IMAGE GOES HERE

T HM
A E EBAUSSUIR
NEE SWSHCI A
T ES EPA
FOP ERR F O R E N T E R P R I S E

Drones for
in Energy
Operations
Wind Turbine Inspections
How to use drones to reduce hazardous man-hours and
optimize energy production in wind farm operations.

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Introduction

The commercial adoption of drones is growing quickly, and the wind

industry is no exception. Drones provide a practical solution for the
inspection of wind turbines, as well as associated infrastructure such as
feeder poles, collector lines, and electrical substations. Drones support
business efforts to avoid hazardous man-hours; reduce costs for
maintenance, inspections, and repairs; and minimize downtime.

Measure’s vast experience using drones includes providing actionable

inspection data on 5000 MW of turbines in the US, Canada, and Puerto
Rico; covering blades from leading OEMs including GE, Vestas, Siemens,
Mitsubishi, and others. Measure has conducted inspections for a variety
of asset managers, including Pattern Energy and BP. Measure has also
trained hundreds of pilots on how to safely operate drones around energy
infrastructure.

Drones offer not only cost and operational efficiencies for business, but
also a great opportunity for workforce development. Operating drones
around energy infrastructure is a highly skilled job, and Measure believes
strongly in in-depth training and real-world experience. The safety
standards followed by our pilots and our principles for conducting flights
in a safe, legal, and efficient manner is one of the many reasons why power
companies select us as their preferred drone services vendor.

There are also opportunities for experts in advanced data analytics,

drone engineering, and in burgeoning areas such as AI and Machine
Learning. Looking into the future, well beyond the scope of this paper,
drones will operate fully autonomously, with no pilot in sight. Federal
regulations, such as restrictions on flying drones beyond the visual
line of sight (BVLOS), currently limit these types of operations, but
those technologies are being developed today. The use of drones will
continue to advance; you can get started by incorporating drones into
your operations and taking advantage of the many cost, safety, and
efficiency benefits available to you today.

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01 The Benefits of Drones 04

02 Data Collection - How It Works 07

03 Data Analysis & Delivery 10

04 Drone Program Basics 14

00 Appendix
A. Insource vs. Outsource Decision Guide 21
B. Components of an Air Operations Manual 22
C. Common Commercial Drone Platform 24
D. Measure Ground Control Overview 25

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01 THE BENEFITS OF DRONES

The Benefits of Drones

How Can Drones Optimize Wind Farm Operations?

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01 THE BENEFITS OF DRONES

Drones provide safe, efficient inspections and
data collection for businesses across the energy
industry. Trained pilots and experienced data
analysts use drone technology to drastically
reduce inspection time, save labor costs and
reduce hazardous man-hours, while providing
higher quality data that enables companies to
maximize energy production.
Using drones for wind turbine inspections
both opens up new possibilities and replaces
existing work. Without drones, inspections
are typically completed manually by climbing or
using long-range photography. Clearly, manual
inspections involving climbing introduce hazards
that are avoided with drones. Ground-based
data collection can be slow and typically lacks
the detail and flexibility that a drone can provide.
Due to the many benefits, using drones for
turbine inspections is becoming more and more
common. Let’s take a closer look at how drones
can help optimize your wind farm.
Drone data is analyzed. Data passes through
automated processing and classification,
followed by a manual data quality check and
an expert engineering review of the most
significant issues detected. This three-step
process ensures that all defects have been
properly identified, classified, and annotated
so they are ready to inform your maintenance
and repair decisions.
Drone data is easy to use. Analyzed drone
data is uploaded to an online portal, which
allows managers to view defects and sort
data (by severity level, for example) to meet
their needs. A pdf report of defects can be
produced at the touch of a button.
Drone data is organized and stored. Once
your inspection data is uploaded to the portal,
it will be stored securely and available for
future reference. Track changes over time or
compare across multiple sites.

Better Data
Drones can capture high-resolution imagery,
which can be processed and analyzed to provide
actionable inspection results. While capturing
one-off images can certainly be useful (to
investigate the effect of a lightning strike, for
example), larger scale inspections of wind
farms is where drone data really shines.

