Maintaining a safe, reliable, and secure power grid.

Faults and disturbances can have a significant effect across the network. The loss of any key power corridor can mean the loss of crucial green energy from Scotlands renewable generation base or result in the loss of customer supplies.

This is why SSEN Transmission’s activities are all verged to ensure a robust inspection and maintenance program. This includes engineers climbing the transmission towers to carry out routine inspections. However, this requires circuit outages and has the obvious inherent risks associated with working at height.

If left, towers and their fitting condition can deteriorate over time, leading to potentially catastrophic incidents. SSEN Transmission's commitment to providing a safe and secure supply of electricity means the risk is too high to leave inspections for lengthy periods. To overcome this, Cyberhawk supports SSEN Transmission by conducting regular drone-based inspections, which are agile, time-effective, and safer than the in-person alternative.

By conducting drone inspections on a regular basis and ensuring the data is efficiently processed and accessed on iHawk, the SSEN Transmission’s operational teams can identify issues early, focusing interventions on the highest priority items before they are allowed to fail.

Earlier this year, through Cyberhawk’s visual inspection data, SSEN Transmission was able to identify a missing split pin on a tower insulator fitting. An outage was planned, and a repair was carried out the following weekend. If it wasn’t for the drone data being available on iHawk, it could have resulted in a failure, causing a network fault on a key transmission circuit.

By ensuring their transmission lines are kept in top condition, SSEN Transmission can retain the current high level of network reliability at the lowest cost possible, ensuring it delivers the best value for consumers -

Data collection supports compliance.

Cyberhawk recently supported SSEN Transmission to pass an audit by the Electricity Safety, Quality, and Continuity Regulations (ESQCR), which is enforced by the Health Safety Executive (HSE).

The ESQC Regulations (2002) dictate that electricity distribution and transmission companies must inspect and maintain accurate records of their assets. Without these records, SSEN Transmission would not be able to comply.

iHawk put the data at SSEN Transmission’s fingertips, allowing teams to rapidly access historic information in one centralized place, categorized and easy to navigate. They are able to pinpoint key information, such as the general condition data, a number of defects reported during any given time period and in any given area or circuit, even able to detail the work orders that had been raised.

As a result, SSEN Transmission demonstrated its commitment to safety and compliance with the regulation.

Helping to reduce SSEN Transmisson’s environmental impact

The utility recognizes that the digitalization of its systems and processes, underpinned by rich, local, and accessible data, reinforces this commitment to reducing its environmental impact, in line with COP26. SF6 (Sulphur hexafluoride) has been used extensively as an insulation medium in high voltage equipment for over 60 years. However, in 2005 the Kyoto protocol identified the gas mixture as a greenhouse gas. With little in the way of proven alternatives, SSEN Transmission works tirelessly to improve leakage performance of its SF6 assets.

SSEN Transmission benefited from the decades of oil and gas experience within the Cyberhawk team. We recently introduced a new, ground-breaking pressure monitoring system that will allow SSEN Transmission to remotely monitor an asset's SF6 density.

Cyberhawk has integrated an IoT sensor that monitors for any leaks of the colorless, odorless, synthetic gas. As soon as the system identifies a reading, regardless of the volume and how minor the leak, the operations team is alerted so that they can take remedial action immediately, limiting the effect on the environment. This will enable proactive management of SF6 leaks and improve network performance, allowing outages for gas top-ups to be coordinated in a wider program.

Covid-19: business as usual

When the impact of Covid-19 on the UK population became clear at the start of 2020, many businesses faced disruption of their day-to-day operations.

Keeping power supplied in the form of gas and electricity has been essential throughout the pandemic, and more pressure than ever was placed on utility companies and their employees to continue to deliver this essential service.

SSEN Transmission has an unwavering commitment to keeping its people safe; in fact, its motto is: ‘‘if it’s not safe, we don’t do it”. Therefore, the utility faced the challenge of ensuring critical inspection and maintenance activity was carried out whilst complying with the social distancing requirements in place.

The iHawk tablets and associated work order systems had shown their worth long before then, but with no reliance on paper-based systems of old, the need for face-to-face contact between the maintenance teams and engineering staff was kept to a minimum.

iHawk defect reporting functionality enables efficient reporting of defects identified during substation and overhead line inspections, allowing team members to tag defect notices to any given asset or location, with the ability to add pictorial evidence and user commentary before autonomously passing to maintenance managers for approval and scheduling.

