A Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command Atlantic pilot program has, for the first time, used Unmanned Aerial Surveying (UAS) to assess structures at two Virginia locations.
The UAS Pilot Program took flight at the command’s NSA Hampton Roads Lafayette River Annex (LRA) location, where the used unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology to assess the roofs of historic buildings, as well as facilities at Joint Expeditionary Base (JEB) Little Creek-Fort Story, Virginia.
The Department of Defense (DOD) is a primary developer of UAV technology and its uses but has rarely used it for facilities and installation-level work, making NAVFAC Atlantic’s pilot program a pioneering effort.
Looking like something out of a spy movie, where the good guys use a drone for reconnaissance to track the enemy during their mission, the UAVs instead buzzed rooflines to review ongoing sustainment activities, determining if maintenance and repairs are warranted, as in the movies without the operator leaving the ground. Using this technology, inspectors need only conduct detailed physical inspections if the imagery produced by the UAV survey shows signs of moisture-compromised areas. It takes just 15 minutes to conduct a UAV roof inspection, a mere third of the time it takes to do a manual inspection.
Patrick Mccormack, NAVFAC Atlantic’s Public Works business line leader, challenged the Roof Asset Management Program to develop a way to conduct roof inspections faster than traditional methods. The solution they landed upon is rooted in the successes of NAVFAC’s industry partners.
“Although it took considerable time to break the code and orchestrate the approvals to use UAV technology, this pilot program will pave the way for wide spread use of this technology across the Department of Navy,” says Mccormack. “The result is safer, more affordable, and more extensive assessments of critical roof assets.”
The prospect of trying something new was exciting for team members. In all, the initial field tests reviewed the roof structures of 28 buildings the Navy owns and operates.
“Implementing new technology into the NAVFAC Roof Management Program was never a challenge, it was an opportunity. An opportunity to be more efficient, to support the Navy mission and achieve a fiduciary responsibility with our budget,” said Ahmed H. Hassan, AIA, NAVFAC Atlantic Roof Program Manager. “The UAS Pilot Program is giving NAVFAC these opportunities. Moving forward we will have a more efficient and safer alternative to assess our building assets.”
Due to cyber-vulnerability threats, the team had to overcome many hurdles in order to gain the necessary approvals needed to launch the program. NAVFAC Atlantic’s Roof Management Program team coordinated with a community of partners that included Commander, Navy Installations Command, Naval Air Systems Command, and NAVFAC Expeditionary Warfare Center, as well as installation commanders and their public works personnel to develop standard operating procedures (SOP) for each installation.
In addition, NAVFAC Atlantic coordinated Navy waiver board approvals, and the consent of the Federal Aviation Administration to ensure a seamless process. In the course of developing the program over the past year, roof inspectors meticulously documented the entire process to provide a standard roadmap for future use of UAV’s in facility assessments.
The goal of the pilot program was to gain the knowledge needed to develop and execute a process using this technology that was deployable, repeatable and dependable. This effort is streamlining roof and envelope assessment efforts for installations, minimizing the risk inherent to physical roof assessments, and reducing the time and cost to assess the DON portfolio.
“I am always impressed by the ingenuity and initiative of our NAVFAC Team,” said Rear Adm. Dean VanderLey, Commander, NAVFAC Atlantic in recognition of the team's accomplishments. “Efforts like this are typical of the work our people do every day, driving for Quality, Speed and Agility.”
NAVFAC is the Systems Command that delivers and maintains quality, sustainable facilities, acquires and manages capabilities for the Navy's expeditionary combat forces, provides contingency engineering response, and enables energy security and environmental stewardship. NAVFAC Atlantic includes four Facilities Engineering Commands that are the single provider of all NAVFAC products and services for Navy and Marine Corps clients in their regions.