Severn Trent achieve savings of £750,000 thanks to their drone programme
With the drone industry expanding at an exponential rate, it’s unsurprising to see a range of industries and sectors start to unlock the potential that UAVs (unmanned aerial
vehicles) offer. One particular industry that has embraced the drone revolution is
utilities. Water company Severn Trent’s fleet of drones is generating huge savings in time
and through improved efficiencies.
Since Severn Trent made the strategic decision to invest in this new technology and
partnered with Commercial Drone Experts COPTRZ, they have made savings of over
£750,000 in the last year alone. In their second year, they are expecting to double this
figure, with more savings beyond that. Other utility companies have found similar savings,
and this is expected to grow as the technology develops.
By using their UAV fleet for inspection work, Seven Trent has removed the need for
scaffolding being put up. This allows them to save time and increases the safety for their
staff, due to them not needing to climb the scaffolding during inspections. The amount of
time taken for the actual inspection is also shortened with the drone doing all the work for
them.
Steve Coulson, Founder and Managing Director at COPTRZ, explains: “It’s great to see more companies seeing the benefit that drone technology can have for them and their business.
Not only do they save money, but they also save time and improve safety. This example is
only one of many, and I’m sure in the future there will be a huge number of companies that decide to make the small immediate investment, to unlock the huge savings potential
moving forward.”
Duncan Turner, Severn Trent’s Drone Team Lead: “It’s been an incredibly exciting time to be involved with UAVs at Severn Trent. It feels like we are at the forefront of innovation which is unlocking new ways of working within the business using this cutting-edge robotics technology. With our customers at the heart of what we do we can pass on the saving making sure our customer’s bills remain low and are helping to keep our water Wonderful on Tap.”