Stuart Knight, Head of Operations and Maintenance at SSEN Transmission, said:

“SSEN has been working with Cyberhawk for a number of years now. I have been extremely impressed with the quality of inspection data and functionality of their tool, iHawk’s innovative approach to data management is key to managing our network assets, central to how our operations team manage inspections, maintenance, safety, and compliance.

“When I was first introduced to the SSEN Transmission data held on iHawk, I could not believe the quality of data we were able to obtain at the touch of a button, from any location. It is unrivaled compared to other data management tools I have seen being used in the energy sector.

“iHawk is embedded into the operations teams now, and when a new recruit joins, they receive a tutorial of how to use the tool as part of their training program, and it very quickly becomes their natural guide to operational life at SSEN Transmission.

“The Cyberhawk team is a pleasure to work with. Their professional approach, coupled with their proactive suggestions, makes them an ideal inspection and technology partner. We really benefit from Cyberhawk’s experience in the oil and gas sector and how they can apply those lessons learned to the work we’re doing. We at SSEN Transmission are looking forward to building on this long-standing relationship.”

Cyberhawk completed the 15km route in under one week and delivered an orthophoto image to 1.5cm resolution. This data provided the ecologists at Ecus with a detailed overview of the types of habitats located along the route, and what types of protected species to look out for during further investigations. The aerial data can also be referred back to if future site works are carried out and changes to the surrounding habitats need to be monitored. Cyberhawk was selected for this project as they are one of the few UAV service providers on the Network Rail Framework therefore able to fly over Network Rail assets.

Back in the UK, our inspection reporting team worked methodically through the visual inspection data to create detailed engineering reports for the client. Any priority areas were flagged up to the client while the reporting was taking place, so that repair works could be planned and targeted correctly.

Reports on all 23 turbines, blades and towers were delivered via iHawk, our cloud-based asset management software, which allows clients to view assets on a map-based interface, identify the severity of any damage or integrity problems using a traffic light colour coded system and drill down into detailed visual inspection imagery, which can be used to improve decision-making and maintenance planning.

Drone technology has presented a viable solution to these challenges. A highly skilled pilot can overcome the lack of GPS underneath the platform and fly fully manually to complete inspections which are quicker, safer and cost-effective.

The Cyberhawk team of two, an experienced offshore pilot and an industry trained inspection engineer, were flown to the first platform then transferred to the standby vessel to conduct a full underdeck inspection of the second (unmanned) platform. Following this, the Cyberhawk team then returned to shore to inspect a communication tower at the Inch Gas Terminal.

As well as the integrity assessments, our team also captured data which allowed a 3D point cloud model of the platform to be generated. This provided Kinsale Energy with a detailed, dimensionally accurate 360 degree view of the asset which meant the operator could plan decommissioning activity using contextualised, up-to-date visual information.

Chris Fleming, CEO at Cyberhawk said: “The benefits of drone technology for decommissioning are becoming widely recognised and we’re pleased to have completed this project, a first for offshore oil and gas in Ireland, for Kinsale Energy.

“As well as conducting integrity assessments ahead of decommissioning, it’s been hugely encouraging to see clients maximise our time on their platforms to capture data which gives them a previously unseen view of their asset. This information is being used in various ways, to support contract tendering , planning and scheduling, and also provides onshore staff with an understanding of the asset that they may not previously have benefitted from.

“We continue to invest in the development of our digital and asset visualisation solutions, which have become a major part of our drone inspection and survey business, allowing clients to use the data collected in various work streams.”

The more likely alternative inspection technique would be to use rope access. This method presents a lower-cost solution and would take around two weeks to complete a scope of this scale.

Using a drone, however, brings even more efficiency to the inspection process. This underdeck inspection was completed within just one day, representing a dramatic time and cost-saving. The drone pilot is also able to obtain standoff shots of the underdeck, an angle that would not be obtainable from these alternative inspection techniques.

Rope access also presents an increased risk to safety, involving hanging from the platform attached by ropes, and extended periods of working at height.

The client opted to use drones to conduct this inspection to gain safe, efficient access to this complex area and ascertain a complete view from standoff shots to the imagery of focal areas.

Whilst the application of drone inspection is becoming more widely understood and embraced, a platform underdeck is one area that many believe is inaccessible by a drone. This is undoubtedly a challenging area to inspect, where pilots are met with no GPS, potential magnetic interference and complex structures to navigate around. In many cases, this results in the pilot hovering the drone at the edge of the platform and pointing the camera upwards. The implication of this is low-quality data, which does not give a close enough view of any potential defects and therefore cannot support decision-making.