Drone data is detailed. Drones can deliver

clear, precise imagery of the entire blade, with
up to 40 mega pixels for ultra-high resolution.
When using technologies like LiDAR, you can
also get detailed measurements of any defects.
Drone imagery showing transverse crack

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01 THE BENEFITS OF DRONES

Improved Operations Drones also conduct scheduled turbine

inspections more quickly than manual
The more detailed and accurate data delivered
methods. A drone can inspect 100% of a
by a drone inspection can enable companies
blade in about 10 minutes. A full inspection
to proactively identify more defects, which
of all three blades will require approximately
could lead to better energy production, less
40 minutes total. With drones, you can avoid
downtime, and reduced repair costs.
hazardous man-hours and minimize downtime
Costs avoided with preventative drone for inspections without sacrificing data quality.
inspections for a typical 100 turbine farm
120000
Increased repair costs
Total Turbine Blade Inspection Time:
100000

40 min
80000 Downtime from failure

60000

40000 Productivity loss Per Turbine (3 blades)

20000

0
Reduce Efficiency Losses. A Class 5 defect
can cause $10,000 or more of annual revenue
losses, avoidable with early detection.
Reduce Catastrophic Failure Rate.
Preventative maintenance can reduce turbine
failure rate by over 5X annually.
Reduce Repair Costs. Twenty percent of
defects increase in severity within 18 months,
resulting in up to $6,000 in additional repair
costs.
Safety & Efficiency
Full Site Evaluation
Drones can also inspect the overall functioning
of your wind farm, including comprehensive
inspections of the on-site electrical system.
Pole Inspection. An RGB and thermal
inspection identifies defects on each
component of the structure. Drones catch
defects that ground-based inspections might
miss and deliver data through an easy-to-use
online portal.
Substation Inspection. A visual and thermal
inspection using a drone safely identifies
defects without de-energizing the system.

Keeping ‘boots on the ground’ is one of the To learn more about using drones in energy
most obvious benefits of drones. Crews can get transmission, visit:
a close-up view of a potential defect without
www.measure.com/transmission-and-distribution
climbing. If you have a drone on-site, you can
conduct spot checks on short notice and with
minimal setup time, which is perfect for post-
storm assessments.

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02 D ATA C O L L E C T I O N - H O W I T W O R K S

Data Collection - How It Works

Let’s Look at How Drones are Used to Inspect Turbine Blades

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02 D ATA C O L L E C T I O N - H O W I T W O R K S

There are several methods of drone data One benefit of manual data collection is
collection used for wind farms today, and equipment cost, particularly if you are only using
technology continues to advance. To keep it the equipment for spot checks. While you will
simple, we’ll look at two broad categories of data still need a quality, professional-grade drone and
collection: manual and automated. sensor (RGB camera), the total equipment cost
will likely be less than what would be required for
automated flight.
Manual Flight
With manual data collection, the pilot is in
complete control of the drone, directing it
at all times. In order to do a complete blade
inspection, you’ll want a highly skilled operator
who can safely capture consistent and clear
images of every part of the blade. He or she
will need to carefully capture images in a pre-
determined order and frequency so that the
images can be organized and processed for
analysis. The pilot will need to check camera
settings and control speed and location to
avoid blur. When Measure conducts manual
inspections, our professional pilots diligently
collect about 100 images per blade for analysis.

LiDAR-guided drone
Measure Processes and Analyzes:

300
Automated Flight
Measure’s latest solution for wind turbine
inspections uses automated drones, LiDAR
Photos per Turbine
technology, and high-resolution cameras to
capture consistent, high quality data.

Manual data collection is well-suited to spot
checks, such as investigating potential lightning
damage after a storm or confirming a completed
repair. The data collection process is simpler, and
there is not a large set of data that needs to be
analyzed. Wind farms will often keep a drone on-
site for this type of data collection.
A customized LiDAR sensor precisely guides
the drone along a 4-path blade inspection,
eliminating drift due to variable wind conditions
and controlling drone velocity to minimize motion
blur. The viewing angle on the four sides of the
blade is approximately perpendicular, and 100%
of the blade is inspected, without the need for
pitching the blades.

