A FUTURE innovation campus site was the focus of the UK drone community for an event looking at how cutting edge technology can be used across a range of industries.
Sellafield Ltd’s Engineering Centre of Excellence at Cleator Moor, Cumbria, hosted a national COMIT2drones (C2D), event earlier this month when representatives from a range of industries and SMEs shared ideas on opportunities to deploy the latest drone technology.
The centre is based at Leconfield Industrial Estate where iSH (Industrial Solutions Hub) plans to develop a programme of cross-industry collaboration and innovation which will lead to 700 new jobs.
Amanda Smith, UAV equipment programme lead for Sellafield Ltd, hosted the Power Up Sellafield event which attracted 30 representatives from across the UK, including drone specialists such Cyberhawk, Vantage UAV Group, COPTRZ, and Herotech8, as well as industry representatives such as Jacobs, Kier and National Highways.
Amanda and her Sellafield team of highly-skilled equipment engineers/remote pilots flew more than 200 asset inspection flights in 2021 delivering in excess of £5m cost avoidance savings.
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"I am elated with the way the event went. It was amazing to see our base in West Cumbria pulling in all these experts from all over the UK," Amanda said.
"What was great to see was how amazed they are at what we can deliver, both on Sellafield site and off site.
“The big advantage we have is that as well as being governed by the CAA (Civil Aviation Authority) we also have to meet the extra hurdles of the nuclear safety case. It means that if you can achieve something with drones at Sellafield you should be able to achieve it anywhere else.
“We achieve that with the support of our supply chain partners such as Global Drone Training, PAR Systems, and Forth.
“By working together in collaboration with the supply chain across multiple industries, and talking to members of the COMIT2drones community, we can help solve each other’s problems.”
To find out more about iSH visit www.ishco.co.uk
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