A full underdeck inspection can, however, be undertaken by an experienced pilot who has the ability to fly completely manually, which Cyberhawk has once again proven in this case. Check out our video to see our team in action on this underdeck inspection.

The client was pleased with the results and continues to work with Cyberhawk to explore new applications for drone inspection on its assets.

Provision of ruggedized tablet computers, with software for SSEN fitters to complete the following at substations:

Asset specific condition inspections
ESQCR inspections
Site security inspection
Oil risk inspections
Repair and maintenance work orders
Provision of a cloud based visual asset management system, iHawk, which:

Hosts all new inspection information from UAVs, lines persons and fitters
Hosts legacy inspection information from historic sources such as spreadsheets and helicopter patrols
Allows inspection information to be queried, and the generation of repair and maintenance works orders
Hosts ESQCR data allowing identification of high risk sites
Provides ability to find the tower location using distance to fault information
Provides analytic network data

UAV tower inspection

Our inspection solution involves a two-man team, consisting of a pilot and an industry-qualified engineer, mobilizing on-site to capture the visual data required using a UAV. Whilst the pilot is flying, the engineer views what the UAV sees on a separate screen in real-time, to ensure the required data is being captured.

The benefits of using UAVs for transmission inspection include:

Significant cost reductions, thanks to the speed of inspection and reduced downtime
Reduced safety risks, by removing the need to work at height, near live lines or in generally hazardous areas
The ability to quickly gain a huge volume of highly detailed imagery
Engineers reporting to an agreed defect standard, meaning one centralized, consistent approach

Data capture in the field

Not all inspections on SSEN networks are completed by UAVs. Every year, SSEN lines persons also complete condition assessments on towers by ground patrols and climbing inspections, and ESQCR inspections. At SSEN substations, fitters also complete condition assessments, site risk inspections and ESQCR inspections.

To ensure these inspections are completed to a high standard and data is captured consistently with photographic evidence to show each defect, Cyberhawk developed iHawk, software to be used on ruggedized tablets in the field by SSEN’s lines persons and fitters.

The software is intuitive, easy to use and has been created specifically to deal with outdoor condition inspections in the field.

All data is captured in the same format, hosted on the iHawk cloud viewer and used to generate repair and maintenance work orders. These work orders are in turn sent to tablet computers in the field for completion. Once SSEN lines persons have executed the work, images are taken of the repaired component and uploaded back into iHawk for manager approval, maintaining an up-to-date asset condition database. This technology creates ‘one source of truth’, meaning that lines persons in the field are seeing exactly the same data as an asset manager back in an office.

iHawk in action

The key advantage of iHawk is its ability to convert a huge volume of data into powerful and easy to navigate management information, for improved decision-making and decision justification.

Displaying the data on iHawk also gives an at-a-glance view of the asset portfolio, using a map-based interface to highlight location, and colour coded reporting matrix to highlight defect status. This helps simplify the asset management process, allowing managers to focus on operational work.

Additionally, the data captured using iHawk and iSim (our software development specifically for substation asset management) will be integrated into a new asset management system being deployed with in SSEN.

Ian Gray, Head of Transmission Operations and Maintenance at SSEN said: “SSEN has been working with Cyberhawk since 2009, and our confidence in the team’s ability continues to grow. Not only are the experienced pilots able to safely and efficiently capture an extremely intricate level of detail, but the addition of iHawk means we have fit-for-purpose, intuitive asset management software. We regularly refer to the data contained in iHawk to make decisions and develop maintenance schedules.”

Check out the gallery below to see a few examples of iHawk in action.

The usual means of access for this type of inspection would be to use a cherry picker. An inspection using this method, however, could take two weeks to complete and involves extended periods of working at height, which is a contributor to one of the biggest causes of injuries and fatalities at work – falls from height.

Importantly, the quality of the resulting visual data was far better than what had been obtained previously. Network Rail sought extremely high quality, detailed data which would be used in a variety of formats and for different purposes, and wanted this data collected in a single mobilisation.

When collecting data using traditional methods of inspection, views can be limited to where the technician can see and reach. As well as our high definition images, which delivered a 360 degree view showing all defects, we also provided Network Rail with 2D elevations, 3D models and cloud point surveys. This avoided the need for a separate dimensional survey.

