Page 17 - West Virgina 811 Magazine 2019 Issue 1

CONTINUED mom me 9

vegetation m:mag2ment— discovering whether it's been

cut back along the R-O-W and if It's been done properly

And Paul says this technology is being used in more H I

industries than iust oil and gas Electric companies are '3 3

beginning to use news to inspect high tension lines J ‘ . e

and wind turbines. Paul said that in the past, axed . .

wing aircraft and helicopters were used, which is very ’- '

expensive and dangerous, especially when it involves

techmcians hanging from a helicopter. "There are iust so ’ .

many things that make drones cheaper and safer." It .

safety, as always, is a key factor when adopting new ‘ P O e
.eia,i.,,r,..isn..ingn...iw.,s.,..is.naas l J I’ I’ IV
of drone operators is the safety and legality of piloting .\ ‘ PARTNER|NG
them in various areas. Paul said that a lot of what they .\\ ,

do is rural, but when they enter more urban areas, they

have to be aware of the different regulations they may

encounter Federal Avlatlon Administration (FAA) and

state regulations are changing qulckly, but not qulle

as quickly as unv technology is advancing. For the . , ,

inost part, hnwever, Paul feels that me aster. keep ggers Hotll ne, Inc. (W lsconsln)
the interests of pipeline and utility companies (which ‘»'-.~. -

affect all stakeholders) in mind. There are various drone

associations that l-leath belongs to, including one specific

n
K .
, “ . 3 .i. v A V 1;;-. vary 9, 2019
/g ;- i_. .. .. -is filnpi-ii, January 9, 2019, Diggers l-lotlme, lnc.
I , ; »~ _. cqgssfufly deployed Geocall, their new software
It tfqrm provided by Progressive Partnering, lnc. (P2,
/j >3.‘-:"l'ho Diggers Hotline staff did an excellent job of
‘ ' , ‘ ’}acing for the deployment; it was as if the agents
‘ ‘ e , “fr: ;;een using the system for years," stated Bill Turrier,
' " ' ~ ' d_enf of P2, lnc. The transistion was extremely
' _: with a few notifications coming in before
i ' “glit. By morning, the contact center was operating
/ an \. -i y with a moderate call volume for this time of
‘ -wenzweiieliexemuve«mecca:omissersnomne.
‘ ‘ P“ in. i ;.r'e__layed that "Progressive Partnering and their

to the energy sector, so they can stay informed of any V1:'>.5,JTe_T5 {mm Alabama and Tennessee were both helpful
new regulations or legislation as it is being considered. ivngcommodafing to make sure our deployment was
Later this year, Heath is looking to expand their line ‘$13), 555- The °“1“‘=“$1e5 and Slabmfy 0‘ “*9 5900111
locating services to offer a contract service using drone 5‘'°“1d 59 "allied by bmh SW and Customers-
technology to inspect pipes. But they're also developing 1:4 ‘Cl is excited to have wisconsin's D1589“ "01""?
UAvs to sell to contractors. "If there's a service provider if '- ‘pm partnership," stated Bill Turner. Progressive
that wants to do leak detection, they could buy one [oi-irig, lric. was established in 1997 and includes
from us and get into that lausiness. A transmission state one Call programs and culfsafe. For more
company that wants to do their own inspections could ( f‘ afiorg go to wwu/,yragr2s5[1)L-p/111111'n11X_conI

buy one from us or hire us to do it as contractor" Paul

said another option is to purchase just the detection

equipment and software and add it to their own drune.

As excitmg as these developments are, Heath |.~.n't dune.

Paul wehneri expects Heath consultants to continue

to lead in the development and adaptation of new

technologies to make all aspects of the energy industry

safer and more efficient for years to come. . 2019 M 1 Wm WM Eu . 15