Drones provide numerous advantages in the areas of quality, efficiency and occupational safety during deployments. For example, using a drone to inspect a rotor blade ensures that 100% of the rotor blade surface can be inspected, whereas the conventional method using rope access technology is limited to visual documentation of possible damage, and this assessment is at the sole discretion of the rope access technician who carries out the inspection.  

Using drone technology reduces downtime 

Another advantage of using a drone is that the drone begins documenting immediately during the flight phase. Abseiling and related time-consuming occupational safety measures for a rope access technician are eliminated. This makes it possible to reduce the downtime of a wind turbine during the inspection deployment by approximately 50%, which can significantly add up when carrying out a series of inspections at a wind farm. 

Automated data transmission and evaluation with a high level of expertise 

The data documented by the drone is transmitted directly to the experts at Deutsche Windtechnik's inspection body. The data includes, for example, the exact position of the damage, which is determined using electronic satellite-based positioning. Artificial intelligence saves time and eliminates errors in subsequent data processing. Based on this data, experts create well-founded reports and recommendations for the further operation of the turbine. The operator can then reliably decide on a case-by-case basis how they would like to deal with any damage that may be present on the rotor blades and initiate any necessary follow-up steps.  

Drone or rope access technology? 

The decision to use a drone should always be based on a careful consideration. Depending on the type of turbine, the location and the objective of the inspection, using the conventional method with rope access technicians might be a better choice for the operator, for example if a comprehensive tactile inspection of already detected damage is required. Whenever we receive a request to carry out rotor blade inspections, we perform a rapid analysis to determine which method is best suited for the corresponding wind farm project and always offer the client the most efficient inspection method based on this transparent analysis.  

Your contact to us:  

Holger Pasch, Head of Survey & Inspection Body  
gutachten@deutsche-windtechnik.com 
+49 421 691 05 122