The inspection was deemed a great success and Network Rail is already looking at how to integrate UAVs into its inspection procedures in the future.

This example proves an important point. It demonstrated that an experienced UAV inspection team can not only match the quality of traditional inspection methods, but can actually identify defects which may not previously have been picked up – without requiring technicians to work at height.

Upon review of the GENSIP reporting template, Cyberhawk recommended using our internally developed reporting standard as this exceeded the requirements set out by GENSIP, which the client agreed to. The report provided highlighted the location of defects and areas which required further tactile inspection and/or maintenance.

This project not only highlighted Cyberhawk’s ability to quickly and safely collect inspection data using UAVs, but also demonstrated the quality of our reporting by exceeding an existing industry standard.

By providing quicker inspection times, reduced cost of inspection and avoidance of unplanned shutdowns, Cyberhawk’s UAV solution has once again proven its worth in the petrochemical sector.

UAV data collection reduces – and often removes – the need for track possessions, resulting in reduced track side work. Also, UAVs don’t require people working at height or during the night, contributing to the overall safety of staff.

Usually this type of inspection would involve traditional rope access methods, requiring a track possession at night and therefore taking significantly longer to complete. Following a UAV survey, it may still be necessary to undertake some targeted inspection work using traditional tactile methods, but only when really necessary in order to examine any severe defects identified. This dramatically improves the overall efficiency of the project.

Using Cyberhawk to complete the work scope, compared with traditional inspection and survey methods, saved the client a significant amount of time and money and produced much higher quality imagery and reporting in contrast with previous inspections. Furthermore, there was no disruption to schedules and importantly, safety risks were minimised due to removing the need to work at height.

The use of UAVs mitigated the risks of working at height and reduced downtime, meaning lost production was minimised for the client. Siemens Gamesa also reported a high level of image quality providing confidence in inspection results.

For this project, Cyberhawk developed a tailored app to meet Siemens requirements. The requirement was a 25% overlap between images and no missing areas of the blade with processing and uploading on the same day as the inspection

Challenges involved high wind speeds and limited space to land the UAV. However, the experienced pilot and inspection engineer managed to gather all the data in the time agreed by using weather windows.

Multiple defects were quickly identified, and the client managed to plan required maintenance effectively and at lower costs.

Our client provided existing CAD drawings of the known underground cable positions. These were overlaid on our orthophoto imagery providing additional information about potential future issues due to erosion on the coastline.

The survey data was provided electronically and also via our secure online portal.

Traditionally, rope access or scaffolding would be used to inspect the structure however due to the size of the strucutre this would have been a very time-consuming process using traditional access techniques.

Cyberhawk successfully completed all the inspection work scopes over the course of six days, proving the speed and efficiency of UAV inspections and reinforcing that the technology can produce exceptional results in the harshest of offshore environments.

Cyberhawk successfully completed the work scopes, delivering high quality inspection reports with high resolution imagery which enabled the client to understand both the asset’s condition and a previous repair made to the flare tips. The client reported the project was carried out within budget and reported significant time savings.

Cyberhawk successfully completed the work scope delivering a high-quality inspection report with high-resolution images which enabled the client to understand the tank’s condition. The pontoons were found to be in generally good condition throughout with no significant damage or defects. The client reported the project was carried out within budget and reported significant time savings.

The project was delivered successfully and on time, with the client reporting significant cost savings. Cyberhawk provided orthophoto imagery in tiled .jpeg format, as well as a digital Surface Model in .csv format on a 1m grid spacing and 3D Pointcloud in las format.

All the information used for planning successfully assisted a smooth and risk free run of the project,. Furthermore, by using the decommissioning vessel on standby for less time, costs were reduced dramatically.

The Brent Delta platform decommissioning also has a more personal twist for Cyberhawk. Back in the early 80s, our CEO’s father Jesz Fleming worked for Shell as the client representative on the saturation diving vessel, Arctic Seal. Chris remembers hearing the stories about the brave men who spent their working days in the deep dark water of the North Sea. As many tasks once carried out by divers are now completed by ROVs, in the aim to reduce risk for personnel, the drone is also now replacing humans and, where possible, removing exposure to potential risk.

While this flare was shutdown, one particularly challenge was another nearby flare, which was live. This meant our pilot had to keep the drone away from the second flare, so the inspection quality or the safety of the asset would not be compromised. Our team had the challenging task of creating a flight plan that would help them gather as much information as possible, whilst avoiding the proximity of the live flare.

