Drone training
HOW ORICA ‘EXPLODED’ INTO THE DRONE INDUSTRY
As the world’s leader in blasting and
productivity solutions and the largest provider of commercial explosives.
Providing mining, quarrying, oil and gas, and construction industries with
these powerful devices requires highly trained and skilled workers. And perhaps
most importantly, they know the need for accurate data.
Following recent training, a team of Orica
specialists in the UK now have a powerful new tool in their arsenal - drones.
Training with Consortiq, this special group
of people achieved UK certifications in both General Visual Line of Certificate
(GVC) and A2 Certificate of Competency (A2CofC). With these qualifications in
hand, this regulated training bolsters their capabilities within the global
market.
Team
members flying the latest drone and using RTK equipment.
The team of specialists chosen for this
project come from mixed backgrounds – crucial for this industry. Hailing from a
variety of fields, each one combines their own area of expertise to develop the
right solution for the client. Comprised of an explosives engineer, senior
specialist engineer, and a digital product lead, those selected and trained are
now poised to lead this innovative process throughout the UK market.
Stephen Barnett, Senior Specialist Engineer
at Orica, welcomed this positive step into the drone industry, “Orica had been
providing solutions to other regions of the world across a broad spectrum of
industries, utilizing drone technology in conjunction with our Digital
technology for some time now, so we are well placed to bring that knowledge
into the UK. And are looking forward to passing the benefits onto our customers
across all the industries we supply.”
Training with Consortiq enables the team to
capture powerful data through new means, all while improving efficiencies.
Previously, traditional methods took far longer, requiring multiple visits to
each site. And in situations like these, time is money.
The Benefits
When it comes to blasting with explosives,
getting the right information is everything. With drones now at their disposal,
real-time data will provide accurate profiles of quarry faces, which can be
imported into Orica’s own advanced blast design software, SHOTPlus™.
Orica’s
Specialist Drone Team.
By partnering with Propelleraero and using
the latest real-time kinetic equipment and technology, Orica can now deliver an
end-to-end solution for any quarry, oil and gas, or construction site
including:
-
Blast Design
-
Short term blast block planning
for quarries
-
Videography
-
Stockpile surveys and reports
-
Excavated volumes
reconciliation.
-
Fragmentation analysis
These efficiencies are specifically driven
by the usage of drones, and the usable data that is captured. Using the
profiles of quarry faces, accurate measurements through orthophotos, digital
elevation models, and textured 3D models, a complete picture of the worksite is
safely achieved. All these data outputs are used to help site planning and
earthwork logistics, before and after each blast. With innovative solutions
like these, Orica is sure to maintain its status for years to come.
A
site survey, using 2D orthophoto capture technique and 3D mesh modeling.
This produces an incredible 3D visualization of the site.
As a final thought, Lee Barfoot,
Consortiq’s commercial manager in the UK, states, “It’s been fantastic to work
with Orica UK! Within just a few days they have added a new capability that
Orica UK can now use with their clients, in-turn, adding significant value to
their product portfolio.”
Consortiq strives to provide the best
drones services possible and are proud to be part of our customers’ journey. As
drones prove themselves as an invaluable solution across countless industries,
the future is limitless.
Whether it is a 3D scan, a digital twin,
asset allocation, or progress information, drones offer unique solutions to
keep your project running smooth. The economic benefits of the technology are
simply too beneficial to pass up.