Drone Mapping and Monitoring
With a strong focus on safety, efficiency, and airspace management, Blue Ridge Services, Inc. provides drone services for solid waste facilities across North America. While other pilots can fly a waste facility and provide general data, our team can interpret the high-quality data that we collect and provide an operational-based perspective built on our decades of consulting experience at hundreds of landfills, transfer stations, MRFs, and organics processing sites.
Our team has the experience to offer insight into the state of every solid waste operation like no other consultant can. Along with our high-level observations, we will make recommendations in areas that we feel need further attention, whether it’s increasing compaction, creating a stronger safety culture, or improving overall efficiency. The perspective and experience that we provide through our drone services is one-of-a-kind, and has potential to increase revenue and decrease liability at any facility.
Our drone services are most effective when paired with Operations Assessments and Airspace Management & Planning – which allows facilities to optimize every aspect of their operation.
Landfill Topographic Mapping
The first step to improving landfill operations (and airspace management) is to map the existing landfill topography. This provides a survey baseline for the current topography and waste filling taking place at the landfill. BRS has provided full-service topographic mapping for landfills across the country since 2015. From setting and surveying ground control points, to on-site data collection, and post-flight data processing and producing deliverables, BRS completes every step of the process in-house. And thanks to advanced drone technology and experienced pilots and data technicians, we collect all data in a few hours and can provide high-accuracy deliverables in a matter of days.
Airspace Utilization Analysis
Frequently, landfills are given an Airspace Utilization Factor (AUF) or effective density to evaluate the overall performance of the landfill, specifically their waste handling and cover operations. However, they are not provided any guidance on how best to interpret or apply the density information to their short- and long-term planning. To assist in this effort, BRS conducts detailed airspace utilization analyses to outline (in great detail) a landfill’s airspace performance. By analyzing facility location, waste type and tonnage, and cover material usage, we provide vital data benchmarks such as current in-place waste density and remaining life expectancy. Based on our vast operational experience at hundreds of landfills, we accompany our data reporting with practical and proven operational recommendations – to ultimately optimize landfill performance and save significant amounts of airspace… and money.
Thermal Mapping
Unfortunately, it is all too common that landfills, transfer stations, and organics processing sites do not know that they have elevated temperatures until a fire breaks out – at which point they are scrambling to react. Using advanced thermal imaging and drone technology, we help solid waste facilities proactively mitigate elevated temperatures. We conduct thermal mapping to determine the precise location(s) of elevated subsurface temperatures and provide recommendations on how to reduce the likelihood of these thermal events.
Drone mapping can be paired with fill sequence planning, airspace management planning, and density tests to provide comprehensive, practical planning resources.
Infographic: Drones v. Traditional Aircraft
Traditional aircraft have been used in the past to gather date for topo maps and settlement plans. Unmanned Aircraft Systems, also called drones, can gather the same data at a fraction of the price. Download this infographic to learn more.