Sending teams to the inside of the flare would expose humans to potential gas leaks as well as the risk of dropped objects. With Cyberhawk’s UAV inspection, any gas leak can be detected through specific monitors on the drone, with findings used to notify site management of any potentially dangerous defects to be addressed.

Cyberhawk has once again demonstrated how complex inspection projects can be completed using UAV technology, in a faster time and at a lower cost than traditional methods.

Cyberhawk’s solution not only mitigated the risks associated with this method, such as working at height, but reduced the inspection times as well. Normal timescales for this type of inspection would take more than 10 days per chimney, however, Cyberhawk carried out the inspection in just six days for both assets.

A number of imperfections consistent with the age of the structure were highlighted by the inspection. This allowed the client to become aware that structural maintenance was required and so had adequate data to outsource this work to a third-party provider. The results were delivered through Cyberhawk’s asset management software, iHawk. Utilising this software allowed the team to provide the client with detailed location and accurate defect sizing to +/- 10mm.

The high quality of images delivered through iHawk allowed Drax to provide structural repair companies with detailed visual data and in turn obtain accurate repair quotations. This information allowed the client to significantly minimise costs.

Cyberhawk’s solution mitigated the risks associated with other methods, such as working at height or near contaminated areas. It also provided detailed data on the condition of the asset which allowed the client to take maintenance measures wherever needed, thus prioritising actions and significantly minimising costs.

As part of a detailed multi scope inspection in 2016, Cyberhawk detected critical damage on the flare tip of a fixed platform in the North Sea. Since then, Cyberhawk has been asked to closely monitor the damage and report back any potential further degradation, with the intent to defer a costly unplanned shutdown until the planned TAR.

Traditionally this inspection would be completed with the use of a helicopter, however, the level of detail obtainable is nowhere near what is achieved with UAV technology. Together with the quicker inspection times, reduced cost of inspection and avoidance of unplanned shutdowns, Cyberhawk’s UAV solution has once again proven its worth in the offshore oil and gas sector.

Steve Bowskill, Senior Integrity Engineer at Centrica said: “This is the second survey we have had Cyberhawk do for us in the last few months. They have been doing underdeck inspections on some of our remote platforms from a FRC boat, saving us time, money and ensuring inspections are being completed safely.

“Their inspection methods enabled the core helicopter intervention crew on the topsides of the remote platform to remain the same. Cyberhawk team did not take up POB on the platform, ensuring other maintenance tasks could continue unhindered, thus meeting the scheduled plan. We have also used them on our terminals at Barrow in Furness.

“They are an excellent company to work with and their engineers are very professional with great reports to allow informed engineering decisions to be made.”

Cyberhawk completed the visual inspection of the underdeck in just two days, compared with rope access which would have required over five weeks to complete. The client was then able to make an informed decision on whether further manned inspections were required, only sending in the RAT team to specific selected locations if needed.

In projects of this nature savings are in the range of £1,000,000+, and most operators are now regularly using this technique for underdeck inspections.

The use of our asset management software, iHawk, allowed Siemens to access high definition images of the whole structure and quickly see the defects identified. This in turn helped quick and effective asset management decisions to be made.

Thanks to Cyberhawk’s inspection team working closely and effectively with a third-party maintenance team, in a single mobilisation, the project proved to be extremely time and cost efficient for Siemens.

The fixed wing UAV has an on-board GPS positioning system that precisely logs the UAV’s position during the flight, which means less time is required for ground control to be carried out by the surveyor.

Cyberhawk also has special CAA permissions for EVLOS (extended visual line of sight), which allowed this project to be carried out in one single flight as the fixed wing aircraft could be flown up to 1500 meters away from the pilot’s position utilising a remote observer. A site of this size would normally take a full day to establish traditional aerial survey ground control.

The final outputs for the project were high-resolution orthophoto imagery, digital elevation model and 3D pointcloud data.

By utilising a fixed-wing UAV with precise onboard positioning the survey was completed in a fraction of the time required for a traditional ground-based topographic survey or even a rotary-wing UAV survey. It also allowed significant cost savings for the client and allowed a quick turnaround in the high quality aerial data that was obtained.

The traditional inspection method for this project would have been rope access, resulting in personnel working at height and three times longer to complete and even longer if scaffolding was required. Utilising Cyberhawk’s UAVs allowed the inspection to be completed in just three days and secured significant time and cost savings for the client.