Hanil Cement will use drones equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) for inventory management and equipment inspections.
Hanil Cement's Danyang plant recently introduced industrial drones, and 10 employees obtained piloting qualifications to operate them, it said on the 30th. After a trial run, the drones will be fully deployed for work starting in April.
The newly introduced drones are equipped with AI software that recognizes spaces and converts them into 3D maps. Based on this function, they can fly safely without collisions even in narrow indoor spaces and can accurately measure the amount of inventory stacked in warehouses.
The biggest advantage of using drones is improved safety. When inspecting the insides of dusty and confined facilities, drones can be deployed instead of workers to reduce the risk of asphyxiation accidents. In addition, after measuring the thickness of pipes located at high points, they can assess corrosion or wear, enabling facility management without the risk of falls.
There are also cost and time savings. The expense of outsourcing inventory measurement to external specialists has been reduced, and there is no longer a need to install temporary platforms (scaffolding) for equipment inspections, saving expense and time.
Improvements have also been made in production management. Inventory measurements, which had been conducted once per quarter, have been expanded to once a month since the drones were introduced. With more precise inventory measurements and the ability to check blind spots that people used to miss, more accurate production management has become possible.
A Hanil Cement official said, "The drones introduced for worker safety are also helping with efficient plant operations," adding, "We plan to gradually expand the scope of operations by adding functions such as thermal imaging to the drones and sharing them among plants."