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posted by cmn32480 on Monday August 24 2015, @07:46AM   Printer-friendly
from the drones-can-help-save-lives dept.

Oil rig inspection is a dangerous business. Traditionally roughnecks dangled from a wire, in gale-force winds if needed, to manually log wear and tear on the girders. Assessments include giant chimneys — called flare stacks — that belch fire during million-dollar-a-day shutdowns.

Increasingly the industry has found that swapping abseiling humans for small drones equipped with high-definition and thermal cameras can save time, cut costs and improve safety.

"These are large metal structures in a big pond of seawater. They will rust a lot, particularly in the North Sea where rigs designed to last 20 years are lasting more than 40. They are continually getting cracks and physical damage from the waves and need to be refurbished and fixed," says Chris Blackford, Sky Futures' chief operations officer.


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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @11:35AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Monday August 24 2015, @11:35AM (#226984)

    the future of "roughneck" types of men

    is prison. Men are not wanted, not needed, and belong in prison. All of them. Because men are not Women, and the future is Female.