Drone Inspection for road bridges, rail bridges or pedestrian foot bridge is changing the inspection sector for the better.
With significant benefits over traditional inspection methods, aerial drone bridge inspections can increase site inspection safety, decrease costs and increase the inspection coverage. Being able to take thousands of images of a bridge structure from multiple vantage points. Something that is simply not possible with traditional methods.
We are Balmore. A Land, Sea & Air inspection company that is one of the leaders in our field in Scotland and North England. We operate a fleet of aerial drones equipped for the unique challenges and demands of individual inspection and survey locations.
From specialised indoor drones for confined spaces inspection to more heavy duty drones that can handle the signal disruption that can be caused around heavy steel structures like oil platform and steel bridges.
The problem with traditional bridge inspection methods
Traditional methods of bridge inspection broke down into a choice between aerial work platforms (AWP) or an under bridge inspection carrier such as a cherry picker/spider platform or rope access team. This choice can be cut to only one option dependent on the bridge size and location and even on what flows beneath the bridge (rivers, seas, streets, motorways etc).
However, regardless of what type of traditional bridge access was used, the requirement to close roads and shut down lanes of motorways along with the equipment cost for rope access teams meant that this form of inspection was time consuming, limited to small areas at a time and costly.
Why drone bridge inspections are the way forwards
Our drone survey vehicles can fly in the same weather that a normal inspection crew can work in. We do not have to limit traffic flow or shut down roads to complete an inspection and our drone is ready to fly on arrival. We can complete an entire aerial survey of a bridge in one day (size dependent) compared to a traditional inspection crew who can take days to carry out one side of a bridge. This all amounts to a dramatic cost saving.
But the biggest benefit of all is in the reporting that we can produce. Our drones, equipped with thermal cameras, 4K photographic lenses and HD video recording equipment can capture in great detail multiple points of interest. They can all be GPS tagged so that future inspections can be carried out with video and imagery take from the exact same positioning. Invaluable for visual comparisons of any issues with structural supports and corrosion that the bridge may be suffering from.
All of this video and photographs are fed into our award winning cloud based software and can be easily accessed online. It means that reports can be shared easily between engineers, designers and work crews for all round better communication and data sharing. An invaluable tool that has been proven time and time again to be of great benefit to the regular maintenance and safety of building and bridge structures.
Where do we cover?
Balmore is based just outside of Glasgow. This allows us easy access to the central belt of Scotland but our drone survey services are called upon across the whole of Scotland and the North of England. From inspecting lighthouses on the islands around Shetland and Orkney to powerline inspections in England and 3D modelling of buildings in Edinburgh City Centre. Our drones are easy to deploy across all these areas.
To discuss our drone bridge inspection services in more detail and to discuss your requirements with one of our trained, qualified and insured drone pilots, please call our Glasgow Head Office.