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A specialized flight plan is built based on a
pre-developed pseudo 3D model of the wind
turbine to be inspected. Once loaded with the
3D flight plan, the drone is ready to perform fully
automated, and precisely repeatable, turbine
blade inspections. The pilot only needs to setup
the equipment, adjust the camera setting for the
cloud-cover conditions, and start the inspection.
Each inspection flight path has an area of interest
-- leading edge, trailing edge or side (suction or
pressure side). Images are always framed such
that the area of interest is visible over the entire
image height and as much of the blade is shown
as possible, given the prescribed observation
distance. Each path is composed of the same
number of images and they are placed at the
exact same altitude. This creates a virtual walk
around the blade and enables cracks located
near the trailing edge to be assessed from both
sides of the blade.

Sample 3D model and flight path development

Inspection data can be captured with one of two

different drone and payload options, providing
varying levels of image resolution:

1. High resolution – a 20 mega pixel camera

equipped on DJI M210 drone – This platform is Sample high-resolution imagery
typically used for routine O&M inspections.

2. Ultra-high resolution – a 47 mega pixel

camera equipped on DJI M600 drone – This
platform is typically used for warranty or
insurance claim adjustment inspections.

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03 D ATA A N A LY S I S & D E L I V E R Y

Data Analysis & Delivery

How collected data is transformed into user-friendly
inspection results.

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The analysis of turbine inspection data is typically
outsourced to a data engineering expert, such as
Measure. To make good use of your inspection
data, you will need a well developed processing
and analysis system, as well as a user-friendly
platform for data delivery and storage.
Processing & Analysis
With each turbine inspection typically having
about 300 images, and with wind farms typically
having dozens, or even hundreds, of turbines,
there are usually thousands of images that
need to be processed and analyzed after each
inspection.
Measure uses a four-step process to ensure that
the large amount of raw imagery is translated
into a quality inspection report:
1. Organizing and sorting data. This starts
with capturing the data in a pre-determined,
systematic way. Then, Measure applies a patent-
pending method of automatically sorting and
organizing large sets of turbine inspection
images to make data processing more efficient.
2. Automated data processing. The organized
data set is processed via advanced computing
techniques using pattern recognition and
artificial intelligence. Defects are automatically
detected and categorized into pre-defined
severity levels.
3. Data engineer review. An experienced data
analyst will take a second pass through the data,
looking for any false positives or false negatives
and to conduct an overall quality check. Any
errors will be fed back into the system to better
train the automated processing model.
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4. Blade expert review. As a final step, a blade
expert reviews the damage classifications
and adds well-informed commentary on the
condition of defects and possible remedies.
Severity Description
1 None or minor cosmetic damage; no
follow-up required
2 Moderate cosmetic damage or early
wear; suggest re-inspection in 1 yr
3 Minor structural damage or advanced
wear; suggest re-inspection in 6
months
4 Moderate structural damage; suggest
repair at next maintenance cycle and
re-inspection in 3 months
5 Major structural damage; recommend
turbine stop and immediate repair
Classification system for defect severity level
Data Delivery
Data should be delivered through an easy-to-use
report as well as an online portal that allows you
to view, sort, track, and store your inspection
results.
Your inspection deliverable should include:
• High-resolution imagery, located to each blade
• All defects classified by type and severity level
• User-friendly report of all defects
• Online portal to store and sort inspection data
When using a LiDAR system, you can also
obtain spatial information about the blade. By
merging the spatial meta data with the images,
and adding automated blade edge detection
and image brightness correction, it is possible to
determine the position of a defect (within 10 cm)
on the blade and its dimensions (within 5mm).
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Key defect measurements delivered when using a

LiDAR system include:
• Distance from the root
• X-Y measurement of the defect
• Distance from the leading edge
Once the final data set is securely stored in
an online web portal, it is easy for the asset
manager to download customizable pdf or xls
reports, as well as to look through the history
of inspection results and perform portfolio
analytics.

