners to scan inventory, multispectral sensors
that capture ultraviolet or near-infrared radiation;
hyperspectral sensors that identify vegetation, minerals,
and other materials; gas-sniffing sensors; and
LiDAR sensors that collect elevation data. "
She also tells us that, " companies like Audi are
now experimenting with using drones as internal
delivery vehicles for small parts on their assembly
lines. Drones fly along a predetermined flight
path to deliver parts as large as a steering wheel to
workers. The drones notice any obstacles in their
way using laser scanners and work around them. "
Since that was more than a year ago, you can safely
assume that the practice is much further along the
learning curve.
From a maintenance perspective, that concept of
delivering parts opens some doors. Imagine drones
that can avoid obstacles/people, being programmed
to do daily inspection routes and flag, in real time,
potential trouble spots. A maintenance person,
who isn't burdened with route duty, is dispatched
to the troubled asset and, using augmented reality/
barcode technology, identifies the problem and part
needed. A work order is issued at that point. If
immediate repair is required, another drone delivers
the part, it's installed, and the asset put back into
operation. The time savings alone in that scenario is
significant.
While they may look to some like an advanced
radio-controlled airplane, the potential to improve
maintenance and reliability is significant. Even
better is that companies of any size can afford a
drone and start exploring ways it can safely save
time and improve plant performance. EP
gparr@efficientplantmag.com
4 | EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
SEPTEMBER 2021
http://www.dronelife.com http://www.EFFICIENTPLANTMAG.COM
Efficient Plant September 2021

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