Polysius
Plant inspection
from the air.
Key figures strip
- No scaffolding
- And no industrial climbers necessary
- Large areas
- Inspected in the shortest possible time
- Hard to reach
- High places and difficult terrain
- Customisable
- Different sensor types for different inspections
- Expert analysis
- Flight results evaluated by industry experts
The Argument – Old Way Versus Drone
In a cement plant, getting to the thing you want to look at is usually more expensive and more dangerous than looking at it. That is the cost a drone removes.
| Getting up there the old way | Getting up there by drone |
| Scaffolding erected, inspected, dismantled — days of work before anybody looks at anything; industrial climbers booked, scheduled and supervised; people working at height; areas that stay uninspected because reaching them is not worth it; a verbal report and a handful of photographs taken one-handed | Large areas or long distances inspected swiftly; no industrial climbers or scaffolding necessary; nobody working at height; hard-to-access places and terrain inspected as a matter of course; flight results always documented and evaluated later by industry experts |
What We Inspect
A cement plant is tall, dusty and largely vertical. The drone is most useful exactly where a person is least comfortable.
| Category | Why the drone | Examples |
| High structures | Everything that currently needs a lift, a harness or a scaffold before anyone can look at it | Preheater tower and cyclone housings · stacks and chimneys · silo exteriors and roofs · conveyor bridges and transfer towers |
| Large areas | Where the problem is not height but extent — walking it would take a day and still miss things | Plant roofs and building envelopes · long conveyor routes · quarry faces and haul roads · stockpiles and open storage |
| Difficult terrain | Where access is restricted for reasons other than height | Quarry benches and slopes · areas behind or above running equipment · sites after an incident · restricted zones |
Sensors
Our customisable drones can be equipped with different types of sensors, so that they can be used for a variety of different inspections. What the drone is carrying decides what the flight can answer.
| High-resolution imaging | The visual inspection: cracks, corrosion, coating damage, missing cladding, structural condition. The condition of a plant and possible damage can be precisely documented |
| Thermal sensors | Heat where there should not be any. Thermal sensors attached to a drone let us detect heat leakages and pipe congestions — and the thermal image can be laid over a 3D model. Cross-linked to PlantScan 3D with thermal overlay |
| Survey payloads | When the objective is not a picture but a model. The same drone platform captures the data behind millimetre-accurate 3D models. Cross-linked to PlantScan 3D |
What You Get
The flight is the easy part; the reading is the service. Anybody can fly a drone around a plant. What makes it an inspection is that somebody who knows cement plants looks at the footage afterwards.
The results of the flights are always documented — the inspection leaves a record, not an impression
Evaluated later by our industry experts, so the footage is read by people who know what they are looking at
The condition of a plant and possible damage can be precisely documented
Many years of expertise in the cement industry means the best possible solution is worked out very quickly
The record is reusable — for the next comparison, for a shutdown scope, for a discussion with a contractor
By using drones, the condition of a plant and possible damage can be precisely documented. Thanks to our many years of expertise in the cement industry, we work out the best possible solution for our customers very quickly.
Drone Inspection, PlantScan 3D or polscan®?
All three sit under Field & Workshop Services, and two of them use the same aircraft. Knowing which one you need saves a conversation.
| Drone Inspection | PlantScan 3D | polscan® | |
| The question | “What condition is it in, and can I see the damage?” | “What exactly is there, and will the new machine fit?” | “Is my rotary kiln still straight?” |
| What you receive | Documented flight results with expert evaluation | A millimetre-accurate 3D model in a file format compatible with all kinds of software | Measurement records, on-site documentation and a written report with recommendations |
| Typical object | Towers, stacks, roofs, conveyor routes, quarry, terrain | Buildings, process systems, terrain, individual components | The rotary kiln, and only the rotary kiln |
| Equipment | Industrial drones with interchangeable sensors | Laser scanners and industrial drones | Optoelectronic measuring method on the running kiln |
Your Added Value
Cost-effective & safe
Inspect huge areas or long distances swiftly
No industrial climbers or scaffolding necessary
Inspection of hard-to-access places or terrain
Expert analysis of the flight results
Thanks to their range and flexibility, our industrial drones open up completely new inspection possibilities.