Imagine if a simple innovation suddenly allowed you to carry out an arduous — but essential — chore in a tenth of the time it would normally take, and without the safety risks of working at height. This is the case for Ford employees, who are now using cameras mounted on drones to safely and efficiently inspect high-rise gantries, pipework and roof areas at the company’s Dagenham (www.corporate.ford.com) engine plant.

Previously, maintenance teams carried out this important work using automated extendable platforms and scaffolding to check 40m-long gantries that support the plant’s heavy machinery. Inspecting a designated area used to take 12hr; now, and with feet firmly on the ground, maintenance staff use drones equipped with GoPro cameras and can thoroughly inspect each area in just 12min. The whole production facility can be covered in a day.

Pat Manning, machining manager at the Dagenham engine plant, said: “We had joked about having a robot do the work, then we had a ‘light-bulb’ moment — use drones instead. We used to have to scale heights of up to 50m to do the necessary checks on the roof and machining areas. Now we can cover the entire plant in one day — and without the risk of team members having to work at dangerous heights.”

With the time saved, the team at Dagenham can carry out more frequent inspections, without having to shut facilities to construct the scaffolding that was once necessary. Ford’s drones are also set to work inspecting pipework, locating air leaks and checking machinery. The company is now evaluating the possibility of using this high-flying technology in other regions.