$420,000 Saved During Elios 1 Trial Leads to Investment in Elios 2

Argentina’s largest independent energy company, Pampa Energía, recently decided to invest in the Elios 2 drone after discovering substantial savings during a trial run of the Elios 1. This initial test saved them $420,000 while conducting boiler inspections.

Key Benefits in Brief

Overview

Pampa Energía, Argentina’s leading independent energy company, operates across all segments of the country’s power generation sector. Its operations include managing numerous power plants equipped with boilers essential for generating electricity.

As part of their maintenance routine, Pampa Energía must regularly inspect the boilers at their power plants. Each plant houses multiple boilers, each containing several burners. Traditionally, inspections involve workers climbing scaffolding inside the boilers, carrying flashlights, to manually assess the burners and internal components.

Setting up scaffolding takes between two and three days, and dismantling it adds another two to three days once the inspection is over. Coupled with the daylong manual inspection process, boiler inspections typically result in seven full days of downtime per boiler.

Customer Needs

Seven days of downtime for boiler inspections equates to significant lost revenue for Pampa Energía. According to Argentine law, such boilers must be inspected twice annually, resulting in around 14 days of downtime yearly per boiler to comply. Additionally, each power plant can generally handle only one boiler shutdown at a time, meaning plants with multiple boilers often face the logistical challenge of alternating between scaffolding construction and dismantling.

Given the safety risks involved in sending inspectors into confined spaces, the logistical complexities, and the high costs associated with traditional manual inspections, Pampa Energía began exploring alternative inspection methods. Their research led them to Flyability’s Elios 1 drone, specifically designed for indoor inspections of assets like boilers. Recognizing the Elios 1 as a cost-effective and efficient alternative, Pampa Energía decided to try it out at one of their power plants.

Elios 1 Trial at Pampa Energía's Bahía Blanca Power Plant

The Elios 1 was initially tested at Pampa Energía's Bahía Blanca power plant, one of the largest in Argentina. The plant has two boilers, and the initial plan was to inspect just one of them.

In a mere twenty minutes, the Elios 1 gathered sufficient visual data for a comprehensive boiler inspection. The speed of the inspection astounded the Pampa Energía team, who were accustomed to the week-long process typical of manual inspections.

A $420,000 Flight

During lunch, a team member casually suggested checking the second boiler, given how quickly the first inspection had been completed and the remaining time available that day.

Surprisingly, the second boiler had already cooled down, allowing an immediate inspection without delay. The burners in this boiler were less than two years old, so the team anticipated finding nothing unusual.

However, the drone’s flight revealed severe damage to the burners. Their condition was so poor that restarting them posed a serious risk to the entire boiler system and the personnel nearby.

A photo taken by the Elios 1 showing one of the damaged burners found at Bahía Blanca.

It turned out that the warranty for the burners was nearing its expiration date. Identifying the problem before the warranty ended enabled Pampa Energía to reclaim the full cost of the damaged burners through their insurance policy. The images captured by the Elios 1 provided irrefutable evidence of the burners’ condition prior to the warranty’s expiration, preventing costly replacements and averting potential workplace accidents.

Here are the savings Pampa Energía realized from this single impromptu boiler inspection at its Bahía Blanca plant:

• Savings on scaffolding = $30,000
• Avoided downtime costs = $290,000
• Insurance recognition savings = $100,000

Total savings = $420,000

Adopting Elios 2 After Elios 1 Success, Now Utilized Nationwide

Impressed by the savings achieved with the Elios 1, Pampa Energía quickly adopted it to eliminate risks for inspectors, cut costs, and enhance the quality and frequency of their boiler inspections.

When the Elios 2 was launched in early 2019, Pampa Energía immediately tested it. Staff members were so satisfied with its performance that they began planning to integrate it into inspections at all their plants across Argentina.

A photo taken by the Elios 2 at one of Pampa Energía's plants.

The company now schedules the Elios 2 for inspections whenever their power plants undergo scheduled shutdowns. Initially used at coal and gas-fired plants, the drones are now being tested at hydroelectric facilities as well.

Pampa Energía has found that the Elios 2 offers superior visual data compared to its predecessor. It also features advanced tools for inspections, such as oblique lighting, enhanced stabilization, and distance lock, along with user-friendly improvements that make flying easier. Some official inspection bodies have even approved it as a legitimate inspection tool.

In the future, Pampa Energía intends to establish in-house drone teams at each of its power plants, equipped with their own Elios 2 and at least one certified pilot. With the impressive results from a single trial flight at the Bahía Blanca plant, expanding the use of the Elios 2 to all their power plants was an obvious choice for the company.

DC Submerged Arc Furnace

Dc Submerged Arc Furnace,Energy Saving Dc Submerged Arc Furnace,Dc Metal Silicon Furnace,Dc Ferrosilicon Furnace

ANYANG YOUNENGDE ELECTRIC CO.,LTD , https://www.younengde.com