PD Ports has signed a new deal with a commercial drone operator to boost efficiencies around Teesport and the River Tees.
The partnership with heliguy secures five drones designed to optimise operations and reduce risk. Some 17 team members across the port group will also receive remote-pilot training.
The deal provides PD Ports with drones including the M300 RTK with H20T camera and Z15 bright spotlight, as well as the portable Mavic 2 Enterprise Advanced – and the Phantom 4 RTK, a lo-altitude surveying solution.
The equipment will be utilised across a variety of departments including Harbour Police and Engineering to deliver multiple benefits to the business, and the wider river community, including emergency response, surveillance and surveying, as well as asset and infrastructure management.
Neil Dalus, PD Ports’ Group Civil Engineering Manager, commented, “[heliguy] offers the best available hardware, complimented by tailored training that can be adapted to suit our people and their individual roles.
“By implementing the new technology and training people across a number of departments, including Harbour Police, Health and Safety, Engineering, Conservancy and Commercial, we can really boost our capabilities in a number of areas.
“By utilising drone technology, we can reduce the risks associated with working from height and gather better quality data to make the whole port complex more efficient. It will also enable us to further increase our security across the river, giving the Harbour Police tools to offer faster responses whilst obtaining a better, targeted view of any incidents.”
Eight Harbour Police constables have passed their General Visual Line of Sight (GVC) training with heliguy and are now able to fly the drones safely with the rest of the team due to commence their training later this month.
Matthew Cairns, part of the enterprise sales team at heliguy, added, “Port authorities represent a fantastic example of businesses which are perfectly positioned to benefit from in-house drone technology.
“This technology will now find its place within various departments and disciplines across the PD Ports group and we’re excited to be assisting the team in developing that capability from the ground up.”
