Recovering stolen plant equipment and machinery could be made easier and safer with new drone technology, says AMI Group
Plant equipment theft can be a significant problem, not to mention an expensive one. Drone technology is used across a range of sectors, but could it have applications in plant recovery?
Plant tracking specialist AMI Group says it can be beneficial and has launched new, innovative drone technology as a result. The firm said it may be among the first tracking companies in the UK to use drone technology to aid with the recovery of stolen assets.
More chance of recovery
The firm currently has a national network of ground level location finders. The have experience in drone flight and can be involved in recovering plant equipment as necessary. The firm also utilises tracking equipment such as advanced global positioning systems, global system for mobile frequencies and radio frequencies. Clients are able to view and control their fleet via a real-time web-based platform called Nexis.
Peter Stockton, Operations Director of AMI Group said the technology was allowing higher numbers of machines to be recovered.
He added: “There has been a spate of thefts recently where our tracking devices have pinpointed stolen plant machinery on dangerous sites.
“These can potentially be volatile situations and the Police often need additional verification or evidence before they can enter a site to recover the equipment, so the use of drones allows us to take footage of stolen construction equipment hidden in obscure locations and also to survey the surrounding area.
“There are several instances where drones can assist the efforts of the Police or the AMI finder network to not only help identify the location of stolen equipment, but ensure it is safe to enter sites.
“For instance, drones can be used to carry out long-range reconnaissance or risk assessments before recoveries and they are particularly useful on the periphery of properties or large sites where it is difficult to visibly see the location of equipment that has been hidden,” he continued.
Applications in construction
Drones are increasingly seeing use in the construction sector. Earlier this year, the Drone Usage Report revealed a growing uptake of the use of drones in construction and plumbing.
In fact, in an analysis of the top 10 business sectors utilising drones construction and plumbing topped the list at 11.5 per cent. The sector beat manufacturing (9.9 per cent), information and communications (9.1 per cent), and the creative and photographic industries (8.8 per cent).
