Vertex Access Products

CAA Permission for Commercial Operations

Vertex Air holds full CAA Permission for Commercial Operations, and only use market-leading German UAV technology and the most advanced FLIR Thermographic inspection cameras to undertake cutting-edge survey and inspection services.

Thermal Imaging uses infrared camera technology to detect differences in surface temperatures. Traditionally, thermal imagery uses handheld thermal imaging cameras for a variety of different uses, and covering large areas is accordingly costly and time-consuming. Vertex Air utilises the best in UAV mounted infrared camera technology to deliver quality thermographic surveys, quickly, cost-effectively and safely. According to Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Hierarchy of Control Measures, the use of UAVs avoid work at height and its attendant risk; it is the safest method of delivering high-level roof and building surveys, and it can yield significant cost-savings when compared to traditional methods of working and access such as scaffolding.

Subsurface Water Leak

Water suppliers across England and Wales have seen great increases in the amount of water leakage across their networks. In 2013, an average of 3,113 megalitres of water per day was estimated to have been lost (that’s over 1 TRILLION litres per year). Vertex Air has successfully undertaken projects with water suppliers to undertake subsurface water leak surveys using our UAV mounted thermal imaging camera. On cold mornings (0C-2C) any escaped water (10C-12C) is clear on the thermal image. The benefits of using a UAV mounted thermal imaging camera is that it allows the survey of large areas in a short space of time and with access typically difficult or inaccessible areas such as rural land. The same UAV mounted thermal imaging technology can also be used to detect subsurface steam leaks from district heating networks.

Thermal Building Inspections

Infrared Thermography is also used to evaluate the condition of building envelopes. With the support of our ITC qualified thermographers’ analysis of exhibited temperature differentials, Vertex’s UAV accurately detect moisture entrapment, delamination, water ingress points and concealed defects – enabling works to be planned and managed with much greater certainty.

BREEAM 

UAV thermal imaging technology can be used to enhance BREEAM grade advanced building inspections. Typically, thermal building inspectors have trouble obtaining quality thermographic information about the roof and upper levels of facades on building envelopes due to access on and around a site.

Thermal imaging of commercial and domestic buildings can help identify inadequate, damaged or missing insulation, and air leaks and moisture intrusion

thermal anomaly

When the cathodic mesh in a solar panel become defective, the resulting short circuit forms a thermal anomaly visible on the outer layer that can be detected by thermal imaging cameras. Vertex Air’s UAV mounted thermal imaging camera surveys large solar farms more quickly and efficiently than previously achievable, without any of the costs associated with manned access or invasive inspections. Moreover, when thermal imaging surveys are undertaken on a regular basis as part of a Preventative Planned Maintenance (PPM) scheme, minor faults can be spotted early enough to minimise the downtime of the system and before the defects deteriorate to more a serious condition, thereby reducing both loss of income and the cost of remediation.

Underground Fires

Underground fires at landfill sites are dangerous and more common than you might think. If not dealt with in a swift manner, they can spread and become even more dangerous. Traditional methods of detecting the location of an underground fire involved chartering a helicopter or private plane, which can be costly and add complexity to the method. Our UAV technology efficiently mapped out the whole site, allowing for thermographers to identify hot-spots and give the landfill owner accurate information about the location of the underground fire.

Building and roof inspections can be a difficult task: finding the balance between delivering the highest quality survey results and reducing the risks of working at height to surveyors and the general public can prove to be problematic.

According to Health and Safety Executive’s (HSE) Hierarchy of Control Measures, the use of UAVs avoid work at height and its attendant risk; it is the safest method of delivering high-level roof and building surveys.

condition surveys on all types of commercial, industrial, residential and historic buildings.

Vertex Air’s UAVs offer significant cost savings when compared with traditional methods of access when undertaking condition surveys on all types of commercial, industrial, residential and historic buildings.

market-leading UAVs

Vertex operates the most sophisticated market-leading UAVs, offering unprecedented safety and fail-safe systems and flight stabilisation technology. Vertex is a CAA-approved company, with special permission to fly at night and within built-up areas. Our pilots are all BNUC-S qualified, subject to yearly assessment, and collectively hold thousands of hours of flight experience surveying hundreds of buildings and structures throughout the UK.

highest quality results, safely and cost-effectively, that can be relied on to inform our client’s decision making.

Unlike the vast majority of other UAV operators, Vertex’s inspections and surveys are undertaken by qualified Building Surveyors, who specialises in the assessment and remediation of defective building envelopes, historic buildings, industrial structures and infrastructure, such as bridges and viaducts. This ensures Vertex Air’s building and roof inspections deliver the highest quality results, safely and cost-effectively, that can be relied on to inform our client’s decision making.

Our UAV carries top-of-the-range DSLR cameras, which capture every building element and defect in 24Megapixels, which enables loss-less magnification. All the raw data collected on-site is then processed to embed GPS location data for accurate defect mapping. Our UAV carries also carries the latest FLIR thermographic cameras to undertake thermal imaging, which can pinpoint with a high degree of accuracy moisture entrapment, delamination, water ingress points and insulation failures and concealed defects.

