Project Overview

How Skygauge Robotics saves time and money on UT inspections. The Skygauge Inspection Drone provides a safer alternative to conventional UT inspection methods at height while saving customers both time and money. Rope access is the most cost-effective conventional method for conducting UT inspections at height. This comparison study demonstrates the money and time saved when using Skygauge compared to a rope access inspection team when conducting a UT inspection of five welded steel storage tanks at an oil refinery.

Objectives & Constraints

Old Methodology

New Methodology

Comparison

Key Takeaways

CHALLENGE

Successfully complete a UT inspection on five (5) welded steel tanks at an oil refinery.
Each pressure vessel requires 40 ultrasonic readings, bringing the total number of required UT readings to 200.

TRADITIONAL SOLUTION -ROPE ACCESS

A team of three double certified rope access and NDT technicians scales the side of the tank on ropes, taking considerable personal risk and delivering 6 UT readings per hour.
Total inspection time 7 days.‍
Total inspection cost $28,480.

A BETTER WAY - THE SKYGAUGE INSPECTION DRONE

A team of two, that does not require rope access certification, remains safely on the ground piloting the Skygauge Inspection Drone, which can take 60+ UT readings per hour.
Total inspection time 3 days.
Total inspection cost $10,390.

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RESULT

Skygauge took 3 days to complete the inspection, while the rope access team took 7 days.
A Skygauge inspection cost the customer $10,390, while the rope access inspection cost $28,480.
Choosing Skygauge reduced UT inspection time by 60% and costs by 64%.‍
For a full breakdown of the process, resources, and costs involved in these two methods, please refer to our PDF case study.

The Skygauge vs. Rope Access

Project Overview

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