Sample defect classification, type, and size delivered via

online portal

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SIDEBAR: A Word About AI and Machine Learning

Because drones have proven themselves in the results delivery. As the ML algorithm becomes
wind energy industry, they are being used more more and more refined, Measure’s experts will
and more often, which means more and more need to review fewer and fewer images, until we
data. Today, focus is on advancements in artificial only need to examine a few images with specified
intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) for defects in order to recommend the best course
data analysis. Measure’s data collection and of action.
analysis processes were developed with machine
The ability to process and analyze data more
learning in mind, allowing us to build one of the
quickly will both bring down costs and speed
largest turbine datasets available, with consistent
up data delivery time. AI enabled by machine
labeling in a similar data type.
learning is the key to getting timely inspection
We were incredibly excited to work with AES, a insights while reducing errors.
Fortune 500 energy company, and Google to
employ Google’s AutoML Vision technology to
automatically identify defects and improve the
speed of data analysis.

The Process
Measure provided raw data sets and annotated
inspection imagery from hundreds of past
AES turbine inspections, which were used to
train Google’s Machine Learning/Computer
Vision models. Measure’s expert data analysts
worked with Google to validate and refine the
model through each stage of development.
Measure provides on-going expertise regarding
turbine defect identification and classification to
continuously advance the model’s results.

The Benefits
Combining Measure’s data set and wind turbine
expertise with Google’s Auto ML has sped up
the machine learning development process
significantly. With machine learning, images with
and without defects are identified, classified, and
sorted automatically, vastly reducing the number
of images requiring manual review and cutting
the time between data collection and inspection

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04 DRONE PROGR AM BA SICS

Drone Program Basics

What’s in an Enterprise Drone Program?

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04 DRONE PROGR AM BA SICS
Once you’ve made the decision to add drones
to your operations, it’s time to think practically
about the setup and execution of your
drone program. Managing a corporate drone
program requires the coordination, oversight,
and execution of a wide range of tasks and
functions, as shown in Figure 4.1. How many of
these functions your organization takes on will
depend on the complexity of your operation and
decisions regarding in-sourcing or out-sourcing.
A helpful in-sourcing vs. out-sourcing decision
guide is provided in Appendix A.
In Measure’s experience working in the wind
industry, wind farm inspections are typically
out-sourced to a third-party, while simple
spot checks are conducted in-house by staff
using basic drone equipment.
Inspections Spot checks
High equipment costs Low equipment costs
Infrequent (annual) More frequent
Planned in advance On demand
Complex data Basic data
Drone Program Manager
Most companies will begin by designating an
internal manager to lead the program and
oversee its many moving parts. Typically this
would be one person from a central location
- a Drone Program Manager. For particularly
complex or global programs, companies might
need several people to manage operations in
their region or for a certain type of operation
(e.g. disaster response). Regardless of how you
are structured, you will need a Grand Central
Station, of sorts, to manage your company’s
drone operations.
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The Drone Program Manager is responsible
for ensuring all the functions of the program
are running smoothly, whether accomplished
in-house or contracted out. He or she will
work with a team that might include in-house
or contract pilots, trainers, drone engineers,
and data analysts, among others. He or she
may be ordering and/or tracking jobs; ensuring
compliance with safety, regulatory, and company
policies; managing equipment; and measuring
program success. With so many people and
functions to oversee, a program management
software designed specifically for this purpose
is crucial. Measure and Fortune 500 energy
company, AES, use Measure Ground Control, a
comprehensive software platform built based on
real-world experience, to help run their complex
drone programs.
Air Operations Manual
An Air Operations Manual is the foundational
document of a professional drone program. It
shapes the operational and safety culture of the
organization. Each Air Operations Manual will
be unique depending on the attributes of your
organization, but should always address the
following subjects (more details outlined in
Appendix B).
• Authority & Control of Flights
• Regulatory Compliance Guidelines
• Training Standards
• Flight & Mission Planning Procedures
• Crew Resource Management
• Equipment Maintenance & Repair
• Mishap Reporting
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Figure 4.1 - Functions of Drone Program Management

Function Description

Work Ordering Placing a work request for drone data.

Scheduling of aircraft and sensor payload for each job, managing shipping and
Fleet
storage logistics, following equipment maintenance schedules, and completing
Management
repairs or upgrades as needed.

Tracking certifications, licenses, training, and proficiency of each pilot; assigning

Pilot
pilots to each job; overseeing travel schedules; ensuring rest requirements are
Management
met; and measuring on-the-job performance.

Checking airspace, flight, and pilot rules and regulations for each job; ensuring
Compliance
that any necessary permits, licenses, trainings, or waivers are in place.