Vertex tailor each survey or inspection to our clients’ needs. In many cases, we carry out condition surveys to identify defects before they deteriorate to the point where major works are required, thereby informing maintenance schedules and reducing capital expenditure costs.

we provide full building surveys

Alternatively, we provide full building surveys, detailing defects, pathology diagnoses and remedial options, supported by the high-definition photography, 3D modelling and rectified photography where required. Vertex’s building surveyors can generate highly detailed schedules of defects, referenced to annotated plan or elevation drawings or photographs, that our clients can rely on to inform their decision making. Schedules can be produced with greater certainty; works can be tendered and managed on the basis of highly accurate information; and project risks can be reduced, with significant cost and time savings.

completely eliminating the costs associated with alternative access

Set up on site is simple, needing only our 2-man team and our UAV, and completely eliminating the costs associated with alternative access. UAVs dramatically reduce the time required to complete the survey – an experienced, qualified pilot can capture thousands of images in just a few hours. This not only allows for sites to remain open with minimal disturbance to working operations or public use, it significantly reduces the costs of performing the survey.

Vertex Air offers a complete survey and inspection service

By using the right people and only the best equipment, Vertex Air offers a complete survey and inspection service.

Chimneys

Chimneys

chimney surveys

Vertex Air’s chimney surveys consist of fully GPS located images combined with Height Data to allow accurate fault analysis and reporting. All of the Vertex Access Group’s in-house reporting is undertaken by qualified surveyors to ensure our clients receive accurate reporting data and analysis.

inspected at a safe distance

Chimneys and Flare Stacks, whilst in operation, are inspected at a safe distance from the structure without the need for operatives to access the operational (hot temperature) structure. Additionally, by using Vertex Air’s thermal imaging technology, operating chimneys show weak spots within the structure to identify and locate the weakened areas for remediation works.

Lighting Towers, Masts & Pylons

Lighting Towers, Masts & Pylons

Work at Height

Large vertical structures are often complicated and inefficient to access and pose many safety issues regarding Work at Height. Vertex Air overcomes these issues by utilising UAV (Drone) equipment that has the ability to be 100 metres in the air within 30 seconds of take-off. Imagery is then captured analysing the mast structure along with bracketry, fixings and the lighting units/ antenna/radio equipment/cables installed to the vertical structure.

electrical faults

Thermography of the in-use lighting units uncovers potential electrical faults that could otherwise lead to failure of the electrical components.

Preventative Planned Maintenance

Thermography of electricity pylons reveals defects within the cables and the isolators allowing for PPM (Preventative Planned Maintenance) of equipment before failure reducing overall downtime of the assets.

Steelwork

Steelwork

Inspection of high-level steelwork is conducted efficiently using our HD high-resolution DLSR cameras mounted on our state-of-the-art drones. There is minimal disruption to the site and no requirement to shut down assets and plant to undertake the inspections. Vertex is able to photograph from above assets to locate issues that would otherwise be impossible to have identified.  The large format imagery that we provide to our clients gives unrivalled levels of detail (a single image can be zoomed-in to view the condition of an M16 bolt at 15 metres away). This allows us to capture the required survey imagery with a few photographs as possible (speed of analysis) without compromising on the quality of the survey.

Pipelines

Pipelines

Visual Inspections

Vertex Air’s Visual Inspections of difficult to access pipelines allow for a full-coverage of large spans of horizontal and vertical pipework along with the supporting structure & bracketry. There is no requirement for expensive scaffold access. As there are often large runs of pipelines, locating a fault from a series of photographs can be difficult and time-consuming. With each inspection by Vertex, Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) and Height Data are recorded for every photograph. This GPS and Height Data allows for efficient pinpointing of faults, regardless of how technical and complex the pipeline is.

Bridges

Bridges

Bridges form a key part of our nation’s infrastructure, but obtaining accurate condition information of these structures can be highly problematic using tradition methods of working. Not only is gaining access difficult and inefficient, but bridges span many hazardous environments such as rivers, roads and railways. Using Vertex Air’s market-leading inspection UAV eliminates many of these issues.  Photographic condition information can be rapidly obtained for all elements of bridges’ masonry and steelwork. Uniquely, Vertex Air’s UAV equipment not only allows for the accurate capture of bridges’ external elevations but also offers a 3-axis 360° camera positioning system to allow for inspection of arch soffits.

3D Modelling & Point Cloud

3D Modelling & Point Cloud

Surveys are processed into 3D models (Point Cloud .LAS format – the LiDAR – Laser Scanning standard file format or .OBJ 3D file format) to be used with 3D CAD packages (AutoCAD, Revit, ReCap, Arc GIS, etc..) for design and measurement. Our Point Cloud Models are compatible with LiDAR models and can be imported to enhance information within existing models.

Vertical Shafts

Vertical Shafts

After intensive Research and Development, Vertex has designed and created a Shaft Inspection Device (S.I.D.) for inspection of vertical shafts.

Reporting

Reporting

Vertex provides full structural surveys, detailing defects, pathology diagnoses and remedial options, supported by the high-definition photography, 3D modelling and ortho-rectified photography where required. Vertex’s building surveyors can generate highly detailed schedules of defects, referenced to annotated plan or elevation drawings or photographs, that our clients can rely on to inform their decision making. Schedules can be produced with greater certainty; works can be tendered and managed on the basis of highly accurate information; and project risks can be reduced, with significant cost and time savings.

Rope Access Remediation

Rope Access Remediation

Following a Vertex Drone Survey, our sister company, Vertex Rope Access Ltd is able to carry out remedial works. Providing this inspection and remediation service gives our clients a full service in managing and maintaining their high-level assets.