Cyberhawk Innovations, a world leader in remotely operated aerial vehicle (ROAV) inspection and survey, recently completed an operation and maintenance inspection project on Forewind’s Dogger Bank meteorological masts using ROAVs.
The project required a team of three from Cyberhawk, including offshore ROAV pilots and a mechanical engineer, mobilize to the Round 3 development site to undertake ROAV inspections of the two meteorological masts. Dogger Bank is a particularly challenging offshore wind farm site because it is the furthest offshore wind project from United Kingdom shores at approximately 150 kilometers from the U.K. coast.
The inspections 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 ROAV also significantly improved safety levels by reducing the requirement for personnel to climb the towers and work at great heights.
“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,” said Philip Buchan, commercial director at Cyberhawk. “Once again, our inspection solution has proven that professionally operated ROAV can capture equal, if not more, detailed results than sending in personnel.”
According to Buchan, the safety benefits come hand-in-hand with reduced costs and quicker inspection time, all of which are being increasingly recognized by wind farm operators both onshore and offshore.
“Cyberhawk continues to demonstrate how ROAV can be safely and effectively used to carry out inspection work in the offshore wind sector,” said Forewind’s safety manager Nachaat Tahmaz. “We were extremely pleased with the inspection completed and in the quality of the detailed report provided.”
Source: Cyberhawk Innovations
For more information, go to www.thecyberhawk.com.
