Drones control safety at Amur GPP construction

April 16, 2020 00:00A project is being implemented to use unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to monitor high-risk works at Amur Gas Processing Plant (GPP) project. Drones help specialists to monitor compliance with labor protection and industrial safety standards when performing works at height.

Complex production units with a height 90 meters are being erected at the plant territory. Site plot of Amur gas processing plant territory is over 800 ha. Given that at present nearly 29 thousand people are involved in works, that means audits and inspections to check the compliance to safety rules with use of traditional walkabout methods in such conditions would require recruiting a number of employees, plus it would take a lot of time.

UAVs provide the ability to conduct remote monitoring from a single point at ground level while remaining invisible to the workers and not distracting them from performing their functional tasks, as well as at a safe distance from any facilities and construction equipment in operation. UAVs are operated by qualified operators. Video from unmanned aerial vehicle camera is broadcast in real time on the tablets of specialists from an occupational safety and industrial safety departments. The quality and detail of the broadcast video provides the opportunity to visually identify, immediately respond and eliminate violations. In parallel with the broadcast, video and photos are recorded with the date and time registration, which allows for subsequent analysis of the recorded video materials.

The new approach allows General Contractor of the Project to establish control over a larger area, at altitude and in hard-to-reach places in less time and with fewer employees than with the conventional monitoring methods. Additionally UAVs will become a tool for monitoring the fire situation around construction site. At the moment, a fire prevention regime is in effect on the territory of Amur region. In these conditions, drones will help to quickly detect, predict the spread of grass burns and apply corrective measures.

Project on industrial safety management is implemented by the General contractor responsible for construction of Amur GPP, which is NIPIGAS.