Dronecloud has announced that it has been appointed by Network Rail to deliver drone management software across its drone fleet. The deal covers the development and license of the software over the next five years. Network Rail will use the software to manage the deployment of multiple drone projects, monitoring and surveying rail infrastructure whilst managing in-house and contracted drone pilot’s activities. The drone management software will support the safe, compliant, and efficient running of concurrent projects and create an audit trail of completed work.
Enterprise deployments of drones are now being used across industries to survey and monitor sites that would previously be expensive, complex, or unsafe to monitor in person. The use of drones, however, comes with its own complexities, amplified when scaled. Current and future proposed legislation provides rules and guidelines on the proper planning, operation, and reporting of drone use. Similarly, the logistics of managing hundreds of drone projects quickly become difficult, ensuring the drones are fit to fly, that the operator is suitably qualified and that the task is properly specified.
Dronecloud is a provider of Drone Management Software. Its technology is designed to streamline the administration of drone operations safely, at scale. Whilst it works for individual drone pilots wanting to create and store audit trails, for enterprise clients it also offers to significantly cut operating costs by combing business and technical tools. Ultimately, the drone management software is aimed at supporting Dronecloud’s clients in safely operating drones beyond visual line of sight.
Speaking of the agreement, Jan Domaradzki, CEO, Dronecloud, said, “Network Rail is the perfect partner for us. We have a shared vision of the efficiencies that well-managed drone operations can give to infrastructure projects. Network Rail has demonstrated that it is forward-thinking, its team understands the challenges and complexities of enterprise-scale drone operations, so we are well aligned on where we can
support them now, and in the future.
In many industries, drone operations have evolved organically, with more and more tasks being completed by drones as the benefits are better understood. As operations become more complex, we’re experiencing a high level of inquiries from companies that are keen to ensure that they are both compliant, efficient, and, above all, safe in how they operate. With dozens, if not hundreds of drone projects running, the traditional mosaic of multiple data points, spreadsheets, emails, is just not a sustainable way of managing operations. It’s a busy and exciting time to be rolling out our software to more clients.”
Rikke Carmichael, Head of Air Operations, Network Rail, said, “With the number of drone flights at the level it is and only going to climb higher in the future, we needed a flight management system to manage the load to ensure we are as efficient and safe as possible. It will show drone pilots if another drone is operating nearby, as well as alert the pilot to other potential ground or air hazards in the area of the flight.”