Determining flight schedule, pattern, altitude, and image capture specifications,

Flight Planning as well as any weather-related requirements (e.g. temperature, light, or irradiance
limitations), to meet the data goals of the job.

Flying the drone and appropriate sensor payload, according to the flight plan and
Data Collection
safety procedures, to collect the data from the job site.

Collecting all flight data such as flight path, altitude, speed, battery usage, and
Flight Logging
screen captures to effectively document and track the flight.

Automated and/or manual processing and analysis of the raw drone data to
Data Engineering
create a usable data product or report.

Data Storing, tracking, organizing, and delivering the reams of drone data collected,
Management processed, and analyzed.

Continuously ensuring company policies are being followed, tracking program

Performance
metrics, and measuring program benefits (e.g. costs and hazardous man-hours
Tracking
saved).

Continuously ensuring company policies are being followed, tracking program

Program
metrics, and measuring program benefits (e.g. costs and hazardous man-hours
Improvements
saved).

FUNC TIONS OF DRONE PROGR AM MANAGEMENT

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Pilots & Pilot Training

An obvious part of any drone program is pilots.
In-house pilots may be dedicated to the drone
program, or they may combine drone operations
with other job responsibilities. Often in the
case of turbine asset management, select team
members obtain their pilot license for regular
spot checks, while third-party pilots are called in
for larger inspections.

The FAA requires any sUAV operator to have

a Part 107 certification before flying for any
commercial purpose. However, that is only the
first step. Measure recommends a training
program that includes basic introductory
training, along with training specific to the type of
equipment the pilot will use and the application
in which he will use it. Pilot training

Introductory Training. Introductory training

should cover the core principles of your
organization’s program, such as maintenance
guidelines, crew rest requirements, drug and
alcohol policy, safety procedures, regulatory
compliance, and more.
Drone-Specific Training. Drone pilots should
receive hands-on training for the specific drone
equipment they will be using, such as the DJI
Inspire 2 or Phantom 4 Pro. This type of training
sets a baseline for safe operation of aircraft
and ensuring that pilots can adequately take
manual control of the aircraft at any time to avoid
hazardous situations.
Application-Specific Training. Pilots should
be trained in the flight techniques specific to
the industry application, such as standards and
methods for flying on wind farms and capturing
quality imagery of blade defects.
Drones and Sensors
The next obvious part of any drone program
is, of course, the drones. When choosing the
right equipment for a job, there are a number
of factors to consider: type of operations, data
requirements, security requirements, and
cost. Common drone platforms are shown in
Appendix C.
Drone aircraft come in two major physical
configurations: multi-rotor and fixed-wing. Multi-
rotor drones are well-suited to wind turbine
inspections due to their maneuverability
and ease of use, while fixed-wind drones are
better suited to collect data over a broad area,
such as for utility-scale solar inspections and in
agriculture.
In the multi-rotor drone marketplace, DJI
dominates with over 70% market share. DJI
products offer quality and reliability at an

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affordable price, and they cover a wide range of

applications and levels of sophistication.

For in-house drone programs, standardizing

on one drone airframe will simplify aircraft
maintenance and repair. DJI’s market dominance
and expansive equipment selection makes it an
attractive choice. DJI has come under a certain
amount of scrutiny for data handling practices.
These can be mitigated by using a feature called
“Local Data Mode” available in select flight
control applications, such as Measure Ground
Control. Pilots learning drone maintenance procedures

