CASE C14 · CA ·
AeroVision Canada: 30-minute drone inspection of an underground oil–water separator tank
AeroVision Canada inspected the inside of an underground oil–water separator tank with a caged drone. Three flights totalling 30 minutes collected the data, and the tank was out of service for one working day. Savings are given only roughly, in a manufacturer article.
| Owner | Tank owner (not named) |
| Provider | AeroVision Canada |
| Location | Canada |
| Aircraft | Flyability Elios 3 |
| Sensors | video, LiDAR point cloud (payload not explicitly named) |
Before
Take the tank out of service, empty and ventilate it, test for gas and obtain confined-space entry permits: typically days to weeks.
With drones
Three drone flights recorded the interior with video and a point cloud, without entry.
Outcomes
| Metric | Value | Basis |
|---|---|---|
| flight time | 30 minutes over three flights | Reported |
| downtime | one working day vs multiple days | Reported |
| cost / hours | 'thousands of dollars and hundreds of hours' saved (headline says thousands of hours) | Reported |
Caveats & limits
- Manufacturer case study; owner and site not named; savings not itemised and inconsistent between headline and body.
- No limitations described; a visual/LiDAR survey does not replace thickness testing unless a UT payload is used.
Sources
- From Days of Work to a 30-Minute Flight for Oil Water Separator Tank InspectionFlyability Full text read
Sources checked: 2026-10-22