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Amanda Smith, UAV Equipment Program Lead for Sellafield Ltd,\nhosted the Power Up Sellafield event which attracted 30 representatives from\nacross the UK, including drone specialists such Cyberhawk, Vantage UAV Group,\nCOPTRZ, and Herotech8, as well as industry representatives such as Jacobs, Kier\nand National Highways.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The event showcased Sellafield\u2019s capabilities through its\nRemote Technologies Group, which includes UAVs, ROVs and Robotics. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amanda and her Sellafield team of highly skilled equipment\nengineers\/remote pilots flew more than 200 asset inspection flights in 2021\ndelivering in excess of \u00a35m cost avoidance savings.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most of the flights were at Sellafield. But leading the way\nin UAV innovation in the UK nuclear industry, Amanda\u2019s team has also carried\nout flights at other Nuclear Decommissioning Authority sites at Bradwell,\nEssex, and Sizewell in Suffolk. Sellafield\u2019s ROV team have also carried out\nwork at Dounreay in Caithness, Scotland.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
At the Power Up Sellafield event held at Cleator Moor,\nAmanda shared learnings with delegates by demonstrating her team\u2019s expertise,\nthe type of work they are carrying out, and the positive difference it is\nmaking in safety, time and money savings, and improving productivity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Dave Jones, Sellafield Ltd\u2019s head of Operational Technology\nGroup (OTG), and Kev Rishworth, Delivery Manager at Sellafield\u2019s Engineering\nCentre of Excellence representing Engineering Development Solutions, also both\ngave talks to delegates about innovations across different parts of the\nbusiness.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
COMIT2drones attendees shared their own experiences and\ndiscussed opportunities to collaborate in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Amanda said afterwards: \u201cI am elated with the way the event\nwent. It was amazing to see our base in West Cumbria pulling in all these\nexperts from all over the UK.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWhat was great to see was how amazed they are at what we\ncan deliver, both on Sellafield site and off site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe big advantage we have is that as well as being governed\nby the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) we also have to meet the extra hurdles of\nthe nuclear safety case. It means that if you can achieve something with drones\nat Sellafield you should be able to achieve it anywhere else. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe achieve that with the support of our supply chain\npartners such as Global Drone Training, PAR Systems, and Forth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBy working together in collaboration with the supply chain\nacross multiple industries, and talking to members of the COMIT2drones\ncommunity, we can help solve each other\u2019s problems.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
COMIT2drones is the UK home for professional drone\ntechnology and services companies that operate in construction and\ninfrastructure. Members are drawn from a wide variety of organizations and solutions\nproviders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tony Shooter, chair of COMIT2drones, said: \u201cThe UAV Team at\nSellafield Ltd delivered an outstanding event. \nTheir skillful, structured and insightful portrait of Sellafield left no\none in doubt that the team is truly a pioneer in the COMIT2drone community.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cThe feedback from members has been fantastic with a real\nappreciation of the team\u2019s achievements and commitment to setting the standards\nand embracing shared learning across our group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt was a great day at the Engineering Centre of Excellence. A venue and team that certainly lived up to\nits name.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
John Maddison, Managing Director of iSH which will have a\ncampus at Leconfield as it looks to help organizations and businesses grow\nthrough collaboration across industry, SMEs, academia and the community, said:\n\u201cIt\u2019s brilliant to see events such as this taking place at Leconfield and is\nwhy we are so excited about what can be achieved through iSH.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cIt\u2019s part of our ambition to enhance capabilities in\nrobotics and artificial intelligence, engage SMEs with opportunities across a\nrange of industries to help solve global challenges, and promote West Cumbria\nto the world. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe are lucky to have a workforce with unique skills across\nthe region and events like this show that building that capability is all\nachievable through people who are passionate about innovation and\ncollaboration.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n