Just as important as the drone is the sensor

payload. A high-resolution camera is key to
capturing quality inspection images. As noted in
a previous section, Measure offers two levels of
resolution for wind inspections:
1. High resolution – a 20 mega pixel camera
equipped on DJI M210 drone – This platform is
typically used for routine O&M inspections.
2. Ultra-high resolution – a 47 mega pixel
camera equipped on DJI M600 drone – This
platform is typically used for warranty or
insurance claim adjustment inspections.
The higher resolution, the higher the cost. When
combining high resolution cameras with LiDAR
equipment and a drone robust enough to carry
the weight, the complete drone and payload
package can exceed $50,000. Plus, you will need
advanced knowledge to care for this type of
equipment. This is one of the reasons why asset
managers tend to outsource turbine inspections.
When conducting a simple spot check, a basic
professional drone, such as the DJI Mavic Pro and
RGB sensor (included) should suffice.
Program Management Software
As discussed previously, managing a drone
program is a complex operation, covering
many functions (see Fig 4.1). Looking across the
drone software market, you will find a plethora
of products targeted at one or a few of these
functions. For example, there are popular
software products focused only on flight logging
or only on equipment management.
However, using a single software solution for
as many functions as possible - work ordering,
resource management, flight planning and
tracking, data capture, program reporting,
and compliance - will help you streamline
your operations and manage your program
more efficiently. You’ll also have the program
oversight that most corporations need to ensure
consistently safe and compliant execution of all
aspects of their drone program.
Measure was searching for a comprehensive
software platform to manage its own extensive
drone operations. Unable to find a platform that
met all of its needs, Measure built one, based
on the experience of managing thousands of

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flights across myriad applications. That product

is Measure Ground Control. A basic overview of
Ground Control is provided in Appendix D.

Measure Ground Control Flight Application: LA ANC airspace

authorization

Drone Data Software

Drone data is uploaded into various software
platforms for processing, analysis, and
visualization. Different software platforms are
best suited for different types of applications
and data needs. For example, the software
used to process and analyze turbine inspection
data will likely be different from what is used
for inspections of electric lines and poles or for
substations.

Since data processing and analysis of turbine

inspections is typically out-sourced to a third
party, you only need to worry about the
usability of the final data product and how to
best integrate the inspection results into your
operations.

Always keep in mind who the stakeholders of

your program are and who will need access to
the data. Data that is difficult for asset managers
or O&M teams to use is not likely to maximize
your return on investment. Make sure that the
processing and analysis of your drone data
results in a data deliverable that can drive better
decisions for your business operations.

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Conclusion

In this paper, we have reviewed the benefits of drones for wind farm
inspections. We have covered the processes involved with data collection,
analysis, and delivery; and we have introduced the components of a
drone program. Drones can make a significant improvement in your wind
farm operations, and we hope that you will take advantage of this new
technology today.

If you are looking to add drones to your wind farm operations,

Measure can help. Measure offers a range of products and services,
from complete inspection services to pilot training and a la carte data
analysis. Contact us for more information on:

• Turnkey Drone Operations

• Drone Program Software

• Drone Data Analysis

• Hands-on Pilot Training

• Advisory Services

When you’re ready to get started or want to take your existing program to
the next level, drop us a line at https://www.measure.com/contact.

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A APPENDIX A : INSOURCE VS. OUTSOURCE DECISION GUIDE

Insource vs. Outsource Decision Guide

Insource Outsource

Pilot skills required Low ............... High

In-house data
engineering skills & Available ............... Not Available
software

Hardware costs Low ............... High

Program execution costs

(software, insurance, Low ............... High
management)

Risk tolerance High ............... Low

High (hundreds of
Low (e.g. visual
Data complexity ............... images, thermal
pictures only)
analysis, etc)

Low (e.g. bare High (e.g. wind

Inspected asset value ...............
earth) turbines, cell towers)

Low (e.g. empty High (hazardous

Mission risk conditions ...............
site) environment)

Specific sites with Disperse, unknown,

Flight locations ...............
on-site staff or unstaffed locations

Low (monthly,
Flight frequency High (daily, weekly) ...............
annually)

Low (on-demand, High (planned in

Flight predictability ...............
reactive) advance)

INSOURCE VS. OUTSOURCE DECISION GUIDE

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B A P P E N D I X B : C O M P O N E N T S O F A N A I R O P E R AT I O N S M A N U A L

Components of an Air Operations Manual

Subject Purpose Considerations

Who can put in a request for drone operations?

Establish who has
Authority &
authority to approve How are operations reviewed and approved?
Control of
flight operations under
Flights What authorities do the approver and the pilot-
what circumstances
in-command have?

What federal, state, and local regulations affect

your operations?
Unequivocally state that
Regulatory
all applicable rules and What is the process for requesting regulatory
Compliance
regulations must be waivers?
Guidelines
followed
What other regulatory guidelines (e.g. FCC) may
apply?

What training is required for each of your

Stipulate pilot training
Training requirements by mission
Standards type and ensure only
qualified pilots are flying
mission types?
How often must training be renewed?
Do training requirements differ between
employee and contract pilots?

What are your data collection requirements?

Flight & Ensure consistently
What is the type, location, and timing of the
Mission successful aerial data
mission?
Planning collection and safe flight
Procedures outcomes How are you managing your equipment and
pilots?

A I R O P E R AT I O N S M A N U A L

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B A P P E N D I X B C O N T ’ D : C O M P O N E N T S O F A N A I R O P E R AT I O N S M A N U A L

Continued:
Components of an Air Operations Manual

Subject Purpose Considerations

What are your crew rest requirements?

Reduce and mitigate
Crew
errors related to human How do factors like weather or stress impact
Resource
factors in in-field flight pilot scheduling?
Management
operations
How are crew errors or infractions addressed?

Who will be responsible for drone maintenance

Reduce safety hazards,
and repair?
Equipment downtime, and data
Maintenance quality issues due What are your pre-and post- flight maintenance
and Repair to malfunctioning procedures?
equipment
How will you track equipment usage over time?

What severity of accident warrants a report?

Who needs to be informed when an accident

Determine policies and happens?
Mishap
procedures for when What information needs to be collected at the
Reporting
accidents happen scene and by whom?

Who will be responsible for filing a mishap

report?

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C APPENDIX C: COMMON COMMERCIAL DRONE HARDWARE

Drone
Make & Style Specs Best For Notes
Model

Good for tactical situational

Max Flight Time: awareness for emergency
27 min Basic response, small-scale
DJI Mavic Pro Multirotor mapping, and basic
Wind Resistance: operations image capture. Excellent
portability, low price point,
10 m/s
and ease of use.

Max Flight Time:

The workhorse in the
27 min industry; rugged and field-
DJI Inspire 2 Multirotor All purpose tested. Excellent all-purpose
Wind Resistance: drone.
10 m/s

Max Flight Time:

38 min Dual gimbal payload allows
DJI M210 Multirotor All purpose for simultaneous thermal
Wind Resistance: and RGB data collection.

12 m/s

Max Flight Time:

This larger airframe accepts
40 min Heavier more advanced camera
DJI M600 Multirotor equipment, such as used in
Wind Resistance: payloads
cinematography
8 m/s

Lacks maneuverability
Max Flight Time: of multirotors, but has
senseFly 50 min Flights over superior endurance. Best
Fixed-wing choice for large-scale
eBee Wind Resistance: large areas mapping missions in
mining, solar, agriculture,
12 m/s
and large construction sites.

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D A P P E N D I X D : M E A S U R E G R O U N D C O N T R O L F E AT U R E S
MANAGE PEOPLE & EQUIPMENT
• Keep tabs on the activities, certifications, and
training of your team
• Setup user profiles with location, credentials,
experience, and status
• Control user permission with pre-defined
roles
• Manage all equipment with automatic usage
tracking and maintenance recommendations
• Store equipment details, create kits, and
disable or quarantine equipment as needed
• Get reports of pilot and equipment activity
SCHEDULE & PL AN FLIGHTS
• Create and schedule missions, and manage
the program calendar
• Assign pilots, equipment, and other
resources to missions
• Automate task assignments
• Check airspace
• Design and upload flight plans
• Set company-wide flight parameters
MEASURE.COM
F LY & CO L L E C T D ATA
• Check weather and airspace conditions
• Request LAANC authorization
• Retrieve and apply DJI Geo Unlock
• Fly with GPS-aided manual control or
automated grid and waypoint patterns
• Use active track modes spotlight, POI, trace,
orbit, and profile
• Automatically upload flight logs, screen
captures, and completed checklists
• Block DJI data sharing with local data mode
TR ACK & REPORT AC TIVIT Y
• Access automatically uploaded flight logs,
including flight playback and screen captures
• Review pre- and post- flight checklists
• Create and export reports and flight data
• View dashboards of program metrics
A N A LY Z E & S T O R E D ATA
• Store unlimited flight logs, imagery, video, and
upladed files
• Add inspection results and review mission
and portfolio-level summaries
• Upload completed data products to missions
• Access integrated visualization tools to view
inspection data
025
Thank You