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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.
(Score: 2) by bob_super on Monday August 24 2015, @05:10PM
>Citations needed
Well, instead of a bunch of disciplined men unquestionably blowing the stuff the big brass points at, the military now includes a bunch of disciplined men, gays, women, and philosophers unquestionably blowing the stuff the big brass points at.
When you run out of sh*t to blow up, the diversity is more enriching.
As a side-effect, when you're invading countries with retrograde views, having a few women and philosophers can help with the locals.