Page 6 - W M Donald Newsletter - Edition Thirteen

FROM THE GROUND UP
The Matrix arrives at W M Donald!
W M Donald first used Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV’s), commonly referred to as drones, to survey sites back in 2013. At the time we used external contractors. With
the increase in surveys required and recent advances in technology if was felt now was the time to have our own drone to provide faster feedback on earthworks and regular progress images.
W M Donald has invested in a DJI Enterprise Matrice 300 commercial drone with a Zenmuse P1 camera for surveys. The Matrice 300 is manufactured in Shenzhen, China’s Silicon Valley. It has a 15km range, although in practice it can only be legally flown for 500m horizontally or 120m AGL (Above Ground Level). It also has a 45 minute flight time depending on payload, and six directional sensors (front, back, left, right, top, bottom) to avoid obstacles. The maximum payload is 2.7kg and there are many payload configurations
for different end users such as surveying, inspection and emergency services.
W M Donald currently captures data using
the Zenmuse P1 camera, a 45 Mega Pixel full frame camera attached below the drone; the latest smartphones have around 12 megapixel cameras. The camera captures a huge number of images – over 1000 to cover the Cloverhill site shown below, taken in just 25 minutes – which are then ‘stitched’ together by specialist software when they are downloaded. In the orthometric image shown here, taken from Cloverhill, there is around a 70% overlap
of adjoining images. Every
individual point
in the 3D
point cloud
generated
is derived
from many
overlapping images
that see the point, typically
20 or more images.
This point cloud can be classified to extract the ground data and after a small amount of tidying can be used as a surface for our earthworks modelling software, N4ce. The point cloud can also be compared against proposed formation or finished surfaces giving us accurate cut and fill volumes and progress. Four members of the W M Donald engineering team have completed the commercial drone pilot’s licence, known as the GVC, required by law to operate the drone: Mike Meldrum, Aaron Brebner, Gary Burnett, and Chad Douglas.
DID YOU KNOW?
The Matrice 300 has the capacity to carry a wide range of payloads.
LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) camera.
Data is captured by firing very rapid laser pulses at the ground surface. The laser energy reflected back from the ground is captured as a highly dense 3D point cloud which can be converted into detailed terrain models. LiDAR has the ability to penetrate tree canopies where traditional survey methods would not have been suitable.
LiDAR is used in places like Peru to locate structures that are covered by vegetation that are not normally visible.
Zoom Cameras for Inspection where rope access may have been required.
Night Vision and FLIR cameras for search and rescue and emergency services.
6
Alan Dunning joins W M Donald as Transport Manager
Alan Dunning is W M Donald’s new Transport Manager. Alan joined in March 2022 having previously worked for Taylors Industrial Services, an Aberdeen-based family company specialising in waste services. He has over 33-years experience in livestock and general haulage.
Alan was born in Liverpool and is a fanatical Liverpool FC fan. In the glory years of the 1980s when Liverpool won six league titles (and finished second to Everton twice), Alan followed them home and away. He was lured to North East Scotland when he married a girl from Dingwall.
Alan has noticed quite a few differences between his new job and his role at Taylors:
‘Life at W M Donald is much faster-paced due to the nature of the work we do. At Taylors there was much more scope for pre-planning and I am looking to improve that side of operations at W M Donald so we can become more proactive.
We have already brought vehicle and plant servicing in-house and have a team of three mechanics and an apprentice. This will generate significant cost savings for the company and also make us more responsive to servicing and repairing plant on site. We now have greater scope for metal fabrication in-house and one of our mechanics, Jamie Anderson, is a specialist on pressure vessels which will help with work on our suction excavators and Capellotto jetting units.’
When he left school, Alan initially joined the Royal Navy on the catering side. Forty years ago in 1982, Alan was part of the Falklands Task Force that liberated the islands. Alan was on board HMS Fearless, an amphibious assault ship, when it almost received a direct hit from enemy fire. The crew on HMS Fearless rescued sailors from the frigate, HMS Antelope, after it had been